Everlasting Hope: Spirits and Demons
by UK-Underworld King
Summary: Mild-AU. The demons of Niflheim invaded and conquered the world of Aselia as a consequence of the Kharlan War. Fifty years latter, a group of special souls try to fight back the otherworldly invaders as their world slowly crumbles. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue: The Second Invasion

Hello there my readers (to those that are damiliar to my works) and welcome to another fic!

In case you have read my profile, you'll know why I'm publishing this fic at the same time as I'm working on Steel 'n' Blade Co., if you don't, allow me to enlighten you. This fic will practically be my first epic one and as so, will be _extremelly_ long, so I figured it was better to start now if I ever hope to finish it. Now it won't affect my other fic, I'll try to dedicate myself equally to both, meaning if I can't write right now, I won't do writing in any of them! :D

Jokes aside, I SERIOUSLY need beta readers for this one! It's a big project, so I don't want to spend three chapters with my average grammar and spelling bothering you all. But for those that didn't see the announcement I left in my profile, I will put it here:

This is my first M fic, but I don't want anyone piting me for it. I'm putting it as M because there will be polemic themes, fighting, a little gore in some chapters, language and suggestive situations (not to the point of being too graphic. I don't have much experience there so I won't be focusing too much on this part).

Also there will be a Yuri couple here*. Why, you ask me? The "Tales of" series always talked about discrimination (half-elves, nationalities, even social classes), some more than others, but it was there, so I thought this would be a good topic to put here. Hate me if you want, but this is a reallity and is here, right in our faces. If you don't like because it doesn't match your likings, feel free to search for another fic.

I know you all must be tired of these warnings and want to simply proceed and read the story already, but bear with me a little more. I'll be using the entire cast of Symphonia, meaning there will be characters of the first and second game.

The fic is basically a "what if" that focus on a reallity where the Kharlan Tree died and never let the seed behind, Mithos and his companions weren't around to stop the war and it continued until something happened, making it end in one of the wrost ways possible. Destruction is upon the world, blah, blah, blah, you know the drill.

Oh and, before you start to complain about it, Nebilim is the villain. If you don't know him, no problem. If you do and is asking "why is he using him again?" I have one good reason for this: like I said in Age of Crystals, Nebilim is basically a name and a tittle (Dark Lord) in ToS1. He doesn't have a physical form as character, we just know he was a bad guy from the past with great powers and was so evil that he corrupted the weapons where his soul was sealed. Resuming, you can work on several different versions for his personality, motives, race and whatnot. This one, though uses almost the same appearance as the one of my other story (I think that look rocks on him!) is completely different. Want to see how much?

Well, let's now get to this show(finally)!

P.S.: If you can't guess who's narrating the prologue, I'll give you a tip: he narrated the one in the first game and its sequel

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**Everlasting Hope: Spirits and Demons**

_Prologue: The Second Invasion_

_Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree, the source of the world's mana and, consequently, life. However, war descended upon the two feuding nations of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. At first, it started as little skirmishes, but, with time, it aggravated, turning into a world-wide conflict… _

_With the war, came the search for new, more powerful weapons. Weapons that could use the world's mana as ammunition… _

_The development and consequent use of such weapons, which were produced by the so called magitechnology, lead to the consume of vast amounts of mana, which had a direct effect on the Giant Kharlan Tree…_

_Eventually… the tree withered and died…_

_The war, however, did not stop, burning away the remaining mana in the world, leading to the extinction of several species of beings, including the elves… _

_Few beings survived the burning of the world's mana. Between them the humans, who caused the war, and the last beings with elven blood in their veins: the half-elves…_

_It is said that; when the last elf drew his last breath, it began…_

_Portals opened all over the world and from them came unspeakable horrors, which the world has never seen in such great amount… these creatures were known, since the ancient times, as the demons…_

_They came in waves, consuming and destroying everything in their path. The human nations tried to stop them, but their magitechnology powered weaponry was useless with the absence of mana and their old weapons were of little to no effect against the bloodthirsty invaders…_

_The war eventually came to an end… with all Aselia as the loser and the demons emerging as the supreme victors…_

Dark clouds arose to the skies, as a city burned to the ground. Sounds of footsteps and boots could be heard from the streets. There were no more screams, for most of the population had either fled or was lying dead in the streets.

From the rooftop of a house built in one of the hills near the city, stood a solitary figure, with long, red-blood hair, divided in several thick strands that spread like snakes. His eyes scanned the burning scenery.

The figure wore a strange set of armor, which let the upper part of his chest uncovered, showing he had nothing under it. The rest of the armor was of a silver metal with inscriptions in several parts and its left shoulder and forearm protection missing. The figure also wore metal boots with details in red and brown and two metal, clawed gloves with two stones in the back of the hands.

The stranger finally found his target and smiled a wicked smile, showing two fang-like canines. He made a great jump from the roof of the building, seeming to disappear in the air…

_According to the ancient elven histories, demons were creatures that came from a spiritual realm known as Niflheim. Their objective is to destroy the entire creation and return it to its original state… _

_The Summon Spirits, the guardian entities of Aselia and keepers of the world's Equilibrium, protected us from the demons as well. However, after the death of the Giant Tree, the Spirits left the world due to the absence of mana, discontents with the disrespects of mankind, leaving it completely at the mercy of the demons…_

_Yet… the demons chose not to destroy Aselia…_

A blond, green eyed boy, wearing dark-blue clothes was running through the burning streets of the destroyed town, pulling along a brunette, petite, blue eyed girl, wearing white clothes with details and hems in brown. Right behind them was a group of armed people wearing helmets that covered most of their face, except the mouth.

The boy and the girl arrived at the city's plaza. They saw the other streets had been blocked by the rubble and the one leading to the exit of the town had more armed men, just like the ones pursuing them, coming.

The chasers finally caught up with the young couple, surrounding them with wicked smiles in their faces, like a predators ready to deliver the final blow to their prey. The boy and girl looked around and drew their weapons.

The boy had in his hands a sword with an inversed handle and the girl some kind of metal spinner. Their pursuers snickered. The young couple then felt an uncommon energy emanating from the armed men…

_After just some years of unopposed rule over Aselia, the demons sought followers; people who would follow their orders in exchange for survival or simply power…_

_The rejected and discriminated race of the half-elves saw that as an opportunity to exact revenge for the years of humiliation and suffering in the hands of the humans and pledged their loyalty to the new lords of the world…_

_The demons then injected their blood in the converted half-elves, bidding their very lives to the commands and will of their high hierarchy brethren. These half-demons became known as the Desians…_

Before the eyes of the young couple, their hunters became demonic beasts, growing fur, fangs and some even had their limbs shaped in weapons of bizarre appearance. Seeing the situation had gotten worse, the blond boy turned to the girl and said:

"Marta, run! I'll hold them off!", the brunette shook her head, stating in a firm tone:

"I'm not going to leave you to handle these monsters alone, Emil!"

One of the demon-Desians walked forth and spoke, in a deep gurgling voice:

"Hu, do you two really think you're going to leave this place alive? Our lord commanded your immediate deaths and we shall see to it!", the twisted half-elf lunged at the boy.

Like time itself had stopped, a pulse of energy came from Emil, who lowered his head, like a heartbeat. When the demon was half-way to the boy, with a feral grin in its face, its expression suddenly changed from victorious to one of pain.

The demon-Desian fell to the floor, a large gash on its chest, dark and purple energy emanating from it. Before a pool of blood could form, the grotesque creature turned into dots of red-poison light and evaporated in the air.

The other Desians looked up and saw Emil standing, with his sword stretched, the darkness from the previous attack dissipating. The blond boy then looked up, his eyes now a crimson color and a fierce, almost murderous gleam in them. He then spoke, in deeper, stronger and somewhat angry tone:

"Do you Desian scum think we're going to stay here and be your punch bags? Think again, you fools!"

Marta joined at Emil's side, with a determined look on her features. Some Desians swallowed dry, but lunged at the young couple notwithstanding…

_According to the elven songs, when the world was young, before the coming of Derris-Kharlan, the demons were already at Aselia, which was but a young planet with primitive life forms. After the spread of mana, which acted as the exact opposite to the energy that sustained and powered the demons, it's said that the Summon Spirits came to Aselia and, together with the elves and the life forms that evolved with the help of mana, drove the demons and their lords away…_

_The invasion of the demons at the final of the Kharlan War became known as the Second Invasion… commanding the invasion was the most ruthless creature to put its feet on Aselia. An avatar of despair and hatred…_

As the last Desian fell, Marta and Emil watched it dissipate in thousands of green-poison dots. It was then they felt a new presence approaching fast from above. The two looked in time to see a humanoid figure falling from the skies and crouching in the middle of the town's plaza.

The figure then stood tall, the shadow of its red-blood bangs covering its face. Marta let out a deaf exclamation as Emil clenched his teeth, recognizing the figure…

_Nebilim…_

The stranger then looked up to Marta and Emil, a psychotic and wicked smile on his face and eyes of a crimson tone darker then Emil's with slit-like irises. The stranger's form was human, however, his pointed years could indicat he was either an elf or a half-elf.

"Well, well, if it isn't my two favorite runaways…", Nebilim said, walking to them, his smile now reverting to simply wicked and dangerous. "You two always put up quite a show.", he looked around to the dissipating corpses of the Desians.

"Like I care about your opinion in entertainment.", Emil said, his tone seeming even angrier than before. "Get closer and I'll gut you alive."

"Huhuhu… always the one to threaten everything that displeases you. Isn't that right… ?", Nebilim turned his body to the side, closing his eyes as he spoke. He opened them, showing a malicious, piercing gleam as he spoke the next phrase in a deep, almost cold tone. "Ratatosk."

"And you always making a dramatic acting out of everything... now get out of our way!"

The blonde pointed his sword to Nebilim, who just smiled. Marta stood quite, observing the two. She wanted to do something to help Emil, but knew they weren't even close to match Nebilim in power. Not yet…

"Are you sure you want to fight me, Ratatosk?", Nebilim said, his smile never faltering. "You know very well your resistance would be a waste of both our time. Just give up and go reunite with your brethren."

"You're twice wrong, you demonic bastard.", Emil spoke, charging darkness on his blade. "I'm not going anywhere and my name is Emil! Dark Fang!"

Emil swung his sword, producing an ethereal blade made of darkness. Nebilim simply raised his hand and pointed his palm to the incoming attack. When it collided, it tried to push Nebilim's hand, just to start to shrink until it disappeared in the hand of the powerful being.

Nebilim felt another attack coming, this time it was wind blades. The powerful being avoided them with quick moves. When the attack stopped, he stood tall again, looking to Marta with a stone expression on his features as the girl just ended to spin her body.

"You certainly have an interesting taste for females, Ratatosk.", Nebilim said, putting his right hand on his side, his expression now a bothered one. "But I suppose you don't have the luxury to choose anything nowadays…"

Emil and Marta eyed their enemy, who spoke like they were having a casual conversation after a day of hard work.

"However, I'm afraid she won't mean anything in the end… but…", Nebilim then smirked again. "As a sign of compassion, I'll kill you both at the same time."

"I don't think so.", Emil said, his teeth clenched once more, as he inverted the grip on his sword and put it behind him, charging a new kind of energy on his blade; his spiritual energy. Marta noticed that and got worried.

"Emil. You can't be thinking on… !", she was interrupted by the crimson eyed boy.

"If I don't, we won't escape from him!", he said, as multicolored flames ignited around the blade.

"Hu, c'mon.", Nebilim said, still with his smirk. "You don't have enough power to use this Arte ye…"

"Wanna bet? Ain Soph Aur!", Emil then swung his blade, releasing a big blast of multicolored energy. Nebilim's smirk immediately dropped.

"No way. He shouldn't be able to…", the powerful being said to himself, observing the blast coming towards him. "Ungh!", Nebilim threw his arms to his front, using his metal clad hands to stop the incoming attack, which pushed back against him.

Emil was panting heavily as he observed the attack collide. Before collapse to the ground, Emil was caught by Marta, who called his name. The brunette felt he was still breathing and looked to Nebilim's direction, the ruthless being was still trying to repel the attack, which persisted in its attempt to engulf him. She passed Emil's right arm around her shoulder and bolted to the exit of the city.

"Wait... guh!", Nebilim said, looking to the girl, but the blast of spiritual energy pressed against him again. Nebilim grid his teeth. "Soul Reaper!", energy accumulated in the claws of the metal gauntlets, making the two crystals on them shine brightly. Nebilim then inverted the position of his hands and the claws of his gauntlets extended with demonic, flaming energy, piercing through the blast of Emil's attack.

The demonic general then spread his extended claws to the side, "ripping" the blast from its center to the borders and dispelling it. When the spiritual energy dispersed, Nebilim resumed his pose and looked to the entrance of the destroyed town. Marta and Emil were nowhere in sight.

"Dammit."

_As people lost their hope against the seemingly unbeatable opponent, the world started collapse right before their eyes as a consequence of the spreading of the demonic energy known as chaos and the burn of mana…_

_Forests withered and died or turned into stone in matter of days… _

_Healthy fields turned into waste lands…_

_Deserts expanded and the seas around glaciers froze, as the water of lakes and rivers either dried up or turned into poison…_

_All these events culminated in the coming of a new force to Aselia …_

_Angels descended from the skies, fighting and driving away demons attacking villages. These angels proclaimed themselves as members of the heavenly organization, the Cruxis. Agents of the goddesses… _

_As a small light of hope lit in the heart of people, they pleaded for the angels to banish the demons from Aselia and restore the equilibrium to the world… however, the angels refused to do so, claiming that entire situation was a result of the unmeasured greed and disrespect of the men with the life…_

_Cruxis stated that if they were to destroy the demons threatening the world, humanity should atone for their crimes and the crimes of their parents and ancestors, following a path of illumination and atonement. Once the spirits of the men turned noble and earned forgiveness in the eyes of the goddesses, just then, the angels would save Aselia…_

_With that, the church of Cruxis was born, devoted to follow the Faith, a collection of teachings handed down by Cruxis themselves and which the new society should be build upon… however, the punishment to those who did not follow the teachings of Cruxis' Faith was violent and, for times, those who broke the teachings threatened to have their communities lose the protection of the angels, turning into easy preys to the demons once more…_

_When news of demons disguising themselves as humans to spy towns and villages started to spread, a general paranoia and panic took a hold of the heart of people and all those that broke the teachings of Cruxis' Faith were seen as agents of the demons, depending on the gravity of the violation…_

_Cornered between the constant demonic menace, the fanatic followers of Cruxis and the slow spiral of destruction the world was facing, hope began to give place to desperation, fear and indifference…_

_Even so, from the masses of the dreamless and hopeless, emerged two new groups. These groups, though composed by the population of the shattered, enemy countries of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, abandoned the senseless hatred which was the cause of the war and band together for the sake of freeing the world from the demonic grip and finding an alternate path from Cruxis' seemingly unreachable one…_

_These groups are known as the Sylvaranti Liberation Front, the Vanguard, and the Tethe'allan Renegades…_

_

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_

*I'm sure you're imagining who's the Yuri pairing. Well, I can't say for now who it is, just that it doesn't involve Marta or Sheena. I don't want to get mauled by the Sheelloyd fanclub (which I'm a member of) or any EmilXMarta lovers. Oops, I let out the main couples. Oh well, it was intentional anyway.

Don't forget to check my profile to see about what I exactly need to be reviewed if you want to apply to read this fic.


	2. Runaways in Luin

Hello again people!

Like I said I wasn't going to post until either I get a beta-reader or feel like I need to, but well, someone finally applied! :D Though I still need one more, so please, those interested, read in my profile to know what I need for you to review about (which is grammar in the case you apply without even reading).

Anyway, thanks **Maurice A. Nigma** for the help!

Before we start, some extra warnings: since this fic is practically an altenate reality of the historical events in Symphonia, you have to remember the following: most of the heroes, save by those with family ties, don't know each other. So that means, don't hope to see any Emil fighting Lloyd or Marta angry with Colette scene. Some of them have new threats in their personalities too (remember, this is a demon ruled world, so you can't expact them to be _exactly_ the same as in the games), but nothing that makes them differ that greatly from how they originally are.

Oh, and you'll notice I'll be using Lloyd's personality from the first game. Why? Because in the second he looked more like a mini-Kratos. Well, I suppose the directors of the game took the whole "like father, like son" to the letter there. Now enough of rambling, let's get on with this show!

P.S.: Seriously, I need a second beta-reader. This is not an easy project, you know.

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_Act I: A Shattered World_

**Chapter 1**

**Runaways in Luin**

The sun shone brightly in the summer skies, which didn't have a single cloud on it. However, no one seemed to be paying attention to the weather, for the scenery around the town of Luin was becoming more depressing as the days passed. The woods near the city were withering slowly and the farms that supplied the region were suffering with the prolonged dryness.

To make matters worse, a crowd of Desians had been sighted coming to the village that morning from the nearby Human Ranch. With the commission came the leader of the ranch himself; Kvar, the Deadly Thunder.

Everybody knew that when Kvar and his Desians came, someone would be taken to the ranch and nobody would be able to stop it, for nobody was idiot enough to die a horrible death in the hands of the Desian Grand Cardinal. That was how the people close to the Asgard Ranch lived: suffering in silence and impotent against the Desians.

Some even tried to abandon the cities, going to the ones protected by Cruxis. However, demons roamed the roads, as well as some surviving species of monsters. So, few were really willingly to set out in the unknown with high chances of ending up as the meal of some crazed monster or a famished demon.

The Desian commission finally entered into the view of the people walking near the east entrance of Luin. Some immediately went inside the Inn, others to their houses, closing the windows. The few bystanders that didn't have anywhere to go scooted near the walls, as the figure of Kvar was finally clear in the Desian commission. Nobody had option, but bow to him as he passed, not sparing a look to the humans around, but very aware of his surroundings.

That was the torturous routine of the Desians' "visits." They would come, the people would be forced to bow to their "superiors," take some unfortunate chosen ones and go back to the ranch. After that, people returned to their activities like nothing had happened, trying very hard to ignore the absence and the loss of more of the town's people.

The Desian Grand Cardinal scanned through the crowd when he arrived at the commercial district and located a stand with apples on sale. The shopkeeper there was absolutely terrified when he saw the ruthless half-demon approaching. Kvar took one of the apples and bit it, tasting the fruit. He threw it back at the vendor after some seconds, hitting the man in the forehead with a mild force, but enough for the human shopkeeper to feel pain.

"Rotten.", was all that Kvar said to the man, taking another apple and tasting it, just to throw it back at the chest of the man. "Every...one...of...them."

"F-forgive us, L-lord K-k-kvar.", the man said, making a deep bow to the Desian, almost touching his face in the stand. "We h-have had a bad s-season lately with the dry and…", when the man looked up he saw Kvar's staff centimeters away of his face.

"I didn't ask for any of your pathetic excuses, inferior being.", Kvar said, an evil smirk making itself present as he charged electricity on his staff.

Before the man could utter another word, he was hit by a powerful electrical blast and thrown backwards. The strong charges caused the heart of the man to stop and he was dead before hit the ground. As the body of the poor victim twitched due to the last remnants of the electrical current cursing through his body, the people around the plaza of the district exclaimed in horror. Women covered their mouths as parents tried to hide their children, fearing another action from the Grand Cardinal.

Kvar then turned to the crowd, smiling at his deed as his soldiers laughed at the fear of people and the misfortune of the first victim of their visit. The half-demon known as the Deadly Thunder looked around, asking to the crowd:

"Is there any other inferior being that would like to whine about his problems?", a deadly silence befell the plaza. "Good. Just how you should be: silent and obedient, other than blabbering and rebellious, like in the War."

The Desian soldiers laughed louder at that. They simply loved to throw at the humans' face why they were in that situation in the first place and how they were now being oppressed by the ones that they had oppressed during the Kharlan War. It was a psychological tactic the Desians and even some demons used to further crush the people's moral.

The Desian group then resumed their walk around town, apparently selecting people for them to take to the ranch. Meanwhile, in a nearby alley, a young man, wearing a white shirt, red jacket with silver, metal buttons along the zipper, black pants, red boots and a red scarf around his collar observed the Desian commission, with a scowl and hatred in his eyes, especially when they befell over Kvar.

He would like nothing more than to simply walk into the plaza and stab Kvar several times in different vital points and the urge to do that was almost unbearable. However, he reminded himself he had promised he wouldn't do anything rash or stupid. He knew Kvar was far out his league, so all he could do was to train and…

"Hey, Lloyd.", a voice called for the brown haired young man. Another boy, this one blond, and a blond girl came to Lloyd, both bearing arrogant expressions on their faces.

"Caio… Mellani…", Lloyd regarded the two, who looked to the plaza, where they could see the Desians leaving.

"Death glaring Kvar again, huh? That's not going to take you even close to beat him, you know.", Caio said.

"Oh, don't be so harsh, brother. What else could a troublemaker like Lloyd actually do?", Mellani said in a snicker.

Lloyd sighed. Those two simply loved to make fun of him. Not that he cared anyway. Few people in the city seemed to actually do any effort against the Desians. The most they did was to try to forget the fact there was a ranch near their city and that part of their families was being held there. That was the kind of people the citizens of Luin had became since Kvar turned into the leader of the region.

"Why do you keep doing that Lloyd? You know you'll never defeat Kvar.", Mellani said.

"If I train hard, I might…", Lloyd started, but was interrupted by Caio.

"Train? With those two swords? Man, I don't know if you're more of a weirdo or an idiot."

Lloyd sighed again, now in annoyance. People often mocked him because of his choice of weapon, but at least he was doing something other than being condescending and forgetting those suffering in the hands of the Desians.

"Someone has to do something.", Lloyd said, in a stern voice.

"You're just going to end up bringing more trouble to Luin.", Mellani said. "Just because you can beat one or two Desians, that doesn't mean you're up to take out the big ones."

"Yeah, but there are people who would agree with me. That's why I'm training to become stronger."

"You mean the Vanguard?", Caio asked, a sly smile on his face. "So you sympathize with them?"

"Why wouldn't I? They fight to give people hope and…"

"That was all we needed to hear.", Caio said, a wicked smile making itself present on his face. The tone of the young blonde made Lloyd get in alert.

"What do you mean?" the dual swordsman asked.

"We've pledged our loyalty to Lord Nebilim sometime ago.", Mellani began to explain, with a smile similar to her brother's. "He doesn't recruit humans too often, you know? So it was really like a life-time chance."

"And guess what? He gave us our first mission: to kill a sympathizer of the Vanguard or the Renegades we know. And you're the one we choose. Congratulations Lloyd.", Caio said, in a mock compliment.

Lloyd's eyes widened at hearing that. He knew Caio and Mellani could be real jerks, but to hand over their lives to Nebilim, the leader of the demons and, consequently, Desians, was a completely different thing.

"You can't be serious!" Lloyd said, his tone raising.

"Oh, but we are quite serious.", Caio said.

"Then you're completely crazy. Did you forget what is the price to ally with the demons? Did you forget they are the reason we're suffering like this in the first place?"

"We're just making sure we have a future in this world.", Mellani spoke. "And if for that we have to side with the demons, so be it. Better that than being killed by them."

Before Lloyd could react, Caio reached for the brown haired young's neck. However, the arm of the blond boy had transformed when he did so, growing in length and gaining some muscles, ripping his sleeve. The skin of the boy had also gained a dark red tone.

"Now what are you gonna do, huh?", Caio said, his tone turning almost sadistic as he threw Lloyd to the ground. The dual swordsman skidded in the dirt ground before recover. "Why don't ya go crying for your daddy, huh? Oh yeah, I forgot…", the half-demon said. "Your father abandoned you, didn't he?"

That was enough for Lloyd to lose his patience with those two. He quickly drew his two metal swords and positioned himself for combat, crossing his blades in the diagonal, one pointing to the ground and the other to the side. Lloyd then spoke, anger dripping in his voice:

"Don't...ever...talk about my father like you know anything about him!"

"Whatever.", Caio said.

With a last smirk, the half-demon transformed completely, turning into a dark-red demon with black claws and golden spikes replacing his blonde hair. The transformed creature lunged for Lloyd, who prepared to fight.

When demon-Caio was almost at attacking range, several wind blades collided with his back in sequence, at first just making him flinch, but soon his defense was broken and they cut his back. The half-demon stopped, clutching his wound.

"What the…?", demon-Caio said, his sister and he looking back to see a brunette girl in the other end of the alley.

Lloyd noticed the girl had one arm stretched and on the back of her hand she had some kind of metal disk which was stopping to spin. The girl then looked to the two half-demons, with what seemed disgust in her eyes.

"Hey, you big bully, why don't you mess with someone your size?", she said.

"What did you say?", Mellani spoke in anger.

"You heard me. What's up with you people anyway? Got so scared of the demons that you would join them? Or did you just think it was an easy way to get power? Let me say this: joining them just prove how weak you are.", the brunette's tone was one of scold.

Caio gritted his teeth and advanced to the girl. Lloyd shouted for the girl to get away as the rampaging demon went to her. However, the girl simply smiled, crouching slightly as the half-demon came to her.

Caio tried to smash her with a punch, but the girl jumped at the last second, avoiding the attack. She spun in the air, several times, swinging her spinner, leaving gashes on the arm of the transformed human while describing an ark in the air. When she was near demon-Caio's head, her spinner started to spin faster.

Wind seemed to gather around the weapon, creating a spectral extension of the edge. The girl then swung it in the neck of the half-demon, effectively decapitating him. The brunette then landed on her right knee, "closing" her spinner as the head of her monstrous adversary fell, together with his body.

"Brother!", Mellani shouted. She turned to the girl that had defeated her corrupted brother. "You! You're gonna pay for that!"

A green-poison aura surrounded Mellani, as her eyes shone in a cruel, yellow color, Lloyd knew she probably was about to transform into her demon form too. It was then a blue blur passed near the brunette fighter that had defeated Caio and rushed to Mellani, right when her canines started to grow.

Before the corrupted girl could complete her transformation a large blade pierced her chest, exiting by her back as all she could do was to gasp and look surprised. Facing the girl was a blonde boy with green-emerald eyes, wearing one of the strangest clothes Lloyd ever saw.

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you kill innocent people.", the boy said, as Mellani coughed blood.

The blue clad young took his sword out of the corrupted girl as her demon-brother started to disappear in several green-poison dots. She then dropped to the floor. The blonde swordsman sheathed his sword as the brunette approached him.

"There you are. What took you so long?", the brunette girl asked to the swordsman, in a friendly tone.

"I was trying to avoid the Desians.", the boy answered.

Lloyd approached the two, making a sound of clearing his throat to call their attention. The two turned to him, seeming a little curious. The dual swordsman then spoke:

"Thanks for… saving me."

"It was nothing.", the girl said, with a smile on her face, which soon turned into a neutral expression. "We don't like guys like that anyway. Killing people for their benefit."

"Well, it wasn't like I would sit and let they rip me apart.", Lloyd inputted, looking to the side.

The girl giggled, knowing Lloyd's manly pride had probably gotten the best of him. The blond swordsman then noticed Lloyd's sheathed blades, but stayed quiet. He called his female companion's attention, but hesitated, trying not to sound impolite in the front of the swordsman they had just saved:

"We…should get going."

"Oh, right.", the girl replied, looking to her companion. She turned to Lloyd and waved a bye as they started to go to the plaza.

Lloyd watched the two go when he felt he should return them the favor, after all, they did save him from those two corrupted teens. Lloyd ran and caught up with the couple, asking them:

"Are you going to the Inn?", the two nodded in answer. "The innkeeper was taken to the ranch two months ago. It's been closed since then." the two, young warriors showed worried expressions at that. "If you want, you can come to my house."

"Really? Won't it be an inconvenient for you?", the blond boy asked.

"Nah. It's the least I can do for you two saving me."

"Well, I really don't want to sleep in the ground this time, so…", the girl said, smiling again. "Thank you for the offer. By the way, my name's Marta."

"I'm Emil.", the blond swordsman presented himself.

"I'm Lloyd, nice to meet you. Now let's go before the Desians come here."

The three left for the east exit of Luin. Lloyd told the two travelers he lived in the outskirts of the city, so they wouldn't be bothered by the Desian mob in the town. Marta and Emil seemed really relieved about that, though they tried to hide it. They soon arrived in a cottage, near the forest.

Lloyd took his keys and opened the door. As the trio entered, Emil and Marta noticed the place was very organized. It wasn't very bright, but it had a cozy atmosphere. In the center of the living room was a table and at its left a kitchen. In the opposite wall there were two doors, probably leading to the rooms, as well as one at the right.

"I know it's small, but…" Lloyd started, but Marta interrupted.

"I think it seems very comfortable, like the type of house a man built for his woman and kids to live in."

"Actually, my dad did build it."

"Really?", Marta asked. Lloyd nodded, glad that someone appreciated the house his father built for him. "Wow! That's so romantic!", Marta said, clasping her hands together, putting them near her face while she closed her eyes. Her tone was the one of someone daydreaming.

"That must have taken a lot of work.", Emil mused.

"Emil!", Marta said, reverting from admired to slightly annoyed. "That's not a nice thing to say!", Emil flinched when Marta's face came close to him, with a startled expression on his face. Marta then reverted to her dreaming and romantic state, putting her clasped hands at the side of her face while speaking in a shooting tone. "There's nothing more romantic than a man building a house for his wife with his own hands. You should learn from Lloyd's dad example.", Marta went back to her annoyed state at the last phrase.

Lloyd didn't know if he should laugh or be amused by Marta's mood swings. He chose to remain with a neutral expression on his face for Emil's sake, who lowered his head, apologizing. Thinking it would be better for them to change the subject, Lloyd spoke:

"Anyway, here's the guest room.", he went to the door at the right side of the house and opened it. "There's a bed and a couch, but we don't get many visitors, so there's only one bed."

"In that case, you should take the bed while I sleep in the couch, Marta," Emil said.

"Do you really have to? I don't mind sharing with you.", Marta said with a smile, inclining herself forward, with her eyes closed. Emil, to say the least, was beet red at the proposal.

"Uh… are you guys… ?", Lloyd asked, starting to feel a little awkward at being in the middle of that talk, a sweat drop falling by the back of his head.

"N-no! W-we're not like that!", Emil rushed to say, still with his face completely red.

Marta seemed a little down at hearing Emil deny that, but Lloyd could just look from one another. It didn't take a genius to know what the girl's true intentions towards her partner were. Lloyd decided not to talk about it, it wasn't any of his business.

"I'm going to cook something. You two can set your things in the room.", Lloyd said, breaking the awkward silence. His guests nodded to him and entered the small room while Lloyd went to the kitchen in the living room.

The dual swordsman could hear some talk from the guest room. That made he feel more at ease than he had in a long time. Silence often gave him the impression that something was stalking him from the shadows, waiting for its opportunity to attack. Some people that he talked to in Luin had the same opinion.

According to some elders, ever since the demons came, the world had been quieter and quieter. Some said it was because life was slowly seeping away from it, just like mana had. Others because many people were dying at once, day by day. Anyway, Lloyd was never one to get worked up on philosophic talks. The only thing he needed to know was that it was good to have some company in that house again.

Minutes passed and the young man called his two guests, who came from the guest room with their noses up in the air, sensing the smell of the steak Lloyd had just cooked. It was one of his best dishes.

"This look delicious.", Marta said, looking at the piece of steak with hungry eyes, like she hasn't eaten for what seemed days.

"Wait until you taste it.", Lloyd said. He was never one to praise himself, but if there was one thing about himself that he feel proud about were his skills in surviving by himself.

Emil and Marta sat in the table while Lloyd produced something for them to drink. He didn't have much; just some old juices, water and a wine from his parents. The last harvests of the nearby farms hadn't been good, so he didn't have much in store. He decided to pick some of the fruit juice that was still good.

The blond swordsman was eating some of his piece of the steak, his face lit up in what seemed amazement, as he served himself another portion and eat with more enthusiasm. Marta seemed equally hungry. Lloyd looked at the two, wondering when the last time they had a decent meal was. Good thing he had cooked for four people, since he by himself was always the hungry type.

"This is very good.", Emil said, after swallowing what he had in his mouth. "Who taught you to do this?"

"My mom. Dad also tried sometimes, but he was never very good at it.", Lloyd explained.

Marta ended her plate and gave a sigh of contentment. She then looked to a desk near a bookshelf, which contained objects and photos other than books. One particular photo in the desk called her attention: It showed a brunette woman, hair the same color has Lloyd's, and a man with a posture and expression of someone that had seen many things in his life. In the photo, the man was smiling. Between the two, in the arms of the woman, was a little boy.

"Those are your parents?", Marta asked, pointing to the photo. Emil and Lloyd (who was already serving himself and eating all in his plate in a fast pace) looked to where she was pointing. The young man swallowed his food before answering:

"Yeah, that's them."

"Where are they?", Emil asked, seeming really curious.

"My mom was killed by the Desians…", Lloyd said, in a somber tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry for asking.", Emil said in a legitimate sorry tone.

"It's ok. I still have my dad.", Lloyd said.

"And where is he?", Marta asked.

"He left one year ago to join the Vanguard and the Renegades."

"Really? Don't you get lonely here, all by yourself?"

"It's ok for me. My dad and I have trained swordsmanship since I was little and he and my mom traveled with me a lot.", Lloyd decided to omit the fact they were actually on run from the Desians. "So I kinda learned how to take care of myself in any situation."

"Seems like your father was preparing you for the day he left.", Emil stated.

Lloyd got a little surprised that the young blonde had made such an accurate analysis with so little information. The brunette young man nodded to Emil, saying he was right about it.

"Someday, I'll also leave this village and go after dad to fight together with him against the Desians and the demons. I didn't do it when he left because he said I was still too young and inexperienced. So I train to improve my skills and get ready to join the Vanguard and the Renegades.", Lloyd said.

"So that was why those two were pestering you back there. You do want to join them.", Marta spoke.

"Why not? They're fighting to restore people's hope."

"What about Cruxis?", Emil inquired.

Lloyd caught the undertone in the other swordsman's voice. He couldn't blame Emil for being wary around him, though. In truth, he would do the same thing, since they just met.

"I don't…really like them. I know they are very strong against the demons and all, but…they can be as violent as the Desians against people that don't follow them.", Lloyd said, looking Emil in the eyes the entire time, like trying to read what would be the blond swordsman's answer before he spoke it.

"I understand. I think just the same.", Emil said, without faltering on his answer, his eyes mirroring his honesty.

Marta looked from one boy to another, feeling the tension in the room. Suddenly, the two boys smiled to one another and returned to their plates. Marta sighed in relief. For one instant, she feared the two would get in a fight.

After eating the rest of their dinner, Emil offered to do the dishes, though Lloyd tried to protest, saying he was the one that invited them, so he wouldn't ask them to do house chores. Emil insisted once more and an argue broke between the two. Not exactly an argument, more like a friendly discussion. Marta got tired of hearing the two trading different arguments and got up, taking the plates before they could even ask her what she was doing.

When the petite brunette was near the sink, she said:

"I'm going to do the dishes and you two better not even try to protest.", her tone was one of command. Lloyd and Emil gulped and nodded to her, wordlessly.

After that the trio went to sleep, each one saying their "goodnight" to the other. Lloyd laid down, feeling like the house wasn't just an empty, wooden space again, now that he could hear and feel people walking around.

He was still a bit curious about those two, as to why they were traveling alone in roads full of demons and rampaging monsters, not to mention about how easily they took Caio and Mellani out, like they had already fought against people like that. Shrugging, Lloyd decided to guard those questions for tomorrow…


	3. Chaos at Doorstep

New chapter coming up!

- Digi-power-Wargreymon: I can't say much about it without causing spoilers, but just rememer one thing: like in the original game, here not all of the half-elves turned into Desians/half-demons, some actually oppose to them. You'll see some examples soon.

Also, as the story progress, I'll be adding some notes about the new reallity I inserted our heroes into. Since this story mix elements from the two games, somethings, like the names of monsters and spells, had to be altered not to cause so much confusion. I'll explain it latter on.

For now, enjoy the reading! Soon a character we all like and love will appear (besides the one that appears here), so stay tuned! ; )

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**Chapter 2**

**Chaos at Doorstep**

The fields around Luin once held a great lush, but now even the grass seemed to have lost its green color. The ground of the road seemed to have dried as some cracks could be seen along the dirt path. Walking through that dry road were two figures.

One was a creature similar to a wolf, but it was so big and its constitution almost humanoid someone could easily think wolves have somehow evolved due to the harsh conditions of the world. The wolfish creature had grayish-blue fur and sharp, dark claws at the show. Walking besides it was a man, his clothes were so ragged and dirty it made it look like he had been living in the middle of the jungle.

The wolfish creature was sniffing the ground, following the scent of their prey. It then started to growl as it located the last destination its target had stopped.

"Easy, Graar. Easy." the man said, patting his oversized, beastly partner in the head. All the creature did was to stop emitting the growl, but it was still with its sharp fangs clenched. The man then looked to the city ahead. "So, they decided to stop by here…"

- / - / - / -

Lloyd woke at the same time Marta and Emil and was doing breakfast. The girl seemed to be smiling at something as Emil stayed with a neutral expression, like thinking in what they would do next.

Lloyd searched through the kitchen's shelves, but found bread and condiments for just one person. He thought on a solution; a trip to the market in town didn't take much time, so he probably should be able to do that in a matter of minutes if he ran. The dual swordsman went to his room and retrieved his red jacket and swords while Emil and Marta just observed him. When Lloyd appeared again, he said:

"I'm going to buy something for our breakfast at the town's market. It won't take too long, so can you both wait here?"

"Sure." Emil said.

"Don't worry with us." Marta assured Lloyd.

Nodding, the red clad swordsman ran through the road outside Luin, arriving in the city in no time and quickly locating the market. He entered and greeted the elderly shopkeeper, who was checking some items behind the counter while returning the greet to the young man. Lloyd quickly found what he needed and soon filled a bag with everything he saw that was in a good state.

Since the drought started, Luin was keeping supplies to feed its population, but there was a constant fear that, if the situation didn't improve, the city would be without food for some time. Merchants didn't take the route to the city very often because of the human ranch at the north, so Luin had just the nearby farms to count on supplying it.

As Lloyd was going to the counter, the door to the market opened with strength. At the doorstep was a man with grayish-blue hair and dirt and torn clothes, which reminded Lloyd a little of a hunter that stayed too much time in the woods. He was slim, but his face seemed almost to be feral and his eyes had an odd yellow color to them.

As the man approached, Lloyd's instincts entered in alarm. There was something off about that stranger and the boy didn't like that a bit. Generally, his instincts were right, like when there was a Desian stalking him, disguised in the middle of the crowd. He achieved to get in an open area to confront and kill the Desian, who seemed to be out just to have some fun, in a bloody fashion.

The shopkeeper was a little startled by the newcomer's appearance, but didn't show it, thinking that person had probably escaped from some sort of fight with a demon. The stranger approached the counter as the shopkeeper was calculating the price of everything Lloyd had bought and started to talk in a casual way:

"Hello. Have you seen a girl and boy traveling together around here?"

"No, sir, I haven't. Why?" the shopkeeper asked.

"They are my friends and I'm a little worried about them. They said they would be around this area."

The man's tone was a little gruff, so much Lloyd could swear he heard a growl or two while the stranger talked. The way that he spoke made Lloyd suspicious too. He was starting to consider there wasn't any truth to the words of that man.

"What about you, boy?" the man said, looking Lloyd by the corner of his eyes. The boy felt a strong sting inside him when the man's eyes locked on his. He definitely did not like that person. "Have you seen a brunette girl and a blond boy?" the man's tone turned a little harsher.

_He talks like he knows that I've got something to hide. But who could he be…?_ Lloyd thought, until he realized. Emil and Marta.

"So?" the man asked again and Lloyd realized the expression of comprehension in his face.

_Dammit. Now he's going to get even more suspicious._

"Lloyd," the shopkeeper called, handing Lloyd the price of everything he bought. The old man also felt a little nervous at seeing the way the stranger was looking to Lloyd. "Have you seen anyone that looks like the people this sir is looking for?"

Lloyd looked from one man to the other. He knew the shopkeeper was just asking that because he was afraid that strange man could do something, like start a fight. The young man then looked to the suspicious adult and spoke:

"I haven't seen anyone with that appearance." saying it, Lloyd took the food he bought and left, with the wild-looking man's eyes upon him.

As soon as the dual swordsman was out of the store, he broke into a run to his house. He had to warn Emil and Marta. Lloyd soon arrived near his cottage and gave a sigh of relief as he slowed his pace. He entered quickly and closed the door behind himself, startling Emil and Marta a little. The dual swordsman breathed deeply as he tried to recover.

"What happened? You look like you've met a demon general." Emil asked.

"In the market… there was a man… he was looking for you…" Lloyd said, taking time to breath.

Emil and Marta yelled a "what?" as their faces showed fear. Lloyd was about to repeat what he had just said, but before he could do so, something broke through the door of his house, grabbing him and dragging himq outside. The dual swordsman was so startled he didn't react in time. Emil and Marta called for his name, drawing their weapons.

When Lloyd recovered from the shock, he saw himself face to face with a big, humanoid, grayish-blue wolf, snarling at him, with its yellow, sharp fangs bare to him. The creature was holding Lloyd with its great front paw, almost crushing his torso.

"I knew you smelled suspicious…", a growl-like voice said. Lloyd looked to the side and saw the man he had seen in the market. "Good work tracking down the little, human rat Graar.", the stranger said to the demonic-looking wolf.

"Grawlrus.", Marta exclaimed, seeing Lloyd being held by the demon wolf and the wild-looking man at the side of the beast

"Hello, you two. Taking refuge in human villages again?", the man, Grawlrus, spoke. "I thought Lord Nebilim had made it clear that as long as you two are alive, lives shall perish. You humans are so stubborn."

"Nebilim…", Lloyd whispered. That man was clearly a demon in disguise, working for Nebilim, and apparently he was after Emil and Marta.

"Now, are you two going to surrender, or should I leave Graar have this human as a meal?" the disguised demon asked, a wicked smile forming in his feral features. "Better make up your mind quick. Graar tends to get impatient when he's hungry."

Emil and Marta looked from Lloyd to Grawlrus. Lloyd didn't understand much about the situation, but one thing was made clear to him; Emil and Marta were fighting against the demons and they should be strong people for Nebilim to torment them personally.

Deciding he wouldn't be used as a hostage in that sinister deal, the dual swordsman released his arms as the demon-wolf that was holding him was too distracted looking and snarling to the young couple and quickly took his blades, drawing them and cutting the arm of the great wolf in the process, though not being able to sever it.

The demon-wolf howled in pain as Lloyd fell and ran from the two. Emil and Marta saw that and advanced too as Grawlrus clenched his teeth and went after Lloyd. Graar recovered from the attack and lunged at Marta, who skillfully avoided the attack of the wolf demon.

Lloyd stopped and turned to see Grawlrus coming to him, flexing his fingers, like he was about to slash at Lloyd with them. The dual swordsman guessed he probably was hiding his claws. However, Emil got in the front of the disguised demon and swung his sword. Lloyd could swear he saw something that resembled black fog involving the blade as the young blonde swung it.

Grawlrus jumped behind as an ethereal blade of darkness was produced from Emil's sword and shot to him. He defended from it with his arms, crossing them in the front of his body. The attack produced a cut in Grawlrus' arms, but didn't seem so serious.

Lloyd decided to leave the demon to Emil and went to help Marta, who was dodging from Graar's attacks. The dual swordsman noticed that when she attacked, wind seemed to gather around her spinner and form blades that cut through the fur of the otherworldly wolf.

Marta was about to attack again, when Graar slammed his front paws in the ground, making it shake slightly. The brunette girl almost lost her equilibrium, but the time she spent trying to stand on her feet was enough for the wolf demon to lunge at her with its jaws wide open. Before it could bite Marta down, however, Lloyd came in and slashed at the side of the great beast with all his might, knocking it to the side.

"Thanks Lloyd." Marta said to her savior.

"Now we're even." Lloyd said with a mild smile on his face as the other fighter returned the smile. The two then turned to see Graar standing again on his four, preparing to lung at them.

Meanwhile, Emil was locked in a fierce duel against Grawlrus, who was showing a frustrated expression at seeing his prey fighting back with such vigor. He looked to Graar and saw his beastly partner was having some difficulties too, though it achieved to land some blows in Lloyd and Marta using his speed.

Grawlrus then jumped back and rushed to Marta in great speed. Before Emil could even warn his partner about the approaching demon, Marta was grabbed by her arm and tossed with violence in the direction of the city.

"Graar, fetch!" the disguised demon commanded, as his wolf companion saw Marta landing in the city and immediately turned his back to Lloyd and ran after the girl.

Grawlrus jumped and landed on Graar's back with great ease. Lloyd and Emil saw that and ran after the two demons.

"Damn! He's probably wanting to use the entire city as a hostage!" Lloyd exclaimed.

The young man turned to Emil, but saw he hadn't uttered a single word. The look in the blond boy's eyes was of pure concentration. Lloyd then felt something strange in the air as Emil rushed his pace. It felt almost like a heartbeat and it came from the blond swordsman.

Deciding to leave the questions for later, Lloyd heard the sound of things being broken and a gasp that sounded like Marta. The two saw her running to the commercial district as Grawlrus came from up and tried to smash her with a punch, creating a crater in the ground and destroying a nearby statue of a knight in the process.

Emil gave a great jump in the air and aimed for the disguised demon, giving a battle cry as he descended. Grawlrus looked up, a surprised look in his face and the blade of the blond swordsman descended, darkness swirling around it. He jumped to the side, avoiding being cleaved, but received a gash in his leg. Lloyd went after Marta, who was avoiding Graar's attacks. She had scratches on her right arm and leg.

The brunette girl tried to avoid another attack, but pain jolted through her leg as she forced her weight on it. She had almost distended it when she landed. The minutes of distraction were enough for Graar to tackle Marta to the ground and glare at her from above, opening his mouth.

Marta tried to fight back, but the wolf demon had pinned her arms to the ground. She could almost smell death coming from the oversized wolf's breath. As Graar was ready to bite the jugular of the girl off, Lloyd's voice came:

"Leave her alone, you fur bag!"

The dual swordsman jumped and landed on the back of the wolf, thrusting his swords into the back of the beast, making it howl in pain again and stopping it from finishing Marta. The grayish-blue wolf, tried to take Lloyd off its back, but the young man twisted his swords inside the back of the demon, making it twist its body in pain.

Marta took the chance and got up, gathering the wind around her weapon, murmuring something inaudible while doing so. Before she could slash at the neck of the great wolf, Graar threw Lloyd from his back, by hindering on his front legs. The young man fell over Marta, in an almost comical way.

Emil and Grawlrus continued with their fight in the bridge that connected the residential to the commercial district. Part of it was already destroyed and the swordsman was currently defending himself from the ferocious attacks of his opponent.

"What's the matter? Tired already?" Grawlrus taunted Emil, as he landed a kick in the boy's chest. "Too bad. Cause I didn't even started to warm up!"

Grawlrus flexed his fingers again and prepared to cleave Emil, but before his claws could reach him, a pulse of energy came from swordsman and he put his sword up, blocking the attack with ease. Grawlrus had felt the energy emanating from Emil right before he defended the attack and heard what he could swear sounded like a heartbeat.

"Then you're going to die knowing you underestimated me!" Emil said, in a much deeper and brasher voice, looking to the eyes of his adversary with his now crimson ones.

Grawlrus seemed surprised at the sudden transformation and left his guard open. Emil took that chance and quickly jumped, slashing at the side of his opponent and proceeding to impale the belly of his adversary. Grawlrus gasped as he felt the blade coming out by his back.

Emil unleashed a wave of darkness through his sword as he lifted it, with his demonic adversary still on it. He threw Grawlrus above his head and to the commercial district, taking his sword off the body of the demon. Emil ran to the next district, knowing that attack had gravely wounded his adversary, but wouldn't be enough to kill him. Smiling a sinister smile as he saw Grawlrus getting up from the ground while coughing blood, the crimson-eyed swordsman slowly approached the demon.

"Any last words before I send your worthless carcass back to Niflheim?" Emil asked with a certain tone of pleasure in his voice.

"I would… look around first… if I were you…" Grawlrus said, cocking his head to the side.

Emil gave a brief look, but soon turned completely at seeing Graar had Marta and Lloyd on his front paws. Both were struggling to try and get free, but without success. Emil cursed under his breath.

"Now… I don't know about the boy…" Grawlrus began again, getting up. "But you certainly do care for the girl… so, unless you want her death plaguing your conscience, Ratatosk, you'll drop your weapon."

Lloyd and Marta stopped struggling at seeing Emil there. The red clad swordsman replayed mentally the name Grawlrus had spoken:

_Ratatosk… why does it sound familiar?_ Lloyd wondered. He was certain he never met anyone that went by that name before.

Uttering another curse, Emil dropped his weapon, closing his eyes. Lloyd and Marta screamed for him not to do it, but it was too late. Grawlrus grinned at seeing this and quickly approached Emil grabbing him by the throat.

"I can't believe you actually thought I would release the little wench. Lord Nebilim commanded her death too, you know? As for the boy, I think Graar deserves a snack after all the trouble you caused to us." the demon said.

Marta and Lloyd called for Emil again, but to their surprise, they heard him chuckle. Grawlrus looked at the young blonde in confusion. Emil then looked to the disguised demon square in the eyes, his expression fierce as he spoke:

"And I can't believe you actually thought I would trust in you, demons. Tenebrae, now!"

Several thinks happened at once. Lloyd heard an invisible voice shout: "Go my servant! Attack!", heard Graar give out a roar of pain as a jagged blade came out of his chest and saw Grawlrus look to his beast companion while Emil kicked him in the chest with his two feet, freeing himself and catching his sword back.

Lloyd looked to Graar and saw that behind the demon wolf there was a black, winged creature, which had another blade like the one that impaled Graar sprouting from its other arm. The monster took his natural weapon off the demon and took the chance to punch it, knocking out the oversized wolf.

Grawlrus clenched his teeth and went to his brethren's aid, kneeling over the wounded Graar. He then looked to Lloyd and pointed a dirt-covered finger to the young man, proclaiming:

"You just got yourself an enemy, boy! We will hunt you down like a dog and exterminate anyone close to you!"

A runic circle formed bellow Graar and Grawlrus, turning the two into blue spheres of light, which were absorbed by the magic circle. It then faded away, as Lloyd finally let his breath loose.

Emil, with his eyes back to their normal, emerald color, helped Marta to stand. Lloyd was about to ask them if they were alright when he noticed people starting to come out of the buildings at seeing the danger had passed. Some of them looked around, seeing the half destroyed scenery and Lloyd, Emil and Marta on its center. A crowd started to gather around them and Lloyd felt they weren't about to thank them for chasing Grawlrus away.

A woman walked forward, an angry expression written all over her face as she said:

"There, are you happy now? Look at what you've done to our city!"

Emil and Marta heard that and had shocked expressions in their faces while Lloyd was wearing a neutral one. He talked back:

"What? Just because I fought back…" he was interrupted by the angry woman.

"And destroyed half of our city doing so! How long will you keep causing trouble to our city? First talking about resisting the Desians, now picking up fights with demons, what will come next? Challenging Nebilim?"

The young couple decided that was enough and came in Lloyd's defense. The brunette girl was the first to speak:

"Now wait just a minute! Lloyd did nothing wrong. He just helped us fighting the demon off."

"That's right." Emil said, stepping forward too. "And nobody died during the conflict, so why are you all so angry with him?"

"Emil… Marta…," Lloyd whispered in awe.

Few to no one had defended Lloyd's actions since his father left, but those two strangers he had met just yesterday were defending what he did and saying he acted right. However, their opinions seemed to anger the crowd all the more, as a man came forward and spoke:

"You two shut up! You're not from Luin, so don't come defending this troublemaker."

"The demon was looking for you two!" the elderly owner of the market shouted from the crowd. The people looked to him. "That demon came to my shop looking for them and Lloyd was hiding the two."

More angry stares fell over the boy. Sometimes, Lloyd wondered if opposing to those that made others suffer or help people had turned into a crime in that city. Emil and Marta had guilty expressions in their faces, but the blond boy decided to react.

"So it doesn't matter if he actually saved your town from a demon?" the swordsman asked.

"The demons marked Lloyd as their enemy." another citizen spoke, seeming not to have listened to Emil at all. "They'll come after him and the Desians will surely destroy the town. We already have had enough troubles just with his father, but now he decided to cause havoc too."

Lloyd finally got tired of hearing all of that, clenching his teeth and closing his knuckles until they turned white under his fingerless gloves. He could stand people calling him names, after all, he wasn't exactly intelligent when it came to some subjects and frequently was scolded for his little battles with the few stray Desians that came to town, but if there was something he particularly hated, was when people talked about his family.

The dual swordsman ran away, taking the direction of the fountain plaza to return to the east exit. Marta and Emil tried to call him back, but the young man was already too far to listen to them. The brunette fighter turned to the crowd, a stern look on her face.

"You all should be ashamed! He just wanted to help."

"Whatever. It's better he went away anyways." a teenager in the middle of the crowd said.

The mob started to disperse, going back to repair the damage, leaving Marta and Emil in the middle of the plaza. The couple was approached by another man, this one had a brown beard and seemed less angry than the rest of the city folk. In fact, he seemed to show pity.

"I'm the mayor of Luin. I apologize for what you just witnessed." the mayor said in what seemed to be a sincere regret.

"So, you don't blame us or Lloyd?" Emil asked.

"Of course not. I was a close acquaintance with his father and I can say, out of anyone in this town I understand the quarrel he has against the Desians. But I also can't say I'm happy for the turn things have taken." minutes of silence passed before the mayor talked again. "I can't do much for him. The people of this town have lived under fear for too long, so much they almost forgot what it is to be gentle or to help others. I thank you and Lloyd for chasing that demon away, but I doubt after it he'll be welcomed back by our citizens."

"So, you're saying he's banished from the town." Emil said in a statement, not a question.

"Not really. But it would be better for him to stay away for some time. At least, until everybody's mood wear down." the mayor then looked from Emil to Marta. "You two seemed to agree with him, so can I suppose you two are friends with him?"

"Well, I don't know if he thinks the same, but Lloyd seems like a good person to me." Marta spoke, giving a weak smile. "I sure would like to have him as a friend."

"Then can I ask for you to look after him? He has nobody else since his father left and has not received word from him for a long time. I'm sure Kratos has been avoiding contact for Lloyd not to be discovered as being his son."

"Don't worry mayor." Emil said with a determined tone. "We'll look after him."

The mayor thanked them and turned, going back to his building. Emil then noticed Marta was looking to him what a mix of surprise and admiration. The blond swordsman asked why she was looking at him like that and she answered:

"You seem more confident about him than before, you know." Emil cocked his head to the side, in confusion. "Generally, you'd be all 'we don't even know him. How can we really trust him?'."

"Lloyd is really a good person and, out of all the people we encountered in this journey, he was the most sincere and kindest."

"Yeah. Let's go see him then." Emil nodded to Marta's suggestion and the two made their way to Lloyd's cottage.

When the couple arrived, they passed the destroyed, entrance door and heard the sound of what seemed to be someone gathering things coming from Lloyd's room. The couple saw his door open and took a look inside. Lloyd was there gathering his belongings in a makeshift bag. He even had a pair of steel swords which seemed new strapped at his back. It seemed clear he was packing everything to leave.

Emil called the other swordsman's name, entering the room. He and Marta heard the young man speaking:

"I was planning… to do it… just after three months or so… but with the way things turned… I can't stay here anymore." he finally stopped and gave a long sigh.

When the red clad swordsman turned to Emil and Marta, they saw what seemed to be remnants of tears at the corner of his eyes, which were slightly red. It seemed he had been crying for some reason. Wiping his face with his arm, Lloyd spoke:

"I'm sorry for the trouble."

"It's fine. Actually, we should be the ones apologizing for what you have to endure back there." Emil said.

"That? Nah. They already tried to chase me out before, but the mayor covered it for me." Lloyd said, trying to smile and laugh, but not having much success on it. "Anyway, I think I already have enough of training by myself. If I stay here, I might lose my edge from not fighting against real adversaries."

Emil and Marta looked between themselves as Lloyd took up his makeshift bag and bid them farewell. The petite brunette cocked her head to Lloyd's direction, making a clear signal for Emil. The blonde agreed and the two went back to Lloyd's living room as the dual swordsman was already exiting the cottage.

"Wait, Lloyd!" the young man stopped at hearing his name and looked to them. "Do you want to come with us?" Lloyd had a surprised expression on his face, like he hadn't heard it right. Emil saw it and repeated the question. "Do you want to come with us in our journey? We're going to pass by many places, so there's a chance we might meet people of the Vanguard and the Renegades, so you can ask them about your father."

"Really? No kidding?" Lloyd asked. Emil nodded to him, smiling together with Marta.

"You handled yourself pretty well against Grawlrus. So I think you might be strong enough to accompany us," Marta said.

"Thanks guys! I don't even know what to say!" Lloyd spoke, with a radiant smile.

Lloyd had no idea what he was going to do while packing his things, except try and find his father. Now, with Emil and Marta accompanying him, he would have more chances to survive in the road and find clues about Kratos. Also, he was curious as to why Emil and Marta were being persecuted by demons. They should be special people.

"By the way, what is exactly this journey of yours about?" the dual swordsman asked.

Emil and Marta looked between themselves, before nodding again. Marta then spoke:

"Tenebrae, you can come out now." Lloyd wondered who this Tenebrae was, but when what seemed to be energy of darkness gathered at his front, he started to wonder _what_ exactly Tenebrae was.

To say Lloyd was surprised when what looked like a black, floating dog materialized in front of him would be an understatement. The young man's eyes were the size of plates as he looked to the creature that just made its presence known. It had a long tail, ending in divided points that somehow formed something very close to a hand. It also had purple lines along its body, making it look like it was wearing some sort of coat or jacket.

"Centurion Tenebrae. Nice to meet you," the black, floating dog said in a strong, masculine voice that seemed to carry some short of accent…


	4. The Last Spirit

As you all will notice in this chapter, I'm going to give physical forms to the Centurions, for plot motives and for us to get a good laugh (mainly at the one that will be presented to you here).

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Chapter 3

**The Last Spirit**

"Let me see if I've got it…" Lloyd said. "You and Marta…" the red clad swordsman pointed to the blonde and the brunette. "Are on a journey to awake other Centurions like Tenebrae." he pointed to the dog-like entity, which was sitting near the fire they had set up for the night.

"Correct." Tenebrae said.

"But what exactly does this have to do with you being chased by demons?"

After leaving Luin, Lloyd, Emil, Marta and Tenebrae traveled north, avoiding the perimeter of the Asgard Ranch and going to the Tower of Mana. During the entire way, Lloyd looked at Tenebrae, until the Centurion told him that it was rude to look at someone like that. After that, Lloyd tried not to gaze so much on the strange black dog.

When night fell, they decided to set up camp and take some time to explain things to Lloyd, who was still wondering what exactly Tenebrae was.

"Allow me to explain." Tenebrae spoke. "The demons are after Lord Emil and Lady Marta because of who we, Centurions, serve."

"And who that would be?" Lloyd asked.

The dual swordsman then felt something change in the air and it seemed to have come from Emil. When he looked to the blonde boy, he was surprised at seeing the color of the swordsman's eyes change from emerald-green to crimson.

"That would be me." Emil said, his voice gaining that strange, deep, rash tone, the same he used during the battle against Grawlrus.

"Emil?" Lloyd asked, unsure of what was happening. He felt like he wasn't looking to Emil at all, but to another person.

"More or less." the now crimson eyed swordsman answered, shrugging. "But for now, you can call me Ratatosk."

"Wait? Are you the guy that demon mentioned?"

"Yes, I am. And the reason they're after Emil and Marta is because of me inside of him."

"Inside of… Emil?" Lloyd asked, getting confused once more.

"Lord Ratatosk is a Summon Spirit. The Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree." Tenebrae spoke.

"A Summon Spirit? But I thought they left the world when mana was burnt out."

"I can't speak for the others, but I didn't leave." Ratatosk said. "I have stored enough mana in my domain to stay around for some time, or until I could think of a way to stop that idiotic war and restore what little of the Equilibrium was left."

"It was then that the demons invaded and the Equilibrium was further disrupted." Tenebrae continued. "Though, I cannot deny that it would have been worse if the war had continued."

"That was the only useful thing those demons did." Ratatosk said in a tone that dripped pure anger. Lloyd could have sworn he heard him mutter something about "humans" and "destroyed my tree."

"Yeah, but anyway..." Marta spoke. "after destroying the government and armies of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, Nebilim, who commanded the invasion, went after Ratatosk and defeated him."

Tenebrae explained that when the demons were first driven away from Aselia by the Spirits, elves and other beings, all that remained of them on the surface of the world was a great portal that led directly to their realm, Niflheim.

"Are you talking about that story of when the world was young and the demons ruled over it?" Lloyd asked.

"Story?" Tenebrae said in an offended tone, almost startling Lloyd. Had he said something wrong? "This is not a mere fairy tale! It's the history of the world where you live in."

"Forget it, Tenebrae…" Ratatosk said, making a motion with his hand to let the subject drop. "Humans tend to forget when it's convenient for them. Now's too late for it."

"I'm sorry, my lord." Tenebrae said, bowing his head.

Lloyd found it rather strange to see a creature such as Tenebrae bow its head to Emil. But hadn't he said he was Ratatosk? Lloyd's head started to hurt as he tried to process the huge amount of information that was forced to him. Deciding to spare himself from a bigger headache, Lloyd spoke:

"Ok, so to summarize it: Emil is the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree and, like the other Spirits, he protected us from the demons, so when the demons came, Nebilim went to him and then defeated him in a fight. Right?"

"Well, I'm impressed you caught on so quickly since. You don't look like you could hold so much knowledge in your head." Tenebrae inputted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lloyd inquired, glaring at the Centurion.

"Well…" Marta said, trying to divert Lloyd's attention from Tenebrae's commentary. "anyway, after Ratatosk was defeated, Nebilim tried to destroy his core."

"You mean his egg?" Lloyd asked, remembering the way Marta and Emil had described how the Centurions were sleeping and the whole "hatching" process.

"Yeah… my egg…" Ratatosk said, turning his back to them and looking to the horizon, thinking:

_Great Lords, can this guy be anymore stupid? _

"But before Nebilim could finish Lord Ratatosk off, we, the Centurions, used all of our remaining power to warp Lord Ratatosk's core out of Nebilim's reach. In the process, we were also transported back to our altars and reverted to our core state, due to the loss of our own powers." Tenebrae explained. "From there, I think Lord Emil and Lady Marta could tell you what happened next."

Lloyd felt another change in the air and looked to Emil; the young swordsman eyes' color had returned to their normal emerald tone. Lloyd called for his name and the blonde looked to him, asking what it was.

"Um…uh…what…happened to…Ratatosk?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, he's alright. He just let me take the control again." Emil answered in a tone that suggested he was used to that. Lloyd let out an "oh." "Well, after Ratatosk was sent away from Nebilim, his core stayed hidden for some time until my mother and father found it."

"That reminds me; where are your parents?"

"Mine are being protected by both the Vanguard and the Renegades." Emil said.

"Mine… too." Marta spoke, though she sounded a little hesitant. Lloyd decided not to ask further about it and signaled Emil to continue.

"Right. Um, by what they told me, they traveled around for some time with the core in hand and during this time they got to know Marta's family and another friend of ours. This friend was a scholar and he told my parents what kind of artifact they had, though he didn't know much about it himself.

"Well, after traveling a little more, my mother was going to give birth to me and she and my father had to stay in a House of Salvation protected by the Vanguard. Father says that when mother gave birth to me, I wasn't breathing, no matter what they did. They knew I wouldn't survive that way, but then something happened while they were in the other room." Emil gave out a long breath before he continued, "Ratatosk's core. It reacted. I… remember...I think he spoke something, but I don't really remember what it was.

"Anyway, the core then entered in my body and when my parents came back to the room I was breathing and this mark was on my chest…" Emil raised his shirt and revealed his chest.

Lloyd could see some short of butterfly-like emblem on the blond swordsman's skin. The way it was impressed on his skin made it look like it was a birth mark. Tenebrae spoke:

"That is Lord Ratatosk's crest and the fact Emil has it marked on his body means that his and Lord Ratatosk's souls are merged."

"Merged?" Lloyd asked.

"In another words, it means Emil and Ratatosk are pretty much the same person." Marta spoke.

Emil lowered his shirt and continued to tell that his family's scholar friend saw the mark and promised to make some research on why it had happened. Soon they discovered what it was about and that Emil could, someday, show some of the powers of the Summon Spirit.

"I already knew Emil by that time. We were practically raised together." Marta said with a bright smile on her face. "Emil and I also trained to know how to defend ourselves and when he was around thirteen, Ratatosk started to appear."

"You mean, like when Emil get like that with the… um… eyes and everything?" Lloyd asked, making motions with his hands around his eyes to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, that's pretty much about it. Though there aren't changes on Emil's powers from one state to the other. It's more like Ratatosk just want to take a part in the action himself."

"Well, somebody has to." Emil said, his eyes getting to their crimson tone and his voice turning harsh again. "Can't have him hesitating the entire time." his eyes and posture returned to normal once he stopped to talk. "But… I'm not that insecure… am I?" Emil asked more to himself than to Lloyd and Marta, though he looked to them, like asking for support. He reverted to his Ratatosk form again. "Oh, really? What was the last time you faced a Great Demon without me there to save your back? Or how about with those people we've met? Not to talk about how you get all shy and flustered in front of other females."

"What?" Marta exclaimed, her tone sounding surprised and angry at the same time.

"Here. Let's see how you handle this." with that, Emil returned to normal, just to face an angry Marta, who had approached him until they were just centimeters away of each other.

"What was that Ratatosk said about other girls?" Marta asked with anger and jealously evident in her tone.

"Hum… I-I… i-it's not like this!"

"Are they always like this?" Lloyd asked to Tenebrae.

"Ever since I've met them." Tenebrae said in an exhausted tone. "Humans and their fragile self-esteem…" the Centurion sighed as Marta seemed to be done with Emil, crossing her arms and pouting as the blond boy turned to Lloyd to continue his story, looking a little uneasy now.

"Well, Ratatosk doesn't have many memories of his time. We theorize it's because his powers diminished because of the Centurions being asleep and he's adapting to the world's new situation."

"Since mana was burnt from this world, Lord Ratatosk needs to adapt his powers to the world's new state." Tenebrae explained. "And since we, Centurions, are part of his power, we also, during our hibernation, are currently trying to adapt to the new situation of our corresponding elements. For that adaptation to be concluded, it's necessary for us to be hatched again by Lord Ratatosk."

"But isn't that too much for you, Emil? I mean, being merged with a Summon Spirit is one thing, but helping him on this kind of thing." Lloyd asked, his head starting to spin again with so much information.

"Sometimes I… really feel like I can be crushed by all of this…" Emil said, his tone turning sad. "Once the demons discovered Ratatosk is in me, they started to chase my family and all of my friends. One day, they found I was in a temple and attacked. Many people died in that night and I saw Nebilim himself there."

Lloyd gulped. He had heard stories about the supreme head of the demons in that world and it was said that, wherever he passed, he left a trail of destruction and death in his awake. Nebilim never took any prisoners, not human ones at least; it seemed the demon only considered letting someone live if that person was a half-elf.

"We barely escaped that night… if it wasn't for Marta, her father and the others… I doubt I would be here today." Emil continued, but stopped, seemingly unable to continue.

Marta finally seemed to let her anger drop at that part of the story and continued for Emil:

"After that, we decided to leave our parents and search for the Centurions cores. At least this way, nobody would have to die because we were around."

"But isn't it difficult, just the two of you in this journey?" Lloyd asked.

"Sometimes it is, but ever since Ratatosk awoke in me, I felt like I had to make this." Emil spoke. "Not just for everybody else, but for me too. Besides, Marta helped me a lot during the journey." the blond swordsman looked to Marta with a light smile on his face, which the girl returned. "Ratatosk also helped. He has a great knowledge about the demons and the possible location of some of the Centurion's altars."

Lloyd yawned. Marta and Tenebrae decided it was time for everybody to sleep. Lloyd really needed some time to process all that was said, though he knew by tomorrow morning he would have to deal with a big headache…

- / - / - / -

The Tower of Mana was protected by a range of mountains around it, having just one road of access to the peninsula where it was located. However, since the road was right besides the forest where the Asgard Human Ranch stood, no human has visited the tower since the end of the Kharlan War.

More so, it was said that ever since Luna and Aska, the Summon Spirits of the light, left the world, the tower had been sealed and no one had been able to enter since then. Demons tried to barge into it, but not even their fliers were able to get near the tower due to the ancient protection it harbored.

Emil, Marta, Lloyd and Tenebrae were looking at the entrance door of the tower from the woods near it. There were two demon guards standing on each side of the access stair. According to Ratatosk, those demons were called Blood Lancers. Lloyd found the name quite appropriate since the creatures had crimson fur around their neck and chest. Buffed torso, arms, and legs and carried lances which were a head taller than them. The blades of the weapons were of a red, metallic tone which seemed to emanate an eerie aura. The horned helmets the demons wore were of a dull, gray tone, and covered all of their head.

The creatures also had small, dark, bat wings sprouting from their backs, though Ratatosk assured the group those demons couldn't fly.

"Why are we here again?" Lloyd asked.

"The Tower of Mana is where Lumen's altar is located." Marta explained again what they had said that morning. "According to Ratatosk and Tenebrae, the altar is in the catacombs of the tower."

"Yeah, but it's sealed and there are two demons guarding the entrance. How are we going to get inside?"

In that moment, Emil's eyes shone and reverted to their red tone, signalizing Ratatosk had taken control of the young swordsman's body again. The Summon Spirit then spoke:

"Those demons are nothing, but the seal… I think I recognize what kind it is."

"What do you mean, my Lord?" Tenebrae asked.

"It's a seal that can only be undone by a Summon Spirit. With me, we should be able to get inside and seal the tower again before they realize it had been opened. Tenebrae, can you create a diversion?"

"Of course, my lord. I know just the right monster to do it."

Tenebrae closed his eyes for a moment and once he opened them a monster materialized in the front of the group. Lloyd got so startled that he almost drew his twin blades, but Marta put her hand on his shoulder, telling him to relax. The dual swordsman looked to her and heard Tenebrae speaking to the monster, which looked like a living chest.

The monster seemed to comply the order and went to the entrance of the tower. Lloyd looked to Tenebrae in confusion, asking how he could order monsters.

"Lord Ratatosk is also the lord of all monsters. We Centurions have bonds with the monsters of our respective element. That way, we can organize and keep the balance of mana." Tenebrae said, in a didactic tone. "However, since the burning of the world's mana, our bonds with the monsters were forcefully severed. It is because of this that they are running in rampage like you see nowadays. It's absolutely deplorable…"

"Balance mana? Isn't this the job of the Summon Spirits?" Lloyd asked.

"No. Actually they're…"

"Enough, you two. Look." Marta said pointing to the tower entrance.

The mimic jumped and tackled a Blood Lancer on his helmet, getting up it and pounding on it. The other demon lancer tried to get the creature off his brethren, but the mimic jumped again and tackled the other demon to the ground. The monster jumped out of the demon and started to get away. The two Blood Lancers stood and gave chase to the offending creature.

Lloyd couldn't help, but whistle at the display of the demon guard's "intelligence". Marta giggled a little as Tenebrae chuckled and Emil remained indifferent.

"That was…" Lloyd started, but decided that phrase didn't need to be completed.

"Ordinary demons were never known by their brilliant minds." Tenebrae said with a smile on his dog face. "But they're naturally proud, so they would never let any taunt on them go unpunished."

"Huh, idiots…" Ratatosk muttered, temporarily taking control of Emil's body.

The group approached the gates of the tower, not seeing any other demonic sentries. As soon as they were facing the door, Emil touched the round keyhole of the tower's door. There was a brief glow around the blond swordsman's hand and a string of light passed through the door, like something was being lifted.

The door to the tower opened with a mechanical sound and Emil, Lloyd, Tenebrae and Marta entered. As soon as the group was inside, the door closed behind them and Emil turned to it, muttering something in an unknown language, restoring the seal. Lloyd gazed at the entry hall of the tower.

The entire entrance of the tower seemed like some kind of library. The red clad swordsman and Marta looked through the shelves, seeing several titles, most written in a strange language. Tenebrae and Emil finished sealing the door again and joined their friends, looking to the bookshelves as well.

"These books are written in elven." Tenebrae commented. Everybody looked to him.

"I heard stories about the elves being the ones that guarded this tower and the other temples of the Summon Spirits." Lloyd said. Marta took one of the books written in elven and flipped through its pages, sighing.

"Pity we can't read any of them. Probably some of them would have information on the demons, or even Ratatosk." the petite brunette spoke.

"I honestly doubt it." Tenebrae spoke. "Though being very powerful and important, it was established that Lord Ratatosk's existence would remain a secret from the world. The only ones that knew about him were the other Summon Spirits and a few special people, though they never truly realized Ratatosk's exact role in this world."

"Hey, that reminds me." Lloyd looked to Marta as he asked her. "How come you can use wind magic? Are you a half-elf?"

"I know it might sound strange, but I'm able to do it since I can remember and no, I'm not a half-elf. As far as I know, there's no one with elven blood in my family."

"Do you have anything against half-elves, Lloyd?" Emil asked in an inquisitive manner.

"Well, I can't say for sure…" he scratched his head, knowing he might be entering a dangerous terrain. "Up 'til now, the only half-elves that I ever saw are the Desians."

"Oh…" Emil let out, seeming a little sad.

"But I like to think this way: there must be some decent half-elves out there. After all, we humans should have been as bad as the Desians during the war, considering that the way things are now are really our fault." Lloyd said.

"Damn right." Ratatosk said, manifesting again. "You humans completely fucked everything up when you killed my tree."

Everybody looked at Ratatosk with a serious expression on their faces. The reincarnated spirit looked back at his companions and let out an "what?"

"You know, you really should watch your language sometimes, Ratatosk. It's a good thing you never show up in public too often." Marta said.

"What?" the fierce spirit said.

"The way you speak really made me think you were the kind of guy that swear a lot." Lloyd commented.

"How dare you … ?"

"Lord Ratatosk was never very good at choosing his words when angry." Tenebrae inputted.

"What? You too Tenebrae! Ugh, fine then! I won't talk to any of you!"

With another energy pulse, Emil returned to the normal, sighing. It seemed the young swordsman was very aware of what happened, even when possessed by the dirt-mouthed Summon Spirit. Marta decided to drop the subject and put the book she was holding back into its place.

She then noticed another book that was slightly out of place, almost falling from the shelf. The brunette girl pushed it back to its place and a loud click was heard. The whole group watched as the entire bookshelf partially sunk into the wall and slid to the side, revealing a hidden tunnel.

"Good job Marta. It seems you found the entrance to the catacombs." Emil said.

"Thanks, Emil." the girl said, blushing a little and holding her hands in her back, swinging to the sides.

"I can sense Lumen's presence down this passage. It must lead to his altar." Tenebrae spoke.

"You didn't know how to get there?" Lloyd asked to the Centurion of darkness.

"No. We Centurions are only allowed to know the location of our own altars. Lord Ratatosk is the one with the knowledge of where each altar is located."

"But Ratatosk can't remember many things about his past because of merging with me. Though he still has some mental images of places where the altars are located." Emil spoke. "Tenebrae says that as we hatch the cores, Ratatosk's memory should be restored as well."

"Alright then, let's go." Lloyd said with an enthusiastic tone and a smile. "Hatching a Centurion core, adventuring inside an underground maze… I can't wait to see how it is!"

- / - / - / -

"Are we there yet?" Lloyd asked in a tired tone. "I'm sick of this underground tunnel. There's nothing here besides rocks, crystals and a few monsters."

"We're getting closer to Lumen and if I remember correctly, you were the one saying 'Oh, I can't wait to see how hatching a Centurion's core is!'." Tenebrae inputted, making a very bad impersonation of Lloyd's excited voice tone.

"Yeah, but… it doesn't seem like it is that special anymore." Lloyd argued.

Emil and Marta sighed. After mere five minutes of walking in the catacombs of the Tower of Mana, Lloyd had started to complain. The two other young adults wondered how someone could get bored about something in such a small amount of time. Even the perspective of seeing Emil getting new powers from hatching the core seemed not to be able to make Lloyd's enthusiasm return.

Emil felt Ratatosk wanted to take control of his body again and shout for Lloyd to shut up, but the blond boy resisted the Summon Spirit. It wasn't that hard for him to stop Ratatosk from taking control of his body and avoid having the Spirit cause trouble thanks to his harsh language and intimidating tone. But it was considerably difficult to do so when Emil was feeling scared or insecure.

After walking a little more, they came across with a stone door carved into the natural walls of the cave. Emil touched the emblem in the door and it shone for a brief moment before the door slid to the sides, opening the entrance to a big chamber.

The group entered, looking around. The chamber was very different from the rest of the tunnel. Instead of natural rock, it had smooth, stone walls with few inscriptions on it and, in the center of the room, stood an altar with a drop-like, yellow jewel floating over a spectral, flower-like plate.

"So, that's the core." Lloyd spoke with some of his enthusiasm returning.

"Yes. Lumen, the Centurion of light." Tenebrae said.

Emil walked to the altar while the others stayed behind, observing him. However, the ground suddenly started to shake under Emil's feet until something came out of it, launching the boy backwards. The blond swordsman recovered in mid air as his friend came for his aid, looking at the monster that had come to block their path.

"Watch out! That's an Irais, a monster!" Tenebrae warned them, floating at the side of the group.

Irais looked like some kind of man-sized, brown scorpion, with retractable spikes inside his claws and a three-pointed tail. The scales of the creature were shaped in a way it seemed the monster was wearing some kind of armor. Pincers beat furiously as the monster let out a shriek.

"Seems like it won't let us take the core that easily." Lloyd said, positioning himself.

"Then let's get it out of the way!" Marta proclaimed as she and the two boys went for the attack.

The trio soon found the scorpion was slow due to its size, but it could be surprisingly fast as it buried itself on the ground and came out to attack. They avoided the claws of the monster, knowing if they were caught by that they would not just be crushed, but impaled as well by the inner spike.

Lloyd slashed at the creature's legs as Marta deflected the tail of the scorpion and landed some blows on it, even breaking one of the spikes. Emil, who remained his normal self, was attacking the front, his blade often was enveloped by darkness as he unleashed an element-charged strike.

The Irais then spun its tail above it, knocking all fighters backwards. One of the two-sided spikes on the scorpion's tail grazed Emil's arm, but it was enough for him to get poisoned and have his movements restrained. Monsters of that size had the tendency to possess a venom that first immobilized its victims for it to land a killing blow afterward.

Marta saw that and tried to run to Emil, just to be hit by the closed claw of the Irais and hit the wall at her back. Lloyd also saw that and decided he had had enough of letting that thing hurt his friends. Remembering the Artes his father had taught him, Lloyd picked one and quickly concentrated on gathering the required energy on his blade. He slashed the ground with his sword, shouting:

"Demon Fang!" a wave of energy was sent against the scorpion, hitting one of its already weakened legs and breaking it. The creature shrieked in pain, turning to Lloyd. "I've got enough of you. Time to die!"

The dual swordsman ran to the monster, which tried to use a venom jet on him. Lloyd jumped to the side to avoid it, sending another Demon Fang against the monster, this time aiming its mouth. The attack collided, making the monster twitch its body in pain. Lloyd finally got close enough to unleash the Arte that finished the fight.

"Sonic Thrust!" the young man gathered energy on his right sword and thrust it forward, impaling the monster's face, right in its central eyes. The pressure created by the attack caused a great deal of internal damage to the creature, since the creature's defenses had already been weakened.

The monster gave out a last, painful shriek before collapse to the ground. Lloyd sighed in relief as he took his sword out, waving it to get rid of the monster's goo on it. The red clad swordsman then remembered Emil had been poisoned and looked to the blonde.

Marta was already by Emil's side, murmuring what seemed to be an enchantment. A magic circle appeared under her as she proclaimed "Recover." In an instant, the poison was out of Emil's system and the bearer of Ratatosk's spirit got up. Lloyd was extremely surprised to say the least.

_Not only she can use wind magic, but also healing magic. _The dual swordsman thought. _It's really hard to think she doesn't have any elven blood in her. But if it's that so, how can she use magic like this?_

Tenebrae reappeared near the altar. Lloyd took that time and asked why the Centurion hadn't take part in the fight, so they could have disposed of the monster faster. Tenebrae replied in an almost smug tone:

"Centurions do not fight themselves. We employ monster to do so and, currently, the monsters I have now are very weak to be able to fight against an Irais."

"Then how do you get more monsters?" Lloyd asked.

"If Lord Emil makes pacts with them, I am able to restore the bond and use them, as well as recover my powers. But for now… Lord Emil, I think it is high time for us to wake Lumen."

The blond swordsman nodded to the dog-like entity and climbed the altar, reaching for the core. Emil closed his eyes, letting Ratatosk take control of his mouth to speak the incantations of the ritual to hatch the core. Lloyd and Marta stood behind him, watching.

After Emil touched it with his hand, the core started to shine and floated up as Emil opened his now crimson-colored eyes. The grooves around the drop-like jewel opened like they were petals of a flower, revealing the core, which looked like some kind of small, crystal ball with an emblem inside a sea of yellow.

Suddenly the lights emitted by the floor and the crystals in the room started to flicker. Lloyd and Marta saw what looked like flows of luminous energy exit the shining materials and rush to the core, being absorbed by it. The core shone brightly, releasing a flash and forcing the group to cover their eyes. When they were able to look again, Lloyd and Marta wondered if the light had somehow affected their brains.

Sitting in the altar and now seeming to yawn, was a yellow cheetah with black stains along its body. It had golden hair on its forehead in a mullet style and two ear ornaments around its triangular ears, not to mention styled, yellow shoulder protections on its four legs. The cheetah then opened its orange eyes and looked around, seeing Lloyd, Emil and Marta.

"Hey, visitors. I haven't seen people around here for… well, I can't remember now, but it doesn't matter." the cheetah spoke, in a well-humored tone. It then jumped to the ground and landed between the three, dumbfounded teenagers. "Hello folks and welcome to my altar! I'm Lumen, Centurion of light!" the cheetah proclaimed with a somewhat goofy smile on his feline features.

"Folks?" Lloyd and Marta repeated, looking between themselves and then to Emil, who just scratched the back of his head.

"Oh yes, I have forgotten to warn you about Lumen's… demeanor." Tenebrae said, giving a pause in which he seemed to be choosing the right word. Lumen then noticed his brethren and looked to him, with a now bright smile.

"Hey, Tene-man! What's up? Good to see you again." Lumen said.

"Hello Lumen." Tenebrae replied in a dry tone.

"Tene… man?" Lloyd asked, looking extremely confused at that.

"Well, I suppose since Lumen is the Centurion of light, he and Tenebrae are the opposite of each other. But I never thought it would be that much." Marta said.

"Believe in me, you don't want to know." Ratatosk said, taking control of Emil's body again. Lumen looked to him and what seemed to be a relieved expression crossed his feline features as he jumped to Ratatosk and tackled him to the ground, sitting on his chest.

"Boss! So you escaped! Thank goodness! I thought we were all done for."

"Yeah, I'm here. Now get off me, Lumen!" Ratatosk commanded.

Lumen didn't flinch the slightest at Ratatosk's commanding, angry tone, he simply kept his goofy smile and moved from over his lord, allowing him to get up and dust himself. Marta and Lloyd had sweatdrops falling behind their heads at the scene.

"Like you all should know by now, this is Lumen. One of my Centurions and an eternal pain on my ass." Ratatosk said. The insult seemed to pass unnoticed by Lumen as he simply waved an "hi" to Lloyd and Marta with his pawn.

"You look kinda different boss. Did you get a makeover or something?" Lumen asked, cocking his cheetah head to the side.

"No, you idiot! I'm merged to the soul of the human boy who has this body!" Ratatosk shouted, his tone getting angrier, if that was even possible, but Lumen seemed completely immune to it. Ratatosk sighed and turned to Emil's friends. "Anyway, as you can see, he's just like this. Tenebrae, you explain him the situation. I don't want to have a headache right now."

With that, Ratatosk gave the control back to Emil. Lumen just wagged his tail as he looked from one human to the other, always sporting that goofy smile on his face. The group started to think if it had really been a good idea to hatch Lumen in the first place…

- / - / - / -

After discovering a passage behind the altar, the group finally got out of the caves to see they had arrived near Lake Sinoa. Lloyd and the others got amazed seeing that the catacombs of the tower stretched that far. Currently, the lake had reduced in water level due to the drought, so the group was able to travel to the plains.

During the way, Tenebrae had explained to Lumen of their current situation. The Centurion of light sometimes seemed to show an expression much like Lloyd's confused one, when he was explained some things. Marta sometimes couldn't help, but giggle at Lumen's behavior. Emil wondered how Ratatosk could put up with a servant such as Lumen.

"Man, things have gotten a lot worse then." Lumen said, assuming a more serious stance. It was soon ruined as his goofy smile returned and he spoke. "Oh well, nothing our boss can't fix!"

Emil let his shoulders fall, as Marta and Lloyd just looked to Lumen. The brunette girl then spoke:

"I can't tell if he's optimistic or just has his head in the clouds."

"So…" Lumen said, now looking to Marta. "Are you the boss' new girl?"

Emil almost jumped at hearing the direct question Lumen shot to Marta. Lloyd arched his eyebrow in curiosity. Tenebrae just remained neutral, but Lloyd could catch a low chuckle coming from the Centurion.

"I-I…" Marta didn't know how to answer to that. The way Lumen had just asked her outright caught her off guard.

"Well, the boss always had good taste. You're pretty." the cheetah-like Centurion said, his smile never leaving his face.

"D-do you think so?" Marta asked, seeming to have recovered at the compliment.

"Of course!"

"Well, then you could say I am." Marta spoke, leaning slightly closer to Lumen, with a smile on her face and swinging her body to the sides, her tone a sweet one.

"W-wait! He means Ratatosk, Marta, not me." Emil interjected.

"But you have the boss' soul, don't you? And your aura is identical to him, so you must be the boss." Lumen pointed out.

Looking from that point of view, Lloyd could say Lumen was right. When he looked to Emil, however, he could see a shadow passing over the eyes of the boy, but that was gone as soon as Marta hugged Emil for her dear life, almost suffocating the boy, she then looked to him with an expression of absolute adoration and love.

"Oh Emil. I'm so glad you consider me your girl." Marta spoke, nudging Emil's chest.

"B-bu-but… I-I didn't say anything, Marta!" Emil tried to protest, but Marta seemed lost on her thoughts of love for the boy she had in her arms to hear his reasoning.

Lloyd let another sweatdrop fall behind his head while Tenebrae chuckled at his side, apparently enjoying the spectacle. If Emil didn't want to be the one pushed around in this relationship, he would need to do something and quickly. Otherwise, Lloyd could already hear bells ringing in the horizon…

* * *

You know, from the way Ratatosk frequently curse during the game (minor curses that is), I wonder if they had to censor or edit some scenes to cover bigger swears from his part...

Jokes appart... if any of you are imagining, this story takes place 50 years after the end of the Kharlan War. I didn't put more because... well, if the world is already like this after just fifty, in one century it'ld be in complete shambles and the human race would probably be extinct. Game Over!

Stay tuned for more chapters to come up, people!


	5. The Refuge of Ruins

If you're wondering about the increasing length of the chapters lately, remember: this is an epic, so the chapters are suppose to have normally around this size, otherwise the fic will end up having more than 100.

Anyway... SHEENA'S FINALLY HERE! YAY! : D

Now remember, the characters will have new traits added to their normal personalities since this is an alternate reality. Also, this chapter was practically a collab between me and **Maurice A. Nigma**, or something very close to it, since he added somethings to the chapter. Thanks a lot man! ;)

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* * *

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**Chapter 4**

**The Refuge of Ruins**

After two days of travel, Emil, Lloyd, Marta and the Centurions had left Luin's fields and were near the ancient city of Asgard. According to Ratatosk's new memories that Emil had uncovered after hatching Lumen, there was an entrance to a Centurion altar somewhere in the city.

During the entire trip, the group had to block out Lumen's constant chattering. They couldn't begin to wonder how someone could talk for so much time without any pause to breath. Lloyd looked to Emil from time to time and could swear he saw Ratatosk trying not to lash out at the Centurion while his shoulders were shaking. The blonde walked with his eyes closed, but the expression on his face was very similar to the one Ratatosk wore.

The group was getting near one of the villages which stood in the crossroads to Asgard. They hoped to stay there to rest and buy new supplies before setting out for Asgard. The road had a few demons and several monsters, which the Centurions later said were being attracted by their aura. Emil took the chance and made pacts with several of the monsters which attacked them, even ones of elements they didn't have the corresponding Centurion yet.

The first time Lloyd saw the great runic circle that covered good part of the ground he had an awed expression in his face, in the second a grin, but in the third he was already yawning and crossing his arms behind his head.

"Man, it's the same thing whenever you do any pact. That's boring," the red clad swordsman commented.

"Boring? How rude!" Tenebrae said, looking to Lloyd with an angry expression. "The ritual of the pact between a monster and a servant of Ratatosk is the personification of respect and trust between Ratatosk's servant and the monster. It is a sacred and deep ceremony which…"

"Hey! I just got an idea." Lumen interrupted Tenebrae, looking to Lloyd. "Why not every time when the boss makes a pact we personalized the color of the circle? Oh, or maybe some special effects!"

"Really? Like what?" Lloyd asked, seeming to have completely forgotten Tenebrae's lecture.

"Lumen! This is serious. You can't simply…" Tenebrae tried to protest, but the Centurion of Light wasn't listening to him and interrupted the dog-like Centurion again.

"Like, with monsters of my element, I could make a light show appear and form the words '_Congratulations for another pact!_'." the cheetah-like entity said, sporting his so common goofy grin.

"That would be cool!" Lloyd said, smiling too.

"Now wait just a moment, you two!" Tenebrae yelled, trying to get the control of the conversation. "A pact is a serious thing, not a pyrotechnic show."

"Oh, could you make something like a big heart with my and Emil's names in the middle?" Marta entered in the talk, seeming as excited as Lloyd.

"Not you too, Lady Marta…"

Emil sighed and decided to leave the four to discuss the new look of the pacts by themselves. The bearer of Ratatosk's soul finally saw the village at the crossroads to Asgard. However, coming from it he also saw smoke.

"Oh no." Emil exclaimed, attracting everybody's attention. Once the others realized what had happened to the village ahead of them, they all broke in a run to reach their destination.

The village was in ruins, most of the houses burned to the ground and there were blood stains here and there. The vision was heart aching. However, there was no trace of bodies anywhere to be found. The group decided to stay together and look in the city for any sign of life.

Once they arrived at the south exit of the village, where the plaza was, they saw even more destroyed houses and blood stains, but yet no sign of survivors or corpses. Lloyd could just lower his head at the vision of the destroyed village while Marta had a sad look on her eyes, just as Emil.

"Do you think it were the demons?" Lumen asked, his voice sounding more serious, which completely dispelled the image of his normal, cheerful self and left in its place what the group could consider to be a true Centurion.

"Maybe. But if that were the case, there would be more blood. Demons were never known by being delicate with their prey." Tenebrae spoke. "But it's strange…I don't see any tracks that belong to them."

"Either way, there's no point in us staying here. The demons might come back." Marta spoke in a somber tone.

"In that case, we should move on to Asgard. Maybe we will meet some survivors that can tell us what happened here," Lloyd suggested.

Emil and the others nodded and made their departure to the city that became known with the time as the Refuge of Ruins.

- / - / - / -

Since the final days of the Kharlan War fifty years ago, Asgard had turned into a city where most of the few survivors of demonic attacks took refuge, before deciding what they would do. The city stood in a cliff side and most of its houses were built inside the mountain.

However, as more people came and decided to start a new life in the city, it had expanded, creating another lower floor of houses and business stores. Demonic attacks in the city were very rare and most people took it as a sign that the city was protected by Cruxis, though there was no mark or church dedicated to the heavenly organization.

The ruins, caves and structures of the ancient times also resisted against the changes in the world and the demonic attacks, staying as a reminder of how the world used to be before Niflheim's gates opened and demons overflowed the world.

Lloyd was with his mouth agape when he saw the city. He had heard about Asgard, but never paid a visit to it. Emil and Marta commented the city seemed to be a lot more crowded than the last time they visited it, saying there was definitely more houses than before.

Lumen and Tenebrae disappeared out of sight as soon as the group arrived at the city's gates, but Emil and Marta said they could still feel the Centurion's presence with them. The group decided to look for a place to eat since they didn't have anything for lunch. However, as they looked through the shops, they noticed some were closed; its windows nailed with wooden planks.

"Strange…what do you think happened?" Lloyd asked his two friends.

"I don't know. Maybe they were threatened by the demons and decided to leave." Emil suggested.

"Why? I thought Asgard was considered a refuge for people to escape from the demons."

"Do you really think there's any place in this world where you can truly run away from the demons?" Tenebrae's voice whispered near Lloyd, though he couldn't see the Centurion. "The people of this city aren't less vulnerable than any other city. In fact, they're easier targets than most other cities."

"What do you mean, Tenebrae?" Marta asked.

"Look around you. Unless you humans have excavated an escape route through the mountain, there's just one exit from this town, making it a giant, natural trap that the demons could utilize when they see fit."

"I get it." Emil proclaimed. Lloyd and Marta looked to him, still a little confused. "Think about it: the entire city was built on these cliffs. The demons could very well cause an avalanche or an earthquake and they would automatically destroy the entire city without much problem with all people living here."

Marta gasped and brought her hands to her mouth at realizing that Emil was right. Lloyd had a downcast expression on his face. It seemed that Tenebrae was really right: there was no safe place in this world that the demons couldn't find and destroy.

"But if it's like this, why are only the stores abandoned, T-dark?" Lumen's voice asked.

The new mention of one of Lumen's nicknames for Tenebrae made Lloyd and Marta temporarily forget the terrifying truth they had realized and caused them to have big sweatdrops running behind their heads.

"Probably they tried to incite a revolt against the demons or made propaganda for the Vanguard. I heard this city has a large number of supporters of theirs. And I would really be thankful if you stop calling me by these nicknames, Lumen." Tenebrae said with a louder and more bothered tone in the last phrase.

"Oh. Ok, Tenyness." Lumen spoke in his usual, cheerful tone.

"Tenyness?" Emil, Marta and Lloyd asked at the same time.

"It's the mix for Tenebrae and Darkness. Well thought out, isn't it?"

Though the group couldn't see, Lumen was wagging his tail while all of them had sweatdrops falling behind their heads. A deep sigh coming from Tenebrae was heard. The Centurion of Darkness decided it would be less harmful for his reputation with the trio of humans if he simply stayed quiet and played along.

Dropping Lumen's comments and nicknames, the group searched for a restaurant, but most of the stores were all closed with planks. They finally found a place that didn't seem to be closed at the right of a path that led to a great staircase, which divided the mountain in two.

The building had just one floor and a sign that seemed to be made of thin, colorful, glass tubes. It read "Asuka's." Emil and Marta took some time looking at the sign while Lloyd analyzed the building, which seemed to be well cared, compared to the other abandoned ones.

"Are those neon lights?" Marta asked, pointing to the sign.

"It seems so." Emil answered.

"Neon lights?" Lloyd asked.

"It's a kind of lamp that existed before the end of the Kharlan War and was used for publicity purposes." Emil explained, sounding like a scholar lecturing. "It's an industrial product."

"Indus-trial?" Lloyd scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I don't know what it means, but it sounds like one of those things the demons and the Desians confiscated at the final days of the war."

"Well, it's not really made by magitechnology, but the machines used to make it certainly are the kind that the Desians use today. Anyway, anything nowadays that can remotely be considered advanced technology is confiscated by the Desians. They say it 'isn't good for the people's rebellious minds'."

"Even some people inside of Cruxis say that magitechnology lead to the state the war took before the demons started to come, so they condemn any attempt at developing new technology, claiming it'll just lead to another disaster." Marta spoke.

Lloyd's stomach emitted a loud growl. The red clad swordsman rubbed it with an embarrassed smile on his face, but soon Emil's own stomach also demanded for food. Deciding to drop the subject for now, the group entered Asuka's.

The place transmitted a rather cozy atmosphere when they entered. It had several tables spread around the building, a stage at the other side of the hall and a big counter at the left with a bar behind it. There wasn't many people there, just what seemed to be three families sitting in the tables.

While the group looked at the place, two women at the bar noticed they had new costumers. One of them got out of the bar; this one had red hair and was wearing orange clothes with detached sleeves, a short dress which barely hid her legs and brown boots.

"Welcome to Asuka's!" she said in a cheerful, pitched tone. "I'm Tanny. Can I help you?"

"Hum, yeah…" Marta spoke, sounding a little hesitant, looking to the woman's garments from top to bottom, taking time to analyze her curves too. "We…wanted to know what kind of place this is."

Before Tanny could answer, Lloyd and Emil's stomachs growled again. The two young adults scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment, but Tanny just giggled at that and spoke, pointing to the boy's bellies:

"The kind of place you certainly are looking for. We're a restaurant at day, open to anyone! Since you're not a Desian or a demon, that it is. But, it is at the night that the house really gets full."

"How so?" Emil asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, don't you know?" Tanny asked, putting her right hand on her hip and leaning it to the left. "Hum, I suppose you're not from the region, are you?"

"I'm from Luin." Lloyd spoke.

"Really? How are things there?"

"Not… really pleasant if you ask me." Lloyd said, avoiding the woman's gaze.

"Oh, sorry. I heard since the ranch got a new leader the town has been through a lot." Tanny apologized with a downcast look. However, she soon recovered her cheerful tone and spoke. "Anyway, let's not talk about bad things, or else you're not going to enjoy your meal. Here, this way!"

Tanny showed them a table near the right wall of the building and pulled the chairs for all of them to sit. She fetched for each one of them a menu and stayed to get their order. Lloyd and Emil saw a great variety of dishes there, some they even didn't know quite well. Lloyd found one that picked up his attention and asked Tanny:

"What's a '_Mizuho Curry_'?"

"One of our most famous dishes! A curry that I can guarantee you never tasted before!" she said, much like a salesman announcing his latest product.

"Hmm, what goes in it?"

"Oh, mostly of what goes in a normal curry, but with a special secret from our cook."

"Really? What is it?" Marta asked.

"Sorry. If I tell you, it won't be a secret anymore, now is it?" Tanny said, putting her hand besides her face while making a pose of someone hiding the latest gossip.

Marta narrowed her eyes, looking deviously at Tanny. Lloyd was starting to think the girl got some kind of grudge at first sight with the receptionist. Emil decided to ask for a 'Fried Palmacosta Fish' and Lloyd finally decided to go for the unheard of curry. Marta asked for normal curry, though in a slightly bothered tone.

Tanny nodded to all of them, saying their food would come soon. Before the waitress could leave, Emil remembered she had never answered his question of how the place could get so crowded at night. When he repeated the question, Tanny giggled a little before winking to him:

"At night, Asuka's is the most frequented night club in the whole town. A place where people can come to forget a little about the sad situation and hardships our world is going through."

Marta's jaw dropped at that. The look she had in her face was kind of comic in Lloyd's opinion and he could swear an entire fist could fit in the brunette's hanging mouth. Tanny finally went away. Emil then turned to Lloyd, seemingly not to register the expression on Marta's face.

"A night club." Emil mused.

"Haven't you been here before?" Lloyd asked.

"No. We've stayed for a short time in Asgard, so we never got to see all of the establishments. But we never heard of night clubs in any other town."

"Are they that rare? We never had one in Luin, but I suppose it was because of the Desians."

Emil finally noticed Marta's shocked expression and asked her what was wrong. The girl took some time to react to the blonde's calling. She shook her head and the next thing Emil knew she had slammed her fists hard on the table and her face was so close to him he could almost feel her breath, but the expression she had on her features was simply frightening.

"Don't you dare to come here at night, do ya hear me?" Marta said in a commanding tone. Even Lloyd got a little startled.

"W-w-why are you so angry M-Marta?" Emil asked in a scared tone.

"Oh, hey! Do you think they have dancers, T-dark?" Lloyd could hear Lumen asking Tenebrae behind him. It seemed the two Centurions were out of Emil and Marta's hearing range.

"Hmm… possibly. Though I wonder who would still be able to dance in the state the world is nowadays," Tenebrae commented. "And could you stop calling me that?"

"Ok, Tenyness."

"Why do I still bother?" Tenebrae murmured, sighing.

Meanwhile, behind the counter, Tanny was going to a door at the right end of the bar, which gave access to the kitchen. She opened the door and called for the two people inside:

"Aisha, one Curry and Fried Palmacosta Fish!" a woman with blue hair and wearing a white dress with a blue sash called back with a nod of confirmation. Tanny then turned to the other person in the kitchen. "Sheena, somebody asked for your Curry."

The woman with violet-black hair looked up from the book she was reading. She was wearing a customized, sleeveless, blue shirt with a low cut that left a good portion of her cleavage to show and with green outlines on it. She also wore a knee-tight, purple skirt with a slit on it and black outlines on the borders.

"Ok. I'm going to make it." Sheena said, closing her book and going to the oven to prepare everything.

"Could you serve them too?" Tanny asked to her workmate.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with not-so-loyal husbands and perverted workers." Sheena replied in a dry tone. "If you force me to, mother is going to need to place a death quota here."

"Oh, but those guys don't look like workers and, I don't know about the blondie, but that handsome guy certainly doesn't look like he's hooked."

Sheena let out a sigh and went to the door, looking out and seeing the table Tanny was pointing too. She saw Lloyd and the others talking. The ninja then spoke:

"They're just kids."

"Well, they look old enough for me." Tanny said with a smile and put her indicator finger in her lower lip.

"Anyone look old enough for you, Tanny." Sheena inputted.

"Hey! That's not true and you know it!"

"Whatever…ok, then I'm going to serve them. But if I catch any of the boys staring at where they shouldn't, I'm going to teach them some things about respect." Sheena closed her knuckle near her face for emphasis as she went to work.

"Whatever you say, Sheena…" Tanny sighed.

Back to Emil's table, Lloyd was checking the menu again and noted something interesting: some dishes had names of famous cities, some he knew and others that he just heard about. His eyes then focused on the name of the food he had ordered.

"Where's Mizuho?" Lloyd asked. Emil and Marta looked to him. "Most of the dishes have names of cities, but I don't remember one called Mizuho."

"In that case, allow me to explain." Tenebrae's voice sounded, just loud enough for the group in the table to hear. "It's an ancient, hidden village that existed since the formation of the country of Tethe'alla. The village has its own culture and is specialized in combat and gathering information."

"You mean they're like spies?" Lloyd asked.

"No. They're ninjas," Lumen answered.

"Ninjas? Wow! That sounds cool!" Lloyd said, a little too loud, attracting the attention of some costumers. Once the young man noticed he had disturbed their meal he quickly apologized.

"Anyway…" Tenebrae continued. "They served the Tethe'allan Royal Family. I wonder how they are faring."

"Oh, I think I've heard something about it." Marta spoke, attracting Lloyd and Emil's attention. "For some time, there was news in the Vanguard about a village called Mizuho being destroyed."

"I remember that." Emil stated. "Mizuho had put all of its warriors and information network in service of the Tethe'allan Renegades, since the entire Royal Family were killed by the demons. They say that Nebilim discovered that and decided the village had to be destroyed."

"They say it was a massacre. There weren't reports of any survivor." Marta said in a sad tone.

"Oh man. So that means ninjas don't exist anymore…" Lloyd spoke.

"Maybe you could say that." a new voice sounded and the group turned to see their meal had arrived. "Who asked for Mizuho Curry?" Sheena asked, carrying the plate with one hand.

Lloyd soon turned speechless. Holding the food (which by itself smelled delicious) was the most beautiful and voluptuous woman he saw in his entire life. Now, Lloyd never had much interest in the girls back in Luin, most of his time he spent either training or organizing his house. Plus, he always felt like the people of Luin had turned cold with the years, the same went for the girls of his age, who either mocked him for his quarrel against the Desians or simply never looked to him with good eyes.

"Lloyd?" the red clad swordsman finally heard Emil calling him. Shaking his head he looked to the blonde who made motion to Sheena and the curry.

"Oh, um… i-it's me." Lloyd hurried to say.

Sheena looked to him square in the eyes, wearing a sharp gleam. The boy found that a little disturbing at first, but he remembered something his father once told him when he completed sixteen:

_"Remember Lloyd: when you first meet a person, you shall look into his eyes, especially if it's a woman. It shows respect and sincerity as you talk, which the other will return if he, or she, is someone of value." Lloyd then asked why Kratos had instructed him to do it especially when talking to women. "Because, should your eyes wander to any other parts of her body, you will not only be disrespectful to her, but it'll also be an open invitation for her to slap you."_

After that part, the lesson was permanently engraved in Lloyd's mind and now he saw a situation in which he would have to exercise it, because the woman at his front had a somewhat harsh expression on her face, showing she wasn't someone who you would mess with.

"Here." she said, handing him the plate and the silverware, never taking her eyes off Lloyd, as if she was daring him to try and look where he shouldn't.

Lloyd found it was very difficult to control his eyes in the presence of someone with very attractive features, but he achieved to do it. He could hear Lumen whistling behind him and, for everything that he held dear, hoped the waitress at his front didn't think that it came from him. However, he could swear she had looked briefly to a place behind him before returning her eyes to him.

"Thanks, umm…" Emil spoke to the blue haired woman that handed him his order, giving a pause since he didn't know her name.

"I'm Aisha, sir." she spoke to Emil with a smile. She then looked to Sheena who was still looking to Lloyd, who was now sweating, wondering if he had gotten on her bad side without knowing, since the intensity of her stare hadn't dropped.

Aisha elbowed Sheena on her right arm. The voluptuous woman looked to her work partner, but Aisha merely made motion for her to present herself. Sighing in annoyance, Sheena spoke in a curt tone, looking to all present in the table:

"I'm Sheena."

"I'm Emil." the blond swordsman presented himself.

"Marta." the brunette said, eying the two women like they were a potential threat.

"I'm Lloyd. Nice to meet you." Lloyd said.

"Wha…I didn't ask for your names." Sheena replied.

"Sheena, don't be so impolite with our customers." Aisha spoke.

"Ugh. Whatever."

Sheena then turned and went away. Aisha sighed at the behavior of her workmate and apologized to Emil and the others, going back to the kitchen. Lloyd was unable to take his eyes off Sheena as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Man, did you see that Sheena chick? Talk about beautiful." Lumen said, voicing the thoughts Lloyd didn't dare to speak out loud.

"Humph, whatever! I bet she's the main attraction." Marta said with venom and jealously in her voice.

"Marta, why are you so angry?" Emil asked.

"I'm not angry!" Marta shouted, turning to the blonde boy, startling him.

Meanwhile, Sheena was observing the group from her position, leaning near the door to the kitchen. Her attention then wandered to Lloyd. She had to admit she was impressed that he managed to keep his eyes in check for most of the time. Should his gaze have moved over to a place he shouldn't have, she would have given him a lesson in pain.

_Maybe he was just acting. It wouldn't be the first time someone does it to get me to drop my guard. _Sheena thought. She then saw Lloyd devouring his Curry in a fast pace, seeming very hungry. _Then again, he doesn't look like the type that could act so well if he can't even hide how hungry he is._ A sweatdrop ran behind Sheena's head as she observed Lloyd.

Tanny and Aisha saw to where Sheena was looking to and smiled as they approached their workmate. The red haired girl was the first to speak:

"Hmmm. Checking out something Sheena?"

"N-No. N-Nothing in particular." the voluptuous woman said, taking her eyes off the table where Lloyd was still eating his Curry with great enthusiasm and where Emil and Marta ate their food as well.

"From the way you were looking, it seemed you were looking at that handsome guy right over there." Tanny said, clearly meaning Lloyd.

"Pfft! Like I care if he's good looking or not. For me he's just another guy whose yet to prove how much of a pervert he is."

"Does that mean you think that brunette swordsman is good looking?" Tanny asked, seeing through Sheena's speech and raising her eyebrow several times in a very suggestive way.

"Well, at least she has good taste." Aisha teased.

Sheena blushed at hearing that, letting all of her cold demeanor drop. Of course, she had noticed Lloyd was good looking, but so were most of the perverts she had beaten out of Asuka's, after they took two drinks or more. However, the look on his eyes…

The violet-dark haired woman shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts. No, from what she had seen so far about men, most of them wanted just one thing from her. She then turned to her workmates and friends with an angry expression on her face and said, before going back to the kitchen:

"S-shut up!"

Aisha and Tanny stayed there, looking to the kitchen's door. The red head then pointed out:

"Did you notice she didn't answer my question?" Aisha answered with a giggle and a smile.

- / - / - / -

Lloyd, Emil and Marta managed to rent a room at the Inn, which stayed at the other side of the path that cut through the mountain range, at the right of Asuka's. It was already night when the group had returned from buying supplies and new armor. Lloyd threw himself at the soft bed, speaking:

"Man, looking around for open shops certainly isn't easy in a city full of stairs and cliffs."

"Huh, you're just too lazy if you're already tired." Ratatosk's harsh, deep tone came from Emil.

"Oh, hi Ratatosk." Lloyd spoke.

"So, you already learned it. Hmm, you're not as slow as I thought." the spirit inputted.

"Well, unless Emil has a split personality, it's pretty much obvious you're nothing like him." Lloyd returned the comment.

"What did you say?"

Ratatosk seemed ready to get into a fight with Lloyd, but Marta managed to calm the short-tempered entity and the red clad swordsman. Ratatosk decided to concentrate on more important matters. He then spoke:

"We're going to investigate the city and find clues about the location of my Centurion's altar."

"Wouldn't it be easier to do it during the day?" Lloyd asked.

"If you want to stay here and slack off, fine by me. I don't want to have to carry a lazy weight everywhere." Lloyd rolled his eyes at that. "But I'm going to use this time while everybody else is sleeping, so it won't call to anybody's attention."

"And don't you need to sleep too?"

"I can sustain this body with my power just fine, so it doesn't need to rest as much as you humans."

Marta was about to say something, but decided against it. She didn't like how Ratatosk sometimes referred to Emil's body like it was just some kind of clothing. Ratatosk then turned to Tenebrae, saying he was going with them.

"Lumen, you stay here." the Lord of the Monsters said.

"Why can't I go too, boss?" the cheetah-like Centurion asked.

"Because it's night and, if I remember well, your nocturne vision is horrible."

"More like his lack of it." Tenebrae inputted.

"Oh, c'mon. I don't think Lloyd needs to be watched." Lumen spoke.

"Who said I was going to order you to watch over him?" Ratatosk talked back. He then looked to Lloyd. "Keep your tabs on him. Lumen has a talent for finding trouble when he wants to."

With that, Ratatosk left without another word. Marta waved a "bye" to Lloyd before following the harsh-mannered spirit. The red clad swordsman didn't even have time to protest before the door closed and he was left alone in the room, with only the Centurion of light for company.

Ten minutes passed and Lloyd was already bothered out of his mind. He tried to sleep, but Lumen kept asking him if he wanted to do something, like play some kind of game. It seemed the cheetah-like entity was quite energetic when he was left with nothing to do. The dual swordsman didn't have any idea of what to do until Emil and Marta came back and his attempts to get Lumen to stop and stay quiet were simply futile.

_Great. I've gotten stuck in an Inn room, babysitting a Centurion. This definitely isn't what I expected for this journey…_ Lloyd thought, sighing.

"Hey. We can see Asuka's from here." Lumen called from the window.

Resisting the urge to order the energetic Centurion to shut up (because Lloyd didn't know how Ratatosk would take others giving orders to his servants), Lloyd stood and went to the window, looking to the building Lumen had mentioned.

Asuka's seemed to be quite crowded. There were people talking outside the building, but there wasn't a line in the entrance, that could mean either the club was full or was used as a meeting spot, which was quite possible. Lloyd could hear music coming from inside when he honed his hearing.

"It seems Tanny wasn't kidding when she said Asuka's was the top night club in town." Lumen commented.

"I think it's more because it is the only night club in town." Lloyd spoke, remembering the rest of the buildings in town either were weapon and armor shops, markets or were simply closed down.

"Wanna go and check?" Lumen asked, sporting his usual goofy grin and wagging his tail.

"What?"

Lloyd considered the possibility. He had never went to a night club before, but his father once talked to him about it and the things that could happen in it. Still, Lloyd doubted some people would be thinking so much on that with the way the world was. Even so, you never knew for certain.

The dual swordsman considered his options: he could stay in the room and hear more of Lumen's insistent pleads for them to do something other than sleep, or he could go down there and see how Asuka's was in the night.

_Well, it's not like I'm going to let anyone force me into anything. I can defend myself if push comes to shove._ Lloyd thought, shrugging and taking his red jacket and sword belt.

"C'mon." the young man said to Lumen.

"So we're going?" the Centurion of light asked in an excited tone.

"Yeah, but if you cause any trouble, we're coming right back, understood?" Lumen nodded to Lloyd, wagging his tail again, which made the swordsman wonder if the energetic Centurion was really a cheetah at all.

The two then exited the Inn, handing the key to the receptionist and going to the other side of the mountain. Lumen concealed himself once they exited the Inn's room and kept floating near Lloyd's head so as to not run into any people.

As they approached the night club, they saw Asuka's neon sign flashing. The place seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, changing its atmosphere from cozy to one more agitated and lively, typical of the place where several teenagers frequently visited, or maybe it was just Lloyd that never actually saw a night club before.

"Wow. It sure looks different during the day. I wonder if that Sheena chick will be dancing." Lumen mused.

Lloyd had also wondered that, but tried not to think too much about it. Someone as beautiful and… good-looking as that woman certainly had a boyfriend, maybe even a fiancé. He just thought she probably would never look to him. After all, he was just a boy compared to…

Lloyd's thoughts were interrupted as he reached the door to the night club and someone was sent flying out of it, landing with a painful thud two meters away of the entrance. The man was bigger than him and let out a painful moan. Lloyd heard someone dusting his hands and looked to the entrance to see Sheena there, her eyes closed and an angry expression in her face.

"And stay out until you learn to keep your hands to yourself or at least be able to read!" the violet haired woman spoke, pointing to a sign near the door. She turned and entered without ever noticing the frightened Lloyd nearby.

Minutes seemed to pass as the young man tried to process what happened. Lumen seemed not as shocked as the boy and floated near the sign that Sheena had pointed to. When he started to read, Lloyd had recovered from his shocked state:

" _'No underages allowed'_, '_No fighting_', '_No molesting the dancers and waitresses_'…" Lumen read. Lloyd found those last two rules a little different, but surely appropriate. The Centurion of light then turned to the boy. "How old are you and are you planning to start a fight or molest one of the dancers or waitresses, Lloyd?" Lumen asked in an innocent, curious way, which made it sound a child was asking it.

"What kind of question is that?" Lloyd replied. "Of course I'm not here to start fights or molest women and, just so you know, I'm nineteen."

"Oh. Ok then." Lumen spoke, his goofy smile returning. Could Lloyd have seen him clearly, the boy would have a sweatdrop running the back of his head again. Deciding to forget Lumen's blunt questions, Lloyd entered Asuka's.

The place was very crowded and he could see more workers than he had seen during the day. They probably called people to work depending on the movement, since everybody that worked here probably lived in Asgard. Not that travelling to work in other cities was an option nowadays. There was an open space in the middle of the building where people were dancing.

Lloyd looked to the stage that was at the other end of the building and saw two women dancing there in what looked to be a very provocative way. He took his eyes off it quickly not to let his hormones more agitated than they already were. Lumen whistled and spoke:

"Man, this place has to be the coolest one I've ever been to!"

That made Lloyd wonder what kind of places Lumen frequently visited when he got breaks from his work. It was then the dual swordsman heard Tanny's voice:

"Oh. Just look who decided to appear." Lloyd looked to her and blushed at the seeing the young woman was wearing what looked like a desert dancers' clothes. Other than that, she had that same energetic and lively expression she had during the day. "I knew you would be coming back."

"Y-you did?" Lloyd asked, trying to recover from his blush.

"Of course. Anybody that truly wants to visit Asgard never go away without passing by Asuka's at night. At least, not ones with possessive girlfriends like your friend."

"So you noticed."

"Pretty much all kinds of people pass by here and, even so, it was obvious seeing the looks she threw to Aisha just because she smiled to that blondie friend of yours. A pity. He seemed good-looking, though a little on the shy side. But let's concentrate on you. First we need a table. Hmmm…" Tanny looked around the club and saw a free table. "Ah, there! Come with me." she grabbed Lloyd by his arm and practically dragged him.

As they were passing by the other tables, the red clad swordsman noticed there weren't many people using the tables. Most were either in the dancing floor or in the bar, where the cashier he had saw before, during the day, appeared to be mixing bottles to make drinks. Together with him was another man.

"It doesn't seem like people stay sitting still for too long, does it?" Lloyd asked Tanny as they reached the table she had mentioned.

"No. Most people come here for the music or the dancers. But you seem the kind that would come more for the food, right?" she asked in an humored tone.

"You got that right." Lloyd replied, scratching the back of his head with a smile.

"Well, we have pretty much everything you saw in the menu during the day, with a few additions. If you have trouble, just call for me or Sheena."

Like speaking her name had summoned her, Sheena appeared near Tanny and asked her if there was something wrong. The voluptuous woman then noticed Lloyd, who couldn't help, but check her outfit too.

Since lunch, Lloyd noticed Sheena appeared to have a taste for low cut clothing, but now she was using something that looked like a dark-blue, sleeveless jacket with a white shirt underneath it and with openings to the sides that showed Sheena's skin, black pants and brown boots. Other than that, her outfit wasn't as revealing as the other workers, but the amount of cleavage shown was enough to attract the view of any man.

"Oh, it's you." Lloyd's eyes immediately went to hers as she spoke. He didn't want to get thrown out just like the guy he saw earlier. "You're not from Asgard, right?" Lloyd nodded to her.

"Uuhhh. She looks pretty in it, don't cha think?" Lloyd could hear Lumen whispering near his ear.

The dual swordsman prayed to whatever entities that were out there that the two women at his front hadn't heard that. Tanny didn't look like she would mind, but Sheena seemed to have narrowed her eyes a little when Lumen made that comment and Lloyd started to sweat. However, she did nothing, other than start talking again:

"Since then, I think we need to set up some rules here." Tanny sighed in what seemed to be annoyance. The seemingly older woman casted a glance at her workmate, but spoke nothing of it. "First: this is a night club not a whore house, so if you came here just to satisfy any kind of fantasies you might have, I'll give you fifty seconds to scram."

"I didn't come here for anything like that!" Lloyd defended himself. He went on talking that he had come to know more on how a night club really was, but doubted Sheena would believe it.

"That's what I'll wait and see. Second: The women working here are entertainers and waitresses, nothing more. So try to force anything they don't want to do and I'll make sure you don't have children anytime soon." Sheena cracked her knuckles in emphasis, which made Lloyd remember just how big the guy she kicked out minutes ago was.

"I-I've read the rules outside, j-just you know." Lloyd said, trying to sound brave, but without much success in it.

"Really?" Sheena asked, however, she was still devious. "Good then. But if I get to kick you out, you better don't think on coming back. I have a good memory."

Giving her back to him, Sheena walked away and disappeared in the middle of the crowd. Tanny sighed again and said for Lloyd to don't mind her. She was like this with all new costumers.

"She's the security here?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah. She used to do dance too, this is, until he dropped in town…"

"'He?'"

"Oh, don't worry. It's nothing serious." Tanny rushed to say. "Anyway, just choose anything you want. And just so you know, the 'special' option is a dancing show where you get to choose who dances to you." Tanny spoke, pointing to a column on the menu where Lloyd could see the names of what he guessed were the dancers. "If you're nice and don't get thrown out by our iron hand of justice…" she pointed behind her, meaning Sheena. "You might even get something nice," she winked to Lloyd in a seductive way.

"Like what?" the boy asked, getting oblivious once he was analyzing the different kinds of food on the menu and not getting the meaning behind Tanny's words.

"Oh, you'll see if you get it."

With that, she left the young man to choose his meal.

From her place, Sheena observed Lloyd. She was trying to find any signs that he would try and do something funny, but didn't find any. The look on his eyes was still etched on her mind. It was the first time she saw someone with that kind of gleam.

_No. I can't let myself be fooled again!_ Sheena thought. _So what if mother said there are decent men out there? It's not like one of them will come for someone like me._

Still, she couldn't help, but feel that Lloyd wasn't that kind of person. It almost felt like he was familiar to her somehow. She was awakened from her reflections by one of the other waitresses waving a hand in front of her. Sheena asked what it was to the glasses-wearing, blue haired half-elf that worked on Asuka's with her.

"That handsome guy there asked for a Mizuho Curry." Sheena looked to where her workmate was pointing to. She was right to assume it was Lloyd.

"Ok, Kate." the violet haired woman spoke.

"Do you want me to serve this one?"

Sheena thought about that. Something kept nagging at her to talk with him, but her mind was still reminding her of what happened the last time she fell for the fake talk of someone. Still, it wasn't like she was that naïve anymore. No, she definitely was smarter, so what was the problem in talking to Lloyd? If anything, she could throw him out at any time.

"I'm going to do this one. You worry about the others." Sheena said, going to the kitchen.

Lloyd was trying really hard to put up with Lumen commenting every step of the dancers on the stage and even harder not to get mental images. He blamed his hormones for that. He was already asked for a dance by two or three girls of his age, but declined. For him, meal came first, the rest he would figure out later.

However, the dual swordsman wasn't really in a mood for dancing. That not counting the fact that he didn't even know how to dance. He didn't need people laughing at his face because of it. It was then Lloyd smelled the food he had asked for and turned to the direction it was coming from. He was very surprised at seeing Sheena carrying the plate to his table.

"Here." She said, handing him the plate.

"T-thanks." Lloyd stuttered, not expecting her to come to him after the way she just stayed glaring at him.

"You really like this stuff, don't you?" Sheena asked once Lloyd had taken the silverware and prepared to attack his meal.

"Yeah. It's so good that…"

"Sh-Sheena!" a feminine voice called from the middle of the crowd in the dancing floor.

"Just one minute." Sheena said, going to the middle of the crowd.

Sounds of beating could be heard and Lloyd saw Sheena carrying someone by the back of the collar of his shirt and the edge of it and throw him out with that same shout of "Don't come back until you do something about your perverted hand!" The young man had a nervous smile in his face by seeing another demonstration of Sheena's capacity of inflict pain to others.

"Wow. She sure is strong, huh?" Lumen commented with his goofy smile on.

"More like don't stand perverts…" Lloyd commented.

Sheena then came back, dusting her hands as she walked. She then looked to Lloyd and spoke:

"Sorry, work subject. And talking about work…" she took the seat next to Lloyd. The red clad swordsman blushed. "I almost forgot."

Sheena closed her hand and reared it back in an obvious motion to punch. Lloyd covered himself, waiting for the impact (even though he didn't remember of doing anything to deserve it). It was then he heard a fist making contact, but felt no pain. Instead, he heard a painful cry that sounded like Lumen. He moved his arms a little so he could see what had happened.

"I don't know what kind of creature you are, but you certainly need to learn some manners." Sheena said.

"Wait a minute. You can see him?" Lloyd asked, getting out of his defensive position and looking incredibly surprised that Sheena could see the Centurion when not even him, who was traveling with them, could.

"Yeah I can. I was always sensitive to spirits and elemental energy since I was a child." she glared at where Lloyd supposed Lumen was sprawled. He could hear some painful moans. "But don't think that adds points to you. I still have my tabs on you." she added, looking to Lloyd again.

"You're pretty devious, you know?" Lloyd spoke, not achieving to hold the comment back.

"No. I'm just realistic. I know what all of you, guys, really want."

"And who said I am like all the other guys. I don't go around and act like everything is fine as long as I get what I want." the last part Lloyd spoke almost without thinking. That was what some people did back in Luin.

Sheena looked at Lloyd with an intrigued expression. Feeling the necessity to explain that, Lloyd said he was from Luin and how the city was doing. At the end, Sheena had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Man. I heard they were having problems with the new leader of the ranch, but I hadn't thought it was that much." Sheena commented.

"Do you know the village near here was attacked?" Lloyd asked, remembering that fact.

"What? No, haven't heard of anything about it."

The two then talked about other things, like the state of the world and their respective thoughts about it. Lumen recovered after some time and decided not to disturb the two (mainly because he didn't want to get hit again). Lloyd also ate his food between the pauses in his talk with Sheena.

In the bar, the red haired cashier had noticed what was going on in Lloyd's table and called two other employers:

"Hey, Aisha, Pietro. Check this out." the red haired man pointed to Lloyd's table.

"Is that Sheena… talking with a costumer? And a guy nonetheless!" Pietro exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, he was here during the day. He even was able to keep eye contact with Sheena the entire time without looking to her chest or any other part." Aisha spoke.

"Woah! Seriously?" Harley, the red haired man, spoke. He then looked to Lloyd again. "Well, either he's very smart or very dumb."

"I think he's actually decent. Different from you, who almost got fired on your second day." Aisha commented.

"Do you need to remind me of that? My back is still shore." Harley rubbed his back for emphasis.

Back at the table, Sheena had decided that Lloyd seemed to actually be a nice person. Not just that they see most things in the same way, but he also hadn't make any comment on her figure or tried to flirt with her. He also had paid attention to what she had talked about rather than any other things about her.

_".Ok, this leaves just one test. If he passes, I'll consider thinking he's a nice guy._". Sheena thought.

"So, do you wanna dance a little?" Sheena asked, getting up after Lloyd was done with his plate.

"I…actually…don't know how to dance." the red clad swordsman said, looking to the side in what seemed to be embarrassment.

"If that's the case, I can teach you. Just remember to keep your hands to yourself."

Lloyd nodded to Sheena, ignoring the undertone of threat in her last sentence. He was already becoming used to it and for him that just meant Sheena was someone that took care of herself.

- / - / - / -

Lloyd walked back to the Inn with a smile on his face. He had really enjoyed dancing with Sheena. The voluptuous woman really danced well. She didn't mind he had actually stepped on other people's feet or hit some of them, that actually made her snicker a little.

_Yeah, but I bet that when she smiles…_ Lloyd thought, but decided to stop right there and not to get his hopes up. _We just talked and danced, nothing more. It's not like it has anything special to it._

"So, had fun?" Lumen asked to Lloyd.

"Yup."

"See? Told you it would be cool." Lumen said with his goofy smile on. "And it seems you and that Sheena chick also made some progress."

"What do you mean? We just talked."

Before Lumen could say anything else, the two arrived at the Inn and opened the door to be greeted by an exalted Marta:

"Where have you two been? We were worried sick." Marta said, immediately assaulting Lloyd.

"Marta. I don't think that's too much of a…" Emil tried to say, but Marta interrupted him.

"Of course it's a problem! What if Lloyd had been attacked by demons, or Desians, or… ?"

"Hey, hey, calm down." Lloyd said, trying to prevent the girl from waking the entire Inn. "I didn't leave the city and I'm alive as you can see."

"Yeah, we just went to Asuka's." Lumen readily said, wagging his tail and with his goofy smile on.

"What?" Marta exclaimed. "You…you went there?"

"Well, yeah. What's the big deal?" Lloyd asked.

"And why you went there?"

"He wanted to see Sheena." Lumen spoke before Lloyd could explain.

"Lumen! That's not it!"

"Oh. Then what was it?" Lumen asked in that innocent way of his.

"Oh. So you went to see Sheena?" Marta asked, now in a sweet tone and leaning closer to Lloyd, putting her hands behind herself and swaying her body to the sides.

Lloyd again started to wonder what was with that girl and her mood swings. Emil just sighed and said he was going to sleep, leaving Lloyd alone with the petite brunette, who now seemed pretty interested in his visit to the night club.

"Not really." Lloyd said, looking to the stairs where Emil had disappeared and back to the brunette fighter in front of him. "I just went there to see how…" he got interrupted as Marta started to speak.

"If that was the case, you could have said it before and I would have given you some tips on how to woo Sheena. I am a girl after all, you know."

"Huh? But I didn't…"

"I was wondering if you had a girlfriend back in Luin, but since the city treated you like that, I guess you don't. But I think everybody needs someone to warm your heart and give you support. Just like I and Emil..." she then put her hands clasped near her face, with a dreamy expression on her features.

A big sweatdrop ran behind Lloyd's head. It seemed Marta was the kind of girl that can get very enthusiastic at the possibility of a romance and wanted to make sure it would work out. However, as she went on, blabbering about Emil and what girls liked, Lloyd thought on what she said about people warming others' hearts and supporting each other…


	6. Ventus

Another chapter and another Centurion to add to the roster!

But don't think the story resumes to just collecting them to awaken Ratatosk. Soon enough, you all will know what I'm talking about.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Ventus**

Sheena was getting water from the well behind her house in the residential part of Asgard. It was still night and she had come back from Asuka's some hours after dancing with Lloyd. She had to admit, the young man was a little slow to pick things up, but was a nice guy nonetheless.

_Or maybe it is me who's getting soft…_ Sheena mused.

Shaking her head to stop thinking about that, she focused on the task of getting water for her mother and herself to have breakfast the next day. The voluptuous woman was filling the second bucket when she felt a presence nearby: a demon. By the aura, she could tell it was a minor one, nothing she couldn't handle by herself.

Sheena acted like she hadn't noticed her stalker, taking the buckets and starting to walk to her house. A loud roar sounded behind her and time seemed to have slowed itself as the violet haired woman let her buckets fall to the ground without spill a drop of water and did a back flip over the demon's head.

She landed some meters away of her demonic attacker, who roared again after landing and turning its head to her, seeming angry by having missed its attack. The demon had a lizard head with fins at the sides and a single horn coming out of its forehead and making a curve upwards. It also was dressing a black armor, which combined with its dark brown scales and black claws.

"If you came here to pick a fight, you chose the wrong person to mess with." Sheena said, with her stare fixed on the demon.

The otherworldly monster roared again and attacked. Sheena then brought her hand to her low cut and pulled out a set of seal cards hidden between her breasts. When the demon almost had its claws on her, she empowered the card and jumped over the demon again. When she and the demon landed again, the lizard-like creature noticed the piece of paper sticking on its muzzle.

The card then shone and several copies of it made of light started to surround the demon like angry bees. Sheena put her one hand near her face, making a hand signal with her middle and indicator fingers up, murmuring:

"Demon Seal." the spectral seal cards stopped in the air and converted into light rushing into the demon and exploding on him, forming images of cursed spirits. The demon went to the ground with the force of the Arte.

Sheena turned to her adversary, who sprung back to its feet and growled to her, showing its sharp fangs and claws and opening its mouth. The guardian user simply cracked her knuckles, readying herself for another round. The lizard demon charged at the same time she did.

Though the creature was agile, Sheena was faster, delivering flurries of punches and kicks on her adversary, some charged with light element, with such grace that it looked like she was doing some short of dance rather than fighting. She also spun sometimes to avoid the claws of the demon, placing a seal on him and releasing a powerful blast of energy into the demon. One of those destroyed part of its armor and the other left the creature confused, unable to land a clean hit on Sheena.

When the demon tried to crush the female warrior with a death-hug, Sheena ducked and laid in the ground, twisting her body so her feet were up and propping herself up with her hands, landing a double kick on the demon's chin. Still with her hands on the ground, she opened her legs and spun like a human top, charging her feet with the element of light and delivering a heavy damage to the demon-lizard's face, which went to the ground again, this time without energy to recover, due to the light-charged burns it had received.

Sheena stood on her feet and stomped on the demon's chest, making it roar in pain as it seemed to be trying to get up, but without success. Seeing it wouldn't be able to take down its prey anymore, the otherworldly creature stopped.

"If you wanted to have a snack, you came to the wrong town, buddy." Sheena said. "You're not going to kill anybody on my watch."

"Foolish woman." the demon said in a rasp voice. "You and you're kind are nothing but bugs in our way. You're just…" it stopped to take breath once Sheena pressed her boot harder on its chest. "...delaying the inevitable. Your destiny is to be killed sooner or later."

"I don't know about that." Sheena said, shrugging. "But one thing I do know…" the young woman shot her hand forward and grabbed the demon's face in a grip strong enough to keep its head from moving. "It's not going to be by you..."

Sheena then called forth energy of light around her and used some of her own magical energies, gathering everything in the hand she was holding the demon's face with and unleashing it in a powerful burst. A flash and a roar of pain followed, which woke some of Asgard's citizens temporarily, right before they went back to their sleep.

Sheena got up from the charred remains of the demon. Her power burnt completely through the chaos energy that sustained the beast together with its scales. She then looked to her still glowing hand as the body of the lizard demon merged with the earth, liberating any chaos energy that was left in the process.

"Strange. I didn't remember it being that powerful…" Sheena thought as the golden glow on her hand subsided. She then closed her fist and thought aloud. _Oh well. The more powerful it is, the more demonic asses I can kick._

The violet haired woman then picked up the water buckets and entered into her home, whistling…

- / - / - / -

Dawn broke as Lloyd mumbled his way out of slumber. The brunette swordsman rubbed on his eyes as he sat in the bed. When he opened his eyes fully, the first thing he saw was Lumen's feline face very close to him, with that goofy grin he always carried.

"Whoa!" Lloyd let out, slightly jumping behind and hitting the wall behind him. "Lumen, don't scare me like that!" the red clad young man exclaimed.

"Finally awake, huh? I was wondering just how much you could actually sleep." Lumen said in his normal, cheerful tone. "Boss and Marta already left. They said I should stay here and in case you woke up to say that they went to the stone dais."

Lumen spoke so fast that Lloyd almost lost what the Centurion was trying to say, just after replaying it mentally the dual swordsman could understand it. He then realized an important fact:

"Wait. Emil and Marta already left?"

"Yep. I heard boss saying something about you being a sleepy lazy bum." Lumen answered, still with his goofy grin on.

Lloyd scratched behind his head at the words. No doubt it was Ratatosk. Deciding to leave the fact he overslept aside, Lloyd got up and dressed himself to get ready to go after Emil and Marta. After eating breakfast at the Inn, he exited the building. Lumen, concealed from sight as always, accompanied the red clad swordsman.

"So, where is this stone dais you spoke of?" Lloyd asked Lumen.

"I don't know." the Centurion simply said, his tone never losing its cheerful connotation.

"Wha…? But you said…"

"Yeah, but I wasn't with them the other night when they went to investigate the city, remember?" Lumen spoke, still in his cheerful tone, which made a sweatdrop fall behind Lloyd's head.

"Great… then how are we… ?"

"Hey there!" a familiar voice called. Lloyd turned and saw Sheena walking to him. She was wearing the same clothing she wore when she was working at Asuka's during the day.

"Oh, hi Sheena."

"Hey there, Sheena." Lumen said in his usual goofy grin.

"Hello Lloyd and… whatever thing you are." Sheena said, looking from Lloyd to Lumen, narrowing her eyes when she looked to the cheetah-like entity.

"I'm Centurion Lumen." Lumen said, presenting himself with his typical smile never leaving his face, seeming as oblivious to people's disapproval of him as always.

"Centurion?"

"Ah, nothing." Lloyd said, trying to change the subject. The last thing he needed was being scolded by Ratatosk by letting Lumen reveal about their quest to other people. "Um, Sheena, do you know where there is a stone dais around here?"

"Yes. They're just up that staircase." the voluptuous woman pointed to the staircase that separated the mountain. "Why do you ask? You don't seem to be the type to take interest in history or ruins."

"My friends went up there to… see it." Lloyd spoke, but Sheena noticed the pause on his line. She got a devious look on her face, but didn't comment on it. "Anyway, thanks again!"

Lloyd then ran to the staircase, however he soon noticed he was being followed. Turning, the red clad swordsman saw Sheena walking behind him. He then asked what she was doing and the gorgeous woman said:

"Just going for a walk."

"B-but… don't you have to work on Asuka's right now?" Lloyd asked, starting to get nervous under Sheena's devious glare.

"They can do just fine without me. What I really want is to see what you guys are up to, 'cause it seems your friends haven't come here just for sightseeing or tourism."

_You don't know how right you are._ Lloyd thought. Seeing there was no way he could convince Sheena to leave (at least not without getting on her bad side), Lloyd followed the young woman up to the stone dais.

The staircase ended in a small summit from which you could see the other mountains and hills behind Asgard. A great stone platform with four pedestals, which had statues of what looked like fairies or some other kind of entity or mystical creature on its top, was at the center of the summit. Lloyd could hear the voices of Emil and Marta carried by the winds that blew around the local:

"I don't see any kind of entrance here. Are you sure it's here, Ratatosk?" Marta asked.

"I don't know. I've just got this image of this ruin and feeling that there's something familiar about it." came Ratatosk's harsh, strong tone.

Sheena raised an eyebrow at hearing the new voice and seeing that there was only Marta and Emil in the vicinity. At that point, Lloyd felt cold sweat running down his forehead. Then Emil's normal voice sounded:

"Perhaps there's some kind of enchantment, or spell that may…"

"What are you two doing around here?" Sheena spoke up.

Emil jumped and Marta got startled. The blonde turned to see Sheena there with her hands on her hips and an inquisitive expression on her face. Close behind her was Lloyd who had an apologetic look on his face. Also the two felt Lumen there in his usual cheerful mood, despite the situation they were in.

"W-we're… researching the stone dais." Emil said, which in itself was true, however, Sheena didn't seem convinced.

"Researching, huh?" the violet haired woman said, crossing her arms. She then looked and pointed her finger near the young couple. "Does this have anything to do with that dog-thing you have there?" Sheena pointed exactly to where Tenebrae was.

If Emil and Marta seemed surprised before, they were simply dumbstruck now. Lloyd thought he clearly underestimated Sheena if she was fast enough to put two and two together. Seeing that hiding was clearly useless now, Tenebrae revealed himself, his canine face also had a surprised expression written all over it.

"How did you… ?" the Centurion of darkness started, but was interrupted by Sheena.

"Like I said to your brother, or whatever that perverted cheetah is to you, I'm sensitive to spiritual and elemental energy and you two aren't exactly easy to blend in the crowd."

Tenebrae looked to Lumen, who just kept his goofy smile. The look the dog-like Centurion had was one of "why didn't you tell us before!". Emil and Marta then looked to Lloyd, who had been silent the entire time. The dual swordsman felt extremely stupid by forgetting to tell his two travel companions that Sheena could see Tenebrae and Lumen.

"Well… um…" Emil started, but was unable to continue. That alone was more than enough of an answer to Sheena.

"In that case, you should go and look for Linar, Aisha's brother." Sheena said. Emil, Marta, Lloyd and the Centurions all looked to her. "But I'm going too. Not that I care about these ruins or anything, but I can see you guys are up to something, I just have to find out whether its good or not."

Emil, Marta and Lloyd looked amongst themselves. The red clad swordsman knew that Sheena wasn't the kind to trust anyone so easily, so they would have to think of something and quick if they wanted to keep any credit at all with the older woman.

"You certainly are devious." Tenebrae commented aloud, looking to Sheena, his sarcastic mood kicking in.

"Am I not allowed to if I see a bunch of people walking around with spiritual beings that I never saw before?" the violet haired woman asked, using a tone equally sarcastic.

"Wow. She's as sharp as you, Tene-man." Lumen said.

Sheena looked to the Centurion of light, now seeming confused. Tenebrae just shook his head and Sheena decided it was better not to ask. She gestured for the group to follow her.

On the way, Emil, Marta and Lloyd (who approached the couple) discussed what to do:

"Do you think we should say to her that it's dangerous, so she won't come along?" Marta asked to the two boys.

"I don't know. Sheena didn't look like the type that would mind to get into a fight." Lloyd commented.

"Yeah. She threw a guy two times Lloyd's size out of Asuka's." Lumen commented.

"He wasn't that big, Lumen."

"But I bet he weighted a lot."

"Maybe…" Emil said, attracting the other's attention. "We should just let her come for now. I mean, I know Linar. I've been to his house the last time we came here."

"Oh yeah. You commented about it." Marta said.

"Excuse me, but what should we do if she follows us in case we find Ventus' altar?" Tenebrae asked, making them focus back on the problem at hand. "Unless she knows how to fight, she would be in mortal danger."

"I can hear you talking, you know." Sheena said not even turning to look at them, almost making the humans in the group jump again. "And just so you know, I do know how to fight."

"Do you really?"

Soon after Tenebrae ended his question he saw the edge of a seal card inches away of his muzzle. The group gasped. None of them had seen Sheena move and, by the looks of it, even Tenebrae hadn't sensed the violet haired woman's fast movement. Lloyd also noticed something strange: the fingers which Sheena used to hold the seal card were glowing weakly and the inscriptions on the card itself seemed to shine with the same intensity as the glow on her finger.

Tenebrae looked to her and seemed to be startled for the first time since Lloyd had met him during that journey. Lumen had let his goofy smile drop and had a look of innocent confusion on his cheetah face while looking to the seal card on Sheena's hand.

"If I wanted, I could have dispatched you and your friend back to wherever you came from." Sheena said in a serious, sharp tone, the tone of someone who had already experienced what was a fight for her life.

The guardian user replaced the seal card between her breasts again, and started to walk. Emil, Marta, Lloyd and the Centurions followed her wordlessly. Tenebrae could just wonder how he could not have sensed the human woman's intent.

"That seemed familiar…" Lumen's voice sounded.

"You mean, Tenebrae been threatened by a woman?" Marta asked, thinking Lumen was probably referring to another comic situation he had witnessed.

"Not really. Aqua picked a lot on him. I mean, there was something about Sheena that reminds me of somebody, but I can't remember who."

The three humans exchanged glances between themselves. They knew Lumen didn't brag or lied about anything, so what could he be talking about? Emil wished that Ratatosk could answer him, or at least give them an idea about it, but he had no means to consult the Summon Spirit without giving his body to him and he certainly couldn't do it in front of Sheena without raising her suspicions of them more.

Lumen and Tenebrae had concealed themselves once the group left the staircase to the stone dais and went to the section of Asgard where the great majority of the residences were. After going up more stairs, they came across with a house with a windmill on its top.

Sheena entered the place, followed by the three other humans and the hidden Centurions. Inside the house was a blue haired man with glasses, using light brown clothes and old shoes. His face reminded them of Aisha.

"Hello Linar." Sheena greeted Aisha's brother.

"Hey, Sheena. What are you doing here? Did… something happen with Aisha?" Linar asked, his tone already getting worried.

"No, she's fine. It's just these people here that were examining the stone dais." the violet haired woman pointed to the group behind her.

Linar then looked pass Sheena to the other three, young adults. However, when his gaze fell upon Emil, the expression on his face changed from analytic to one that seemed to mix surprise and happiness.

"Aster! Is that you?" Linar asked, looking directly to Emil.

"Aster?" Sheena and Lloyd asked at the same time.

"Hi Linar. Good to see you're doing well." Emil answered in a tone that suggested he and Linar were old acquaintances.

Lumen had a confused expression on his cheetah face similar to Lloyd and Sheena. The red clad swordsman saw that she was distracted and took that chance to approach Marta while Emil went with Linar and the two started to talk. Lloyd then asked Marta why Linar was calling Emil Aster.

"Oh sorry, we forgot to tell you. Emil's full name is: Emil Aster Castagnier." Marta whispered to Lloyd, occasionally casting a glance to see if Sheena wasn't hearing them. "The demons only know his first name, so he uses the middle one as an alias in some cities."

"Wait a minute." Sheena said, attracting everybody's attention as she spoke. She pointed to Emil. "So he's the Aster that you've been talking about?"

"Yes, that's him." Linar confirmed. He then explained. "Two years ago, I came back with some tablets and scrolls from the Balacruf Excavation Site. That was before the demons had built the fortress in the mountains nearby. I had some trouble translating the inscriptions, until Aster appeared and helped me.

"He was amazing. He even pointed out that I've made some errors on other of my translations." Linar said with certain pride on his voice.

"Wow." Sheena said, turning to Emil. "You must be very smart to even correct Linar. He's one of the best archeologists in town. Not that we have that many, anyway."

Emil scratched behind his head with an embarrassed smile. Lloyd could just hear all of that with a mild open mouth. Nobody worried much with translating ruins or researching about knowledge of the past nowadays. Most people thought that the only thing they needed to know was the big mistake they committed during the war and that they were paying for it.

However, there was still a group of people that insisted on keeping the lore of the past alive and in research it. They generally were very intelligent people, but some tended to die sooner, due to the fact most sites of ancient culture were now territories where demon and Desian's bases were built.

Marta smiled at hearing Emil being complemented like that and whispered to Lloyd:

"Emil was always very smart. Our scholar friend knew a lot about ruins and things like this and Emil asked to be tutored on it. He can catch things really quick and even learned some by himself. We even thought it was an effect of Ratatosk being inside him."

"Really? Then he must be, like, a genius." Lloyd said.

"Well, he's very modest, but I think you can say that." Marta spoke, her tone turning one of pride and admiration.

"So you're researching the stone dais?" the group heard Linar ask Emil after the blond swordsman had told him the reason they were there. "In that case, this might interest you: I've been doing some research myself and I discovered it seems to be some kind of complex below the dais."

"A complex?" Emil asked, his voice assuming a serious and concentrated tone, which differed slightly from his soft, shy one. Linar nodded to him. "But I didn't found anything that could be an entrance or a door there when I investigated."

Linar took sometime to think. Sheena and Lloyd were curious about it, though they were straining not to get bored if the two researchers started to talk about ruins and translations more deeply. They never shared that out loud, but both Lloyd and Sheena didn't exactly have much interest in old things, though the latter wouldn't just start to get sleepy in the middle of a conversation that involved the subject.

"In that case, maybe… it's just a theory, but if you could get someone do the Maiden Ritual..." Linar suggested.

"Maiden Ritual?" Lloyd asked.

"It's part of Asgard's folklore." Emil started to explain. "It was a ritual performed in the past during a festival in praise of the Summon Spirits of wind, the Sylph. The main attraction was a dance made by one of the main priestesses."

"Hey, isn't that the dance Aisha makes every time we call her to dance on the stage?" Sheena asked.

"Yes, that's it." Linar confirmed. "Our grandmother was one of the last wind priestesses. Aisha says that the ritual signify the 'opening of a door'. "

"Then maybe that's what we need." Marta said.

Emil nodded to her and decided they would go and ask Aisha about the ritual. Before leaving the house, Emil turned to Linar and guaranteed that they wouldn't put Aisha in danger. He also advised Linar to don't try and go to the complex below the stone dais until they have checked if the path was safe.

"I wasn't planning on investigating the complex, anyway. There may be monsters or even some demons down there. And, I'm sure, if they don't kill me, Aisha will once she heard that we've did something like that." Linar said with a mild smile.

The four humans then went back to Asuka's. Before entering the restaurant/night club, Sheena talked to them in an apologetic tone:

"About earlier, I'm sorry for having suspected you were up to no good. If you're really that Aster person Linar talked about, then you surely must know what you are doing."

"There's no need to apologize." Emil said. "I also would be as devious as you if I saw someone doing something strange around the place I live."

"It's good that you think that way because I'll still follow you." Marta seemed a little worried once she heard that, but nobody noticed. "I'm a little curious about it myself. I've lived in this city for the best part of my life, but I never heard we had a dungeon below the stone dais."

"Are you sure you want to go? There might be monsters there. Scary, slimy monsters." Lumen asked, his voice sounding from near Lloyd.

"I'm not afraid of fighting some monsters and I did say that I can defend myself."

"Oh, good." Lumen said with his goofy smile on. "That means you're not one of those women that use tight, low cut clothes to attract males, but can't defend themselves from even cockroaches. "

A heavy silence hung in the air. You could hear the wind blowing at distance. Sheena then spoke:

"Does anybody mind if I kill him?"

"I would say 'go on', but we do need Lumen for our quest." Tenebrae spoke.

Sheena sighed, letting the subject drop. At least, Lumen didn't seem to be the malicious kind. He was just… very blunt and inopportune. The voluptuous woman then noticed Marta approaching her with what seemed to be an angry and serious expression. The brunette girl started to talk:

"If you're coming with us, then there's one condition." she looked to the boys and then whispered, so that only Sheena could hear. "Don't try to steal Emil from me."

The guardian user tilted her head to the side at hearing that. She then looked to Emil, who seemed a little confused as what the girls were talking about. Sheena then looked back to Marta, talking:

"And why would I do that? He doesn't seem that interesting to me."

"What do you exactly mean by that?" Marta asked, her tone starting to get protective.

"Just that he doesn't call my attention. Now can you stop being so possessive?"

"What? I'm not possessive!" Marta said in a defensive tone. She then walked to Emil and asked him, dead on, taking the blond swordsman by surprise. "Do you think I'm possessive Emil?"

"Hum… I-I… that's…" Emil stuttered.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Lady Sheena, Lady Marta." Tenebrae said, apparently answering for Emil

"T-dark is right. You get kinda scary when you see him getting interested in another chick." Lumen commented, his tone getting a little wary.

Marta shot the two Centurions a glare so venous that the two shut up at the same instant. Lloyd could just observe the scene with a raised eyebrow. Sheena sighed and said for them to just enter and get that done. Emil sighed in relief to don't have to answer Marta's question. He was never very good at lying.

Asuka's was just as in the first day they came to Asgard; three, four families, at the best, were having lunch in the restaurant/night club. Sheena said for them to wait in the entrance as she went for the kitchen to call Aisha.

The group decided to sit in a table nearby while they waited for Sheena to return. It was then Lloyd saw the cashier was making signal for him to come over there. The red clad swordsman said for Emil and Marta to wait for him there and went to Harley, the cashier.

Lloyd approached the man and soon saw he had pointed ears, indicating he was a half-elf. However, the dual swordsman didn't find himself bothered by that in the least. He then asked what was it and Harley asked:

"So, you're the guy that danced with Sheena yesterday?" Lloyd nodded. "Man, how did you get her to do that? Ever since Sheena was dumped by that Cruxis' Representative guy, she thinks every man that crosses her path is a pervert just wanting a piece of her."

"Cruxis' Representative?" Lloyd repeated.

"Yeah. The guy came to town five years ago and he almost convinced Sheena to leave with him, but, in the end, it was all just sweet talk. And Asuka said she could see from kilometers away that the guy was no good. Huh, seems like she really knows how to point out these kind of people. I even thought there was nothing wrong with him and…"

Harley never achieved to end his phrase, due to a frying pan hitting him in the back of his head, electing a painful "Ow!" from him. Lloyd and the red head turned to see Tanny at the other side of the counter, with the frying pan in hand and an angry expression on her face.

"What did Sheena and Asuka say about it, Harley? It's none of our business what happened. But if you still don't get it…" Tanny raised the frying pan again, in a threatening gesture. Harley cowered over the girl.

"Whoa, whoa! Put it down! Sorry. I just wanted to know how the little guy here achieved to get past the wall around Sheena!" Harley justified.

"Oh yeah. Just because you couldn't do it and got a big scar on your back to prove it."

Harley seemed to wince at the memory, unconsciously massaging his back at the mention of it. Sighing, the half-elf went back to the counter as Tanny watched him, patting the frying pan on her left hand, posing like she was some short of guard. She then turned to Lloyd and her cheerful smile immediately returned. Lloyd started to wonder if all girls had mood swing issues.

"Don't mind Harley and his big mouth." she casted an angry glance to the man at the end of her line. "Anyway, you shouldn't worry about it." Tanny spoke, reverting back to her cheerful mood. "It's in the past and I'm sure Sheena doesn't think you're anything like that guy."

The red haired waitress went back to her work, leaving Lloyd to return to his table, thinking on everything he heard. So somebody had fooled Sheena and almost made she leave town, just to prove later that he was using her. The red clad brunette felt his blood boil at the thought. Sheena was a good woman, she didn't deserve to be treated like a toy you could throw away when getting tired of playing with it.

_That would be enough for any girl to get so distrusting of men. If ever meet this guy, I'll…_ Lloyd thought, deciding to leave the threat incomplete, for he was still thinking in a good way to inflict pain to the guy. _And he was a representative from Cruxis. Huh, no wonder he thought he could play with Sheena's feelings._

In large communities, it was common for Cruxis to choose a faithful follower to be their representative in society. These followers generally got fanatic about it, thinking that, since they were chosen, it was their holy duty to punish anyone that looked to be against Cruxis in the slightest and that, combined with the power they gained from their position within the ranks of the church, resulted in said representative abusing of his power to do whatever he wanted, thinking the other "less faithful" people should serve him. Of course, there were exceptions and some actually did a good job.

The position was passed on to the children of the representative, who had his fiancé chosen by the church, the fiancé that generally was somebody of an equally faithful family or with conditions to "donate" a good amount to Cruxis' Church, though there were no rich people in a literal sense. The position was just removed from the family if the angels of Cruxis said so.

Sheena came back with Aisha right in time Lloyd had reached the table, masking his anger with whoever had played with the violet haired woman's heart. The brunette warrior decided he wouldn't say he heard that about her, since it was a personal matter and he didn't want to invade her space.

Emil asked Aisha about the stone dais and the Maiden Ritual, explaining the situation a little. The blue haired maiden spoke:

"I heard about this from Linar, but do you really think the ritual can lead you to below the stone dais?"

"I think it's worth a try." Emil said. "But I wouldn't feel good if it put you in danger. There might be monsters down there."

"Then how about we ask her if she can teach one of us the ritual?" Lloyd suggested. "After all, it's just dancing, isn't it?"

"Yes, but in that case…" Aisha said, looking to Sheena.

"No thanks. I don't feel like giving them a little show." the violet haired woman said.

"In that case. Marta, I think it'll have to be you." Aisha spoke, looking to Marta.

"Uh, ok then." the petite brunette said.

"Wait a minute. Why it has to be Marta or Sheena?" Lloyd asked.

"Because it's a _Maiden_ ritual." Sheena said, sighing upon the blunt question. "So, unless you're a woman, or has intentions to be one…" she added the last part with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I'm not like that, if that's what you're asking." Lloyd said.

Aisha said for the group to wait outside while she showed Marta how to perform the steps for the ritual. Sheena, Lloyd and Emil got out of Asuka's and could hear Lumen saying:

"So Lady Marta is going to dance? Man, I can't wait to see that!"

"I have to admit; I wonder how she will perform it. Lady Marta never seemed to be… too gracious." Tenebrae commented with a chuckle.

"C'mon you two." Emil said, looking to where the Centurions were floating. "We have to give Marta our support, not make fun of her."

"Of course. I'm sorry Lord Emil." Tenebrae said in a legitimate apologetic tone.

"'Lord Emil'?" Sheena repeated, confused. "What does he mean by that and what the hell are Lumen and… T-man or whatever is your name?"

"It's Tenebrae. Lumen is the one who likes to arrange nicknames for all of us."

"Do you think we should tell her about our journey?" Emil asked Lloyd.

"I think Sheena is trustworthy. She wouldn't just go around telling everybody." Lloyd said.

"Are you sure you're not saying that just because you…" Lumen was about to ask, but (luckily) Lloyd interrupted him, knowing what the oblivious Centurion would ask.

"No! That has nothing to do with it!"

Sheena cast all of them a glance that asked "what are you talking about?". Lloyd and Emil then explained her about their journey and the Centurions. At the end the violet haired woman had a mildly surprised expression on her face.

"Wow, that's some tale. But it does explain why your aura feels so strange." she said looking to Emil.

"Strange?" the blond swordsman asked.

"Yeah, like… how do I explain it? You two know that all living beings have a unique kind of life force signature to them right?" Emil and Lloyd agreed to Sheena. "Well, that is what summoners and some scholars call aura; a wave of energy that is produced by the being's spirit. Though each one has an unique aura, it bears some similarities between those of same race.

"Your aura, Emil, is unlike any I have seen. It resembles the one of a human, but there is something on it that is just… well, like something you don't encounter on any other being of this world. I think that's what a Summon Spirit aura would be like." Emil let out an "oh…" and lowered his head, like what Sheena said had him upset. Seeing that, the attractive female quickly spoke, a little worried she might have offended the boy somehow. "But it's not like it's a bad thing, in my opinion. It just makes you unique that way."

"Thanks Sheena." Emil said, though Sheena and Lloyd could catch a tint of worry and heaviness on his tone.

Marta then came out of Asuka's, saying she was ready. Aisha wished them all good luck on their work and guaranteed to Sheena she would look over things while she was accompanying Emil, Marta and Lloyd.

The group head back to the stone dais and Marta brought the staff Aisha had given her to do the ritual. Before going up the platform, the brunette fighter mumbled:

"I just hope I don't mess it up."

"Don't worry, Lady Marta." Tenebrae spoke, reappearing together with Lumen. "I'm sure you will succeed."

"Yeah. It's not like you'll just get blank or something right in the middle of the ritual." Lloyd said with a reassuring smile.

"Actually, I do tend to forget things with little details easily." Marta said. At that, Lloyd didn't know what to say and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, better you do it quickly then, 'cause Emil here seemed very anxious to see you dancing." Sheena said.

"Really? You want to see me dancing, Emil?" Marta asked, immediately changing from doubtful and insecure to determined and lovely.

"I…. I… well..." Emil stuttered, unable to say anything with the proximity between he and Marta.

"Then keep you're eyes on me! I'm going to dance like you never saw before."

Marta immediately went to the platform and stood in position to start the dance. Lloyd looked to Sheena and whispered a "thanks" to her, realizing the trick the older woman had used to make Marta get better. Sheena winked to him in return.

"Are you really that eager to see her dancing? Wow, you must like her a lot, boss." Lumen said with his typical goofy smile. Emil's face got beet red.

Lloyd and the others watched as Marta got on her knees in the center of the platform and got up, starting the dance. She moved from one of the minor circles engraved in the surface of the platform to the other, in light steps and swinging the staff above and at the sides of her body, tapping the circle with the point of her staff and making it glow. At the end, she was back to the central circle and kneeled once more, in reverence. Emil had to admit Marta looked beautiful while dancing like that, though he would never have the courage to voice those thoughts. Lloyd and the Centurions found the dance very interesting too.

It was then something happened: Marta's body glowed together with the central circle. Lights came out of the center of the stone dais, as the portal opened. The rest of the group got up the dais while Marta stood, feeling a little strange.

She had felt something near the end of the ritual, like there was something inside her reacting to the dais. She decided to drop the feeling aside and looked to Emil, asking how she looked like, putting her hands behind her and swinging her body to the sides in what looked to be a shy pose. The boy stuttered a little, unable to speak anything coherent.

Seeing that the blonde wouldn't admit he found his friend attractive anytime soon, Sheena decided to cut to the chase for them:

"You were nice. Now can we get on with this?" Marta cast a glare to Sheena.

The group reunited in the center of the shimmering circle and felt like they were being teleported somewhere…

- / - / - / -

Emil and the others arrived in what seemed to be some sort of underground ruin; a long corridor with pedestals on its walls and symbols that glowed with an eerie, green light. Lloyd and Sheena had their mouths opened in awe as they looked around.

"Can you feel what core is here, Tenebrae?" Emil asked the Centurion of darkness.

"Yes. The chaos energies haven't reached here, so I can sense the core nearby. It's…"

"Ventus." the answer didn't come from Tenebrae, but from Marta, who was ahead of the group, gazing at the corridor in a way it seemed she was lost in the space.

"Hey! How did you know, Marta?" Lumen asked.

"Huh?" Marta let out, turning to them. The expression on her face was one of someone who had woken from a deep reflection or a daydream.

"You just said that the Centurion's core that we are bound to encounter here is Ventus. How did you know?" Tenebrae asked.

"Really? I said it?" Marta asked, tilting her head to the side and seeming confused.

"Marta. You were just standing there and said it. I heard you." Emil spoke.

"We too." Sheena said, turning to the group once noticing something was up.

"Are you feeling alright?" Lloyd asked, getting worried his friend might be feeling strange.

"I'm fine, it's just… I felt something strange… and now I can feel something coming from the end of the passage." Marta said.

"You can?" Tenebrae asked in a tone that suggested he was suspecting of something.

"Why is it that important anyway? Can't Emil feel it too?" Sheena asked, turning to the blond boy.

"No. Lord Emil's soul is still not powerful enough to sense a Centurion's core by himself." Tenebrae explained.

"Then, couldn't it be an effect of Marta's exposition to Ratatosk's power?" Emil suggested.

"Um, guys." Sheena called everybody's attention. "Didn't you come here to recover this core, or whatever it is?" the group nodded to the older woman's statement, pushing that discussion to the back of their minds. That is; all of them but Marta, who was still wondering why she could feel Ventus in the first place.

As they explored the ruins, the group encountered a puzzle that involved pressing symbols in the walls in a way an archer's statue would fire a magical arrow and hit the jewels engraved in a mural in a determined sequence. Tenebrae said he was surprised the mechanism was still working even with the absence of mana. They even had to take care of a group of monsters when they missed a jewel in the combination.

At the end of the battle, Emil made pacts with the monsters and even used it to train some of which he already had. Marta and the Centurions had observed Sheena's fighting style and got impressed she could fight off the creatures with just her body or using those pieces of paper of hers. The brunette fighter then asked the voluptuous woman what was that fighting style she used with those papers:

"They are called seals. I'm a guardian user, which means I fight utilizing magical seals, which I empower with my magical energy or the elemental energy around me. As for my melee techniques, it's called martial arts." Sheena explained.

"And where did you learned that from?" Emil asked. Lloyd noticed they were talking to Sheena and approached.

"That is a secret." Sheena told them, in a tone which said she wouldn't talk about the subject anymore.

"Then answer us this; how do you know how to use elemental energy, as well as your magical one?" Tenebrae asked. "For that you would need to be…" the black, dog-like entity was interrupted by Sheena.

"A half-elf? Well, they say one of my grandparents was one and I have some elven blood diluted on me, so I guess that makes me one. Why? Do you have a problem with that?" Sheena's look turned sharper and her expression more serious. She looked at each member of the group in the eyes, like trying to see if they would lie when answering.

"No, not at all,." Emil rushed to say, getting nervous under the glare of the violet haired fighter. "We have a friend who is a half-elf."

"Same here." Marta said.

Sheena didn't even bothered to look at the Centurions, since they were closer to monsters and reminded her a little of spirits, they certainly didn't care for things as race or social tendencies. The guardian user's gaze fell upon Lloyd, who was the only one who hadn't pronounced himself until now.

When he heard that Sheena could possibly be a half-elf, Lloyd got a little surprised. But, as when he discovered that Harley, her workmate, was one too, he didn't feel bothered by that at all. If anything, that made he want to know more about Sheena. Seeing the woman of his thoughts had her eyes upon him, as well as the others, Lloyd looked in Sheena's eyes as he spoke to not let any doubt about his standing in the matter:

"I'm not that familiar with half-elves at all. But I always thought that there should be decent half-elves. Seeing you and that cashier, Harley is his name, I think, I see that I was right. I don't think someone is evil just because of his race.

"I was always taught that what matters is the person's heart, or lack of one, in some cases. You're a good person, Sheena, so I don't think your race matters."

A reflective silence followed after Lloyd's speech. Sheena had her eyes turn wide after hearing that. She could feel how the young man had put his heart in his words. That left her no doubt that he didn't have anything against half-elves. The violet haired woman started then to feel all flustered. She hated to feel like that.

"Y-you could have just said you didn't care about it at all." Sheena said, looking to the side and crossing her arms for them not to see she was now blushing. "I didn't ask for a speech about morals, or this heartfelt thing."

_Dammit! Control yourself, Fujibayashi! It's not like you to get all bushy over things like these! _Sheena scolded herself mentally. However, her heart had reacted to Lloyd's words and for her to make it low down again would be a lot of work.

"Hehehe. Look. Sheena's blushing." Marta said, with a smile on her face.

"Yeah. She is." Lumen said with a chuckle.

"S-shut up!" the voluptuous woman turned to the two who spoke, trying to sound angry. "I-it's not what it seems, so shut up!"

Lloyd started to blush himself at realizing what effect his words had on Sheena. He just felt like he should speak what was on his heart since the situation was such a delicate one, but never he dreamed it would have this effect on Sheena.

_She's… so cute when she blushes._ Lloyd thought, but shook his head once he realized what he had just thought. _Control yourself Irving! What makes you think she'll ever look to you like that?_ Lloyd scolded himself mentally.

"Well, I must admit that was certainly the most impressive." Tenebrae said, floating near Lloyd. "You never seemed to be the kind of person that could have such deep insight about a subject as delicate as this one, much less being capable of voice your thoughts with this eloquence."

"Thanks…I think." Lloyd said, not knowing if what Tenebrae said was a compliment or an insult.

After the mood of Lloyd's speech passed, the group resumed their adventure in the underground ruins. After solving more puzzles, some which involved them fighting against gales of winds and watching for traps, and fighting stray monsters, they finally came across a double, stone door, which seemed to lead to the main chamber, according to Emil's translations of the inscriptions around the ruin.

"Man. Ventus sure loves puzzles. I got all confused when we did that jewel sequence thing." Lumen said, sighing.

"Considering how you are, I wouldn't be surprised if there's more things that confuses you." Sheena inputted.

"You can't imagine how right you are." Tenebrae said.

"Hey, c'mon T-man. You don't think I've become a Centurion for nothing, did you?" Lumen said, in a defensive tone.

"Actually, you just became a Centurion for me not to have to stand you." Ratatosk's voice sounded from Emil, finally deciding to appear.

Sheena's eyes seemed to widen as she looked to the blond swordsman. Ratatosk noticed that and turned to her, speaking:

"What? What's with the dumb expression?"

"It's just… your aura… it's almost completely different from before." Sheena said.

"If you paid any attention, you would know that I'm Ratatosk. Or what's left of him, anyway." the Summon Spirit said, shrugging in the final.

"Oh, yes. Sorry." Sheena said, a little nervous at the intimidating and harsh tone of the spirit.

"Humph!" Ratatosk then turned and walked to the door. While he was unlocking the seal of the chamber, Lloyd could hear him say in a whisper. "It's just like they say: appearance and brains never mix."

The red clad swordsman felt slightly irritated by Ratatosk referring to Sheena like that and considered telling her, just so he could get the satisfaction of seeing her give a good lesson to the dirty mouthed…

_Wait a minute. Get a hold of yourself, Lloyd! She's not your girlfriend. I don't even think she considers me her friend. I don't have to get all protective about her._ Lloyd said to himself mentally.

The door to the chamber finally opened and the group entered. Like in the catacombs of the Tower of Mana, there was a pedestal on the end of the chamber and on it, floating above a spectral, flower-shaped plate, was a drop-like jewel. This one was a vivid green, signalizing that was the Centurion of wind.

"So this is a Centurion core." Sheena mused. "It doesn't seem to feel like Emil, but it does seem to be powerful. Could this thing affect something outside?" the violet haired woman asked.

"You seem to have a keen eye for these things." Tenebrae commented.

"Comes with the training." she said in a tone that suggested she was praising herself.

"Training?" Marta asked.

"Huh… nothing." Sheena said, trying to disguise what she had let escape.

"Anyway…" Tenebrae said, calling their attention back to him, as Emil walked to the altar, still in his Ratatosk mode. The group accompanied him from behind, giving some space for the Lord of the Monsters. "As I was saying: Centurions cores does possess remarkable powers. However, while in hibernation, we cannot control our powers properly and they may flow to the environment around, attracting monsters or, should someone come in contact with our cores, affecting people.

"But since we are adapting to the world's new state, our powers are weaker than normal and aren't enough to cause a flow of energy. Plus, the demonic energy currently overflowing this world is counterbalancing our powers, so they are limited to the space around our altars."

" 'Overflowing?' You talk like this is a bad thing." Lloyd said.

"Because it is. It's because of this energy that the Equilibrium is degenerating as time passes. It's also because of these chaotic energies that you see several natural disasters happening, like water turning to poison and the forest withering or turning to stone. Well, that and the burnt out levels of the mana."

"Oh yeah. I remember the boss saying something about Origin trying to make some emergency laws, or something, so everybody could survive even without mana." Lumen piped in, in his usual cheerful tone.

"Origin? Like the King of the Summon Spirits?" Sheena said, appearing to be very surprised.

"Yep. The big boss, besides the boss. You know. He even made a plan for…" what plan that was about, Lloyd, Marta and Sheena didn't heard, because of Tenebrae using his hand-like tail to cover Lumen's mouth, leaving the Centurion to only mumble some incoherent words.

Lloyd and the girls looked to Tenebrae with a questioning look on their faces, but the Centurion only gave a nervous, canine smile and said:

"It was nothing of important. I can assure you. Now if you excuse me…" Tenebrae floated back, dragging the still mumbling Lumen with him. When he thought he was out of hearing range, Tenebrae started to half-shout, half-whisper to Lumen, seeming very disturbed by what his cheetah-like brethren almost let escape.

"Somebody else suspecting they are hiding something important from us?" Lloyd said, in what Sheena and Marta approved.

However, they didn't pay much thought to it, for in that moment the core was floating above Emil and its groves started to open like flower petals. Suddenly, gusts of wind seemed to invade the chamber, coming from seemingly nowhere. The group had to protect their eyes from the gusts, which converged to the newly awakened core. A green flash covered the entire chamber.

When the humans in the group could open their eyes they saw, in the place where the core had been floating, a majestic, brown eagle, the same size as Tenebrae and Lumen. It had a sharp, yellow beak, golden eyes, a set of dark green feathers came out of its head like some kind of crest, claws of a ivory color and sharp appearance and a brown, feathered tail trailing behind.

The eagle-like Centurion landed on the altar and (what surprised Lloyd and the girls the most) "withdrew" the parts of its wings after its curve to behind them, using the points of the feathers like they were fingers. The eagle then inclined its head forward, putting its "hand" on its chest, in a reverence.

"My Lord. It's good to see you safe and sound once again." Ventus said in a voice that sounded as soft as the wind itself, but as strong as a gale.

"Finally, someone besides Tenebrae who I can keep an intelligent talk." Ratatosk's voice sounded from Emil.

"I'm glad you're happy to see me as well." Ventus said, apparently, translating Ratatosk's rash way of talk.

"Wow. He's good." Sheena said.

"That's nothing. V-wing is the smartest of us." Lumen said, with a proud, yet goofy, smile on his feline features.

"Hello Lumen." Ventus said, after "drawing" back the other half of his wings and taking flight to join his companion Centurions. "I see you're still the same. You too, Tenebrae."

"It's good to see you, my friend." the Centurion of darkness replied.

"Yes." Ventus then looked to Lloyd and the others. "And who might you be? More surprisingly, how come you humans are near our Lord and he hasn't outright killed you? From what I remembered, Lord Ratatosk was very… let's say, not much pleased with you humans." Ventus said.

The trio noticed that Ventus didn't have the same sense of humor as Tenebrae or Lumen, but he seemed very lean on choosing well his words, like he wanted to make everything he spoke sound intelligent or wise.

Tenebrae explained to Ventus the situation and who was each one in the group. When Tenebrae presented Marta (and added, in a whisper, that she was interested in their lord), Ventus' gaze fell upon her and the Centurion took flight until stay near her face, seeming to analyze all of her features in a way that left clear his resemblance to the animal he portrayed.

The Centurion of wind stopped to flap his wings and stayed floating in air, reverting his wings to their "hand state", putting one wing bellow his beak, in a thoughtful pose. Marta asked what it was, feeling a little nervous by having the Centurion stare at her with that intensity.

"You look familiar, thought I can't pinpoint exactly why." Ventus said, more to himself than to the brunette girl.

"W-what do you mean?" Marta asked. Could that be related to what she sensed at the entrance of the ruins.

"Look, this all very interesting and such, but can we get back?" Sheena asked. "I'm tired of this dungeon and the others must be wondering where I am by now."

The group nodded to the voluptuous woman and started to head back. In the way, Tenebrae commented to the other Centurions and Emil, though Lloyd could hear them:

"I'm starting to wonder if Sir Lloyd's 'unique enthusiasm span' isn't some kind of contagious disease."

Lloyd started to wonder if Ratatosk would mind if he beat Tenebrae senseless…

- / - / - / -

After making it all the way back from the tunnels in the underground ruins, the group took the teleporter back to the stone dais. Ventus seemed a little happy to be able to feel the winds again, though it was difficult to tell due to his avian features. After seconds, however, he seemed to have got worried, for he spoke, in a heavy tone:

"Even the winds seem to be carrying chaos with them…the world is in a far worse state than I previously thought."

"Don't worry." Lumen said, in a cheerful, reassuring tone. "Now that our boss is here, everything will be alright. Right boss?" when there were no answer or comeback, the group turned to Emil and found him holding his head down, like he was dizzy or not feeling well. "Boss?" Lumen asked, now sounding worried.

Without any warning, Emil collapsed. Marta called his name and went to his side, trying to awake him. Tenebrae and the other Centurions circled their master, trying to find what was the problem. Sheena and Lloyd also approached, but maintained some distance for Marta and the others.

"Don't worry. It's just a side-effect of the merging." Tenebrae said.

"With my awakening, new powers are also awakening in our Lord. The human portion of his soul may take some time to adapt to it." Ventus said in his wise, soft tone. He then perked his head up, looking to the direction of the city. "I hear the sound of weapons clashing and hushed voices."

It was just then the group realized that there was, indeed, the sound of rushed voices and weapons echoing in the mountain. They noticed with a gasp that it was coming from below the mountain, in Asgard's direction.

"Oh no, the city!" Sheena said, taking her seal cards and going down the stairs without a second word. Lloyd tried to call her, but she was already down there, such was her speed.

"Marta, you and the Centurions stay here and take care of Emil. I'm going to see what this trouble is about." Lloyd said, drawing his twin swords.

In any other circumstance, Marta would have opposed for Lloyd go alone, but she didn't have much of a choice. If it were the demons, they would instantly recognize Emil and try to eliminate him, which would be extremely easy with him in his weakened state. The petite girl nodded to the red clad swordsman.

Lloyd then ran down the mountain and arrived at the gate to the town. What he saw made him gasp. Desians. Lots of them. They were attacking the city and the people were trying to fight back, protecting the buildings and their loved ones with all their might, though they were no match for the demonic-enchanted strength of the Desians.

The dual swordsman then heard cries of pain and shouts of command coming from his left. Turning he saw a whole mob of Desians in front of Asuka's, where Sheena, Harley and Pietro were standing, trying to keep the invaders from entering the building. Sheena alone was fighting three of them, one transformed in what seemed to be some kind rocky creature.

Without think twice, Lloyd ran to join the fray. He wouldn't let the Desians do as they wished with the people of Asgard.

* * *

Some notes:

- As you probably noticed, Cruxis' Representatives, in this reality, would be the Cruxis' Chosen Ones from the games. Of course, here we have the difference that it's not just one Chosen for the each country, but one Chosen One for each big community. As for who exactly are them (if you didn't guess who's the one mentioned in this chapter, you seriously need to play the first game all over again), it'll be revealed latter.

- Since Emil and Aster were so alike as mentioned in the games, I "merged" the two here for plot purposes and to add more features to Emil's character. It also gives a hint about a certain other character, a red headed one...

- About Ventus' wing-hand characteristic; think about the talking birds from Disney's movies like "Lion King" and "Little Mermaid" and how they use their wings and feathers like hands and fingers. I took the idea from them.


	7. The Sylvaranti Vanguard

**Chapter 6**

**The Sylvaranti Vanguard**

Sheena, Pietro and Harley were holding back the Desians on their own. Though the guardian user was holding well against the three that were assaulting her and had already killed three others, it seemed more came to replace them. At this rate, they could very well take the city. If she could at least kill their leader, it would disrupt their whole strategy and give them an advantage.

The Desian transformed into a golem-like demon attacked her with massive knuckles, bigger than its other limbs. Sheena noticed it and before the knuckle could make contact, she jumped, landing on it as it hit the dirt. Sheena then ran up the arm of the demon and delivered a light-charged kick on its face, however, the damage was minimal due to the resistance of the enchanted, stone skin of the half-demon.

When the agile fighter landed again, the Desians ganged up on her and started attacking with their blades and lances. Sheena avoided most of the attacks, but got some scratches in the process. The golem-like Desian tried to smash her again, but this time, the violet haired woman had come up with a strategy.

Right before the massive stone hand of the half-demon connected, Sheena used all her speed to jump aside and leap forward once she landed. She quickly placed three seals on the Desian; one in its chest, another in its extended arm and a last one on its left knee. The transformed Desian tried to swat her away, not noticing the seal cards that were placed on him. Sheena did a back flip to escape the attack. Performing another hand signal, she shouted:

"Power Seal!"

Blasts of energy emanated from the seals on the golem-like demon, tearing some rocks from its body and making it kneel. However, when Sheena was about to run to attack the creature, she heard the sound of something zooming in the air and before she could react, she felt an arrow pierce her left leg.

Letting out a cry of pain, Sheena kneeled. The Desians had smirks in their faces as they approached the woman, ready to take her out. Quickly surveying the situation, Sheena saw Harley and Pietro were surrounded near the door to Asuka's. It was then she heard the sound of a bow being loaded. Looking past her attackers and to the other side of the town, she saw a bowman in the broken, stone bridge that decorated the view of the city.

_Dammit! I can't believe I didn't notice him earlier. _Sheena scolded herself.

"Now, time for you to die, human bitch." one of the Desians said, readying his sword to cleave Sheena in two.

As the sword came down and Sheena was readying her seal cards to defend against it, a red blur got there first and the sound of metal colliding against metal was heard. When Sheena identified the figure, she saw it to be Lloyd.

"I won't let you damn Desians do as you wish with her!" the dual swordsman said, blocking the Desian's sword with one of his twin blades. The young man used his opponent's moment of distraction and swung his other, free blade, leaving a gash on the Desian's waist.

Before his opponent could fall, Lloyd pushed his blade aside and impaled the Desian's chest, effectively killing him. The other half-demons recovered from their surprise and attacked. Lloyd parried the attack of other Desian while the transformed one brought its rock knuckle behind to smash the dual swordsman. Lloyd saw that by the corner of his eye and, when the massive fist was coming down, he jumped behind, throwing the Desian which he had his blade in a lock with out of balance and making him stumble forward. The last thing the half-demon saw was the rock fist coming down, right before his entire body was smashed on the ground.

Sheena took the chance and pulled off the arrow from her leg, gritting her teeth in pain while doing so. It would slow her down, but she had worse wounds before. She then saw the bowman aiming for Lloyd and scanned around for something to use. The violet haired woman then saw the discarded blade of the Desian that had tried to kill her. Taking the weapon, she stood, aimed and threw the blade. It soared through the air and hit its target, impaling the bowman and making him fall from the ancient, stone bridge to the abyss below.

Turning to look back to the red clad swordsman, Sheena saw he was now slashing at the golem-like Desian. What was more surprising was that he was hitting in the exact spots she had placed her seals to create flaws in the armor of the creature. Deciding to help her "savior", Sheena took a fan of seal cards in her hand and charged them with light.

When Lloyd jumped back after applying Sonic Thrust to another fragile spot he had detected in the Desian's "natural" armor, he saw Sheena run past him, with a fan of glowing seal cards in hand. The transformed Desian tried to attack her, but she jumped, staying at level with his head. The violet haired woman then swung her fan of cards at the neck of the monster. Five seconds later, the head of the creature started to slide to the side until it fell from the body. The decapitated half-demon then fell, chaos energy leaving his body and the rocks that composed it, turning to dust in a matter of seconds.

Lloyd had his mouth agape at another show of Sheena's power in battle. However, he didn't have time to show his admiration. He saw Sheena's friends struggling against the Desians; one was already on the ground, bleeding from several cuts, while the other, also with cuts all over his body, had his sword in deadlock with a Desian.

Lloyd and Sheena looked to each other and nodded, going to help Asuka's workers. The Desians didn't even had time to react before Lloyd plunged his swords in the backs of two of them, right through their hearts, and Sheena again decapitated the one that was forcing Pietro to his knees with her still glowing fan of seal cards.

"Thanks a lot, Sheena." Pietro said, kneeling from exhaustion, using his sword as a support.

"Are the others still inside?" she asked. Her workmate nodded. "Good. Get Harley inside and have him treated." she advised. "We're going to clear the rest of this mess. Lloyd, can I count on you?" Sheena asked Lloyd as she opened her set of seal cards in a fan again before turning towards his direction.

The young man nodded to the voluptuous woman. The two were about to go when they heard Harley calling for them to wait. The half-elf struggled to get to his feet, but since he was unable to do so, he just stayed with his hands supporting him. Pietro went to his side and passed Harley's right arm around his shoulders, helping his friend to stand.

"Sheena…mother went to talk with the mayor…before they came…I think she's still there…" Harley said between laborious breathes.

Sheena's eyes widened. Lloyd could see fear mixed with concern in them. She turned to him, wordlessly asking for his aid. He nodded and the two rushed to the residential part of the city.

After killing around ten Desians, who seemed to be trying to force their way inside the houses, and evading others, the two fighters went up several sets of stairs and arrived at what should be the house in the highest spot of the city. In the front of that house were three people. One was an aged man, white hair evident beneath his hat. Another was a woman with silver hair, but once Lloyd saw the third, who was with his back to them, he immediately focused his attention to him.

"Well, well… I certainly didn't expect to see you here, Asuka. Now if you excuse me, I have business to handle with the mayor." the person who had his back to Lloyd and Sheena said.

"And what kind of business would be it for you to invade our city like that, Grand Cardinal Rodyle?" the mayor of Asgard asked with a scowl on his face.

"I assure you, mayor, it wasn't my intention to invade… your city." Rodyle said, looking around the city, making his disapproval of the place clear. "However, circumstances presenting, I…"

"Let me guess: you came here to collect test subjects for your little experiments, didn't you?" the woman, Asuka, inquired in a firm and sharp tone, not seeming wavered by the presence of the Desian Grand Cardinal. "Was it you who attacked, the village in our borders too?"

"They don't leave me any options." Rodyle said in what seemed to be a dramatic tone. "Those fools simply don't understand the grandiosity of my work and that upstart Kvar is even stealing some of my research and claiming it as his own. Me, the Grand Rodyle."

"Oh, really? I feel so sorry for you." Asuka said with evident sarcasm in her voice. Lloyd was starting to like that woman already.

"Shut up!" Rodyle said, now seeming angry at being mocked by the silver haired woman. "You'll hand over all those inferior beings now, unless you want me to take down this pathetic, dirt hole which you call a city."

"Over our dead bodies!" Sheena said. Rodyle immediately turned at hearing her and Lloyd got a better look at who they were dealing with.

From the strange, large, green cloak he wore with openings all over it and the blue clothes below, Lloyd could already guess that Rodyle should be a Desian of higher ranking. But for a Cardinal to command an invasion on Asgard personally… that guy surely meant business.

Rodyle used some short of green glasses in the bridge of his nose. His dark-blue hair was combed behind, but his stature, voice tone and manners made Lloyd think more of a lab rat. Rodyle looked from him to Sheena. The Desian Grand Cardinal gave out a chuckle and looked to Asuka by the corner of his eyes.

"Now, now, Asuka. You never told us you had a daughter."

Lloyd didn't understand that statement, but once he took a clearer look on Asuka, he comprehended what Rodyle meant. Asuka's body figure was practically identical to Sheena's, however she had pointed ears and appeared to be slightly older, though she conserved the air of someone around her thirties. Asuka also had long, silver hair, which fell behind her back and eyes of a pale blue.

Asuka didn't reply, just cast a quick look to Sheena, who returned it, like the two were communicating without saying anything. Sheena then stood on a battle stance. Lloyd saw that was his cue and did the same.

"Oh. You intent to fight me. How amusing." Rodyle said, pushing his glasses up his nose, just for them to fall back to their previous position.

"The only thing I find amusing here is the fact that a lab rat like you actually decided to take a stroll to see the sun for once. I thought your species liked closed, shady labs." Sheena taunted.

Rodyle's right eye seemed to twitch at that and Lloyd was trying very hard not to laugh. And he had thought Sheena was sharp before. However, he didn't think that taunting a Desian Grand Cardinal was a good idea, after all, they were rumored to be the strongest of all Desians, easily matching demon generals.

"HOW DARE YOU?"Rodyle shouted. It was obvious he didn't take well insults. "I'll make you cower before my genius self!"

Rodyle then reached for the earth and to Lloyd's surprise a broadsword started to materialize itself from the ground. When the blade materialized completely and gained its own colors, the Grand Cardinal swung it, before thrusting its point to the ground again. He adjusted his glasses again and reached inside his cloak, seeming to press something in there.

Suddenly, Rodyle's figure seemed to glow and duplicate several times. Lloyd and Sheena soon realized he had made illusions of himself. The images then disappeared and reappeared around them, starting to attack, some with their broadswords, other casting earth magic.

Sheena and Lloyd had to avoid several attacks and tried to counter some, hoping to find the real Rodyle by seeing which one of them was solid, like in ordinary illusion magic. However, the duo soon discovered that all copies were solid. When the ones casting unleashed their spells, Lloyd and Sheena were thrown into the air and were attacked by several chunks of rocks and hit by stalagmites when landed. The Rodyles then attacked again.

"Sheena, those are demonic illusions!" Lloyd and Sheena heard Asuka shout. "They're magically more advanced than normal illusions, but you still can find the original one if you _'look.' _"

The way she had said "look" made Lloyd think she wasn't talking about trying to find the real Rodyle with their eyes. The young man had little time to think on that, though, as he had to defend from more attacks of the Rodyles.

Sheena was in an equally bad situation. She could dodge their attacks, but the spells that were coming were taking their toll on her, even with the magical defense she had. Plus, she would need time to concentrate and look for the original Rodyle and the wound on her leg was starting to slow her down.

Lloyd was panting as he jumped back to avoid a spell and the broadsword of another Rodyle. He then looked to Sheena and saw she was trying to blow away the copy of the Grand Cardinal attacking her with Demon Seal, however, a Grave spell caught her first, throwing the guardian user in the air and hitting her in the back with pointed stalagmites several times. The strength of the impact of the large, pointed rocks was enough for her to cry in pain.

_Ok. That's it. _Lloyd thought, gritting his teeth. He then noticed the other Rodyles coming to attack him as others behind were charging spells.

"Out of my way!" Lloyd said, quickly concentrating and charging his will and energy on his blades, like his father once taught him. "Raging Beast!" Lloyd spun, catching all Rodyles at his front, and released a blast of pure energy, forming the face of a lion, which blew the copies of Rodyle at his front away, making them collide with the ones that were casting, interrupting their spells.

Sheena saw that and an idea came to her mind once she got up. She called for Lloyd to come. The red clad swordsman did so and helped her to repel another two Rodyles attacking her. Sheena asked the dual swordsman:

"Can you use that Arte again?"

"Yeah." Lloyd said as they stood back to back to each other.

"Then defend me while I concentrate."

Lloyd didn't know what she intended to do, but nodded instantly. He trusted Sheena. As other copies of Rodyle came, Lloyd blew them all away with Raging Beast, again making them collide with the ones that were casting.

Sheena then took the chance and stood still, closing her eyes and letting go of her vision and other senses, reaching for her sixth sense and bringing it out. She could suddenly see again, but the world was now different: it was made of several colors and glows. Even the wind and the earth had a glow to them, but this one was flowing like an ocean. The people were now just glowing, colorful dots of energy which vibrated with a certain intensity.

The guardian user could see Lloyd at her front, glowing with a scarlet aura, which seemed incredibly stronger and formed the head of a lion at its front each time he used his Arte to defend her. However, she didn't have time to admire that. She then analyzed Rodyle's copies. In her vision, they were just dull figures, without any aura on them.

It was then the violet haired woman saw it; one aura with a twisted vibration, two colors sharing the same glow and mixing in a way that didn't feel natural. Sheena finally opened her eyes again, making her senses return. The real Rodyle was at the back of his copies, out of Lloyd's reach.

_Time to clean the field for him! _Sheena thought, deciding that a shout to Lloyd would certainly warn Rodyle and give him the chance to hide again.

The female fighter then threw several seal cards at once and concentrated her magical energy on them, making them fly around Rodyle's copies, which seemed confused when they saw the pieces of paper floating around. Making several hand signs at once, Sheena then shouted:

"Typhoon Purge!" the seal cards started to fly around the Rodyles at such speed it seemed they were indeed being carried by a typhoon. The cards then started to cut the copies of the Desian Grand Cardinal, giving the impression that Sheena was controlling flying daggers rather than seal cards. The guardian user then pointed her one open hand to the crowd of Rodyles while still making a hand signal with the other. The cuts on the copies of the Grand Cardinal shone with a weak light, attracting all the flying seal cards, which attached one on each cut. "Now, begone from this world!"

The seal cards then shone brightly and exploded with light-charged energies and Sheena's own, magical one. The Rodyles were all blew away and went to the ground. Lloyd had been observing Sheena's Arte work meanwhile. It was then he noticed one Rodyle had been left standing, completely unscratched.

_That's the real one! _Lloyd thought, running to him.

Rodyle could just observe his copies being beaten by mere pieces of paper and being blown away by some kind of explosion based on light element and magical energy. It was then he noticed he was the only one left standing and that Lloyd was coming to him. Before the Grand Cardinal could react, Lloyd attacked:

"Sonic Thrust!" Lloyd plunged his sword through Rodyle's guts. The pressure and force of the impact made the sword exit by the back of the Grand Cardinal together with blood. "Beast!" Lloyd let go of his sword on Rodyle and changed the remaining one to his right hand, using his left shoulder to bash at Rodyle's stomach, stunning him, and attacking him with another burst of leonine energy concentrate on his sword.

Rodyle was blown away, bouncing hard on the ground and leaving a trail of blood, all his copies disappearing. Lloyd was panting, that last Arte drained all of his remaining adrenaline and Sheena was on one knee, supporting herself with one hand. Calling forth her spiritual sensitivity on battle and using that Arte had drained all of her magical energy.

The two fighters looked to each other. Lloyd smiled to Sheena a smile that said "good work." The violet haired woman returned it. However, a grunt coming from Rodyle made the two snap their heads back to where the Desian Grand Cardinal was lying. To their surprise (and fear), Rodyle was getting up, like he had just tripped.

Once on his feet again, the dark-blue haired Desian dusted himself and looked to them with a smirk on his lips. He then let out another one of his chuckles and spoke:

"Well, well, that was certainly a surprise. It seems you two are quite different from those other inferior beings. However…" he then looked to Lloyd's twin blade still embedded in his chest. Rodyle then gripped the handle of the blade. "it's necessary to have more than that to kill me." the Desian scientist pulled out the blade at once, letting more blood splatter on the ground. "Such simple weapons are useless against one of my caliber and grandiosity. Specially if used by incapable, human hands as yours."

Rodyle then threw the blade back to Lloyd. It skidded on the ground as Lloyd fell to his knees, not believing that all that hard fight had just be for the amusement of that Desian. He then supported himself with his two hands, thinking:

_Are… are all Grand Cardinals like him? Can someone like me ever beat one of them?_

"You two certainly will be interesting research subjects." Rodyle continued.

Rodyle then reached for something inside his cloak, but his expression changed to one of worry once he touched the spot where Lloyd had pierced him. The Grand Cardinal then took something from under his cloak and looked to it. It seemed to be some kind of metal device, but now it had a hole in it where Lloyd's sword had pierced and it was smashed.

"MY ILLUSION PROJECTOR!" Rodyle let out, making Lloyd and Sheena look to him again. The dark-blue haired man looked to them with hatred on his eyes. "You imbeciles broke it! Do you have any idea of how many months it took me to develop it?"

Sheena and Lloyd could care less about some device developed by a Desian like Rodyle, but it seemed the Grand Cardinal took his work very seriously. The two fighters thought, at the same time, while sweatdrops fell behind their heads:

_Great… a mad scientist…_

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL… !" Rodyle then stopped.

Lloyd and Sheena heard what was the reason for the Desian Grand Cardinal to cease his speech. Battle cheers were sounding from the direction of the city entrance. The three looked to there and saw there were armed people entering the city and fighting against the Desians, quickly eliminating their opponents.

One member of the troop of newcomers was carrying a standard flag with a red emblem drawn on it: the Silvaranti Vanguard's emblem. Lloyd and Sheena smiled at seeing they were being saved by the resistance group while Rodyle cursed:

"Dammit! Not those cursed Vanguard rats again!" he then turned to Lloyd and Sheena. "I'll just eliminate you before…"

Rodyle ceased his speech once again as a person stood between him and Sheena and Lloyd; Asuka. The woman had a serious expression on her face and a piercing glare on her eyes, though Lloyd and Sheena couldn't see it, since she had her back to them. Asuka spoke:

"If you want to kill them, you'll have to get past me. Are you sure you want that, Rodyle? And I wonder what your lord will think once he hears that you attacked Asgard without consulting him first." Asuka's tone was sharp.

Rodyle gritted his teeth, growling. It was obvious he had recognized his defeated. After grumbling a little, the Desian Grand Cardinal stood still and reached for beneath his cloak, pressing another device inside it.

"Don't think I'll forget this humiliation." with that, Rodyle teleported away, yellow strings of light dancing around him as he disappeared.

Lloyd sighed in relief. Asuka then helped Sheena to stand. The voluptuous, young woman asked her mother if she was alright. Asuka nodded, saying Rodyle didn't really have intention of harming them, he was mostly concentrated on taking the citizens.

Lloyd stood and went to retrieve the blade he had pierced Rodyle with, taking time to analyze the sword. The blood had already dried and there were some stains on the ground, which were disappearing, probably an effect of the demon blood that was mixed to Rodyle's own. However, Lloyd's real concern was that Rodyle didn't even seem to be harmed after he took Lloyd's sword out of his body.

_They say that the most powerful demons don't even feel pain, unless you're able to make a mortal wound on them. The way Rodyle simply took out my blade makes it look like the Desian Grand Cardinals are the same. How do you fight against someone like this? _Lloyd thought.

The red clad swordsman then heard someone speaking to him. He looked up and saw it was Asuka. She had already spoken with Sheena, who explained who he was for the silver haired woman. She then spoke in a velvet tone:

"So, you're the Lloyd that Sheena spoke about. She told me you saved her and my employees."

"Y-yes ma'am." Lloyd said, getting flustered by the soft tone Asuka used to speak with him and that she referred to his actions like she did.

Sheena then approached her mother from behind while Lloyd was distracted, scratching his head in mild embarrassment and with a blush on his face. The violet haired woman whispered to Asuka:

"I never said he saved me. I could have defended myself from that Desian just fine."

"Let him believe in it. Sometimes, men need us to give them some ego boosting for their own good." Asuka said, speaking by the corner of her mouth as she continued to cast an interested look on Lloyd. Sheena let out an "oh" of comprehension.

Their talk was interrupted as three soldiers of the Vanguard came running up the stairs. Lloyd noticed two of them use standard Vanguard uniforms and masks. It was generally a security measure for them to cover their faces, so the Desians and demons wouldn't be able to identify them and persecute their families in retaliation.

The member in front of the group didn't use a mask and had a different uniform, indicating he was possibly of a higher rank. The man had brown hair combed to the sides, forming two, thick spikes and a serious look on his features befitting a military. In his hands were two claw-like weapons. He and the other soldiers looked around for more enemies, but they relaxed once saw there were none.

"About time you showed up, Hawk." Asuka said, approaching the Vanguard official.

"Lady Asuka. It's good to see you're well. I was afraid we wouldn't get here in time when we saw the Desians coming." Hawk said.

"The important thing is that you came just in time." the mayor of Asgard said, approaching.

Sheena went to join the talk too, apparently, she knew Hawk as well. Lloyd stood behind, just taking in the scene and thinking in what that meant. He finally met someone from the Vanguard who could tell him about his father…

- / - / - / -

After the last Desians were either killed or teleported out of the city like their leader, Lloyd went to fetch Emil, Marta and the Centurions, saying the situation had been cleared. The group was called to the mayor's house for them all to have a dinner in commemoration to their efforts in driving the Desians away from Asgard.

"But we didn't do anything." Emil said when they sat in the table of the mayor's house and made a cheer for their efforts in the defense of the city. "Lloyd and Sheena were the ones that did most of the job."

"C'mon Emil. What's the problem in commemorating a little?" Marta said with a smile while enjoying her meal.

"Marta…" Emil muttered, sighing once he saw his friend and admirer was very interested in the food, rather than in the motive for which they were there.

Lloyd was also eating everything in his plate in a fast pace. The fight with Rodyle had tired him out. He was sitting at the left of the mayor, who was at the point of the table. To the red clad swordsman's left was Asuka and pass her was Sheena. After finishing his second plate, Lloyd decided to start a conversation with Asuka while he filled up his third plate:

"So, you're Sheena's mother?"

"Actually, I'm her stepmother. I found Sheena when she was still little and raised her here in Asgard." Asuka said, her tone sounding a little heavy.

"Yeah, but for all those years, I consider Asuka to be my mother." Sheena said with a smile.

"Really? It's hard to believe you two aren't related." Emil said, having heard the conversation.

"Why do you think that?" Asuka asked the blond, shy boy in her velvet voice.

"Well… it's because you and Sheena… I mean… you two look alike." Emil said with evident nervousness in his voice and seeming to be struggling to pick up the appropriate words.

"How alike?" Sheena asked, tilting her head to the side, curious as to see what the boy would say.

Emil blushed wildly, not uttering a word after that and lowered his head. Everybody saw it was obvious that he meant Sheena and Asuka's body figures. Marta had an angry expression on her face as she narrowed her eyes and looked to Emil. The brunette girl spoke, in a sharp tone:

"Oh. So you noticed their resemblance, huh Emil?"

"Well… it's just… I think it's quite obvious, don't you think." Emil said, starting to sweat under Marta's stare.

Sheena and Asuka both knew Emil didn't mean that in a malicious way. From his shy demeanor, they could guess he wasn't the kind of guy that would be able to pull off some pick up line. He simply said what he thought. But that surely could cause him trouble with a possessive girl as Marta interested in him.

"Oh yeah. I think it is. It's obvious that you were looking at Sheena's and Asuka's bodies, weren't you?" Marta said in a low, angry tone.

"Ok, you two. Can you stop from making a scene in front of the mayor?" Sheena asked, sighing.

Marta let out an "humph" and went back to eat her meal, now in a fast and angry pace. Emil lowered his head again, with an expression of guilt and fear on his face. Asuka decided to drop the awkward atmosphere and talked to Lloyd:

"So, Lloyd, are you and your friends here on Asgard just for a tour or is it something else?"

"We've actually got to do something here, but now that it's done, we should be going by tomorrow morning." Lloyd said. "But first…" the young man then turned to Hawk, who was sitting at the mayor's right, talking with him. "Mister Hawk, you're a member of the Vanguard, right?"

"Yes. I'm sergeant of the Combat Division." Hawk answered.

"Then can you tell me if somebody named Kratos Aurion joined the Vanguard, like one year ago?"

"Aurion… are you talking about General Aurion?" Hawk asked.

Lloyd seemed to gasp, as Marta, Asuka, Sheena and Emil looked to Hawk in curiosity, all of them asking at the same time:

"General Aurion?"

"Yes. Approximately one year ago, a man named Kratos Aurion joined us. He soon called Commander's Brute attention, not just by his skills, but also by his dedication in the assignments given to him and in helping the members of his team. He also worked with the Renegades in some missions and it seemed he has become friends with their leader. Anyway, it was decided by both commandants that he would be given the post of General of Unity."

"General of Unity? He must certainly be someone of value if even Yuan approved him." Asuka commented.

"What's a General of Unity, out of curiosity?" Lloyd asked, trying to contain his enthusiasm.

"It's a unique post between the Vanguard and the Renegades." Marta explained. "It's quite an honor and it's very hard for someone to get this post, because he needs to be obtained it with the approval of both leaders. The person serves as a bridge between the two organizations, being able to command troops of both with equal rights and respect."

"Yes, but seeing General Aurion's skills and will to ensure the safety of others, we all knew it was just a matter of time before he awarded a high rank." Hawk said, with a smile. "I even fought alongside him and I can say; that man has both sharp morals and blade. I could even dare to say that he would be a fair match against a Desian Grand Cardinal or a demon general."

"And where is he now?" Lloyd asked the question with certain enthusiasm.

"Sorry. That's confidential information and…"

"He's my father. I'm Lloyd Irving-Aurion, his son!" Lloyd said, almost in a desperate way and putting his two hands in the table, almost getting up.

The room went instantly silent at that. Asuka put her right hand under her chin, like she was analyzing Lloyd. Sheena had her jaw dropped at hearing that and both Marta and Emil remained silent. Hawk finally spoke, after taking time to analyze the information:

"Are you really the son that General Aurion spoke of?"

"Yeah. If you want, you can ask me anything about him." Lloyd said.

"The young man is saying the truth." Asuka suddenly spoke. Everybody in the table turned to her. The mayor of Asgard asked:

"How can you be so sure, Asuka?"

"Oh, you know me, mayor. I have a knack for finding liars and I can say this young man isn't lying."

"Well, if you say so, Lady Asuka." Hawk said. "But unfortunately, I really do not have this information. I'm sorry." Lloyd had his head downcast at hearing that. It was good to know that his father was having so much success in the Vanguard and the Renegades and was doing well, but it was a let down not to able to contact him. "But if you're interested, you can join us and I'm sure it would be possible to arrange for you to meet with your father again." Hawk added.

Lloyd's head shot up again at hearing that. The dual swordsman asked if Hawk really meant that and the sergeant nodded. Lloyd had a big smile on his face, even forgetting his early fight with Rodyle, very happy to know he was so close to another of his objectives; joining the Vanguard and the Renegades.

"I've heard that you and Miss Sheena have faced off against Rodyle. Well, I can honestly say it's not everyday you hear that someone was able to fight against a Desian Grand Cardinal and survived to tell the tale. You would be more than welcome in the Vanguard."

Lloyd was about to accept the offer when he remembered something. He looked to Emil and Marta, who stayed quiet during the entire conversation. Everybody was observing Lloyd as he let the smile on his face drop when he looked back to Hawk, assuming a serious stance.

"I'm really honored for the offer, but I can't accept it right now." Lloyd said, surprising everybody around the table.

"Why not?" Hawk asked.

"Because I already promised to Emil and Marta that I would help them on their journey."

"Lloyd, you don't need to refuse it because of us." Marta said.

"Yeah. After all, you came with us because you wanted to discover clues about your father. You should take this chance to meet him." Emil spoke.

"I know, I know. But I also promised that I would help you two in your journey and I keep the promises I make to my friends. If I joined the Vanguard knowing that I've broken that, I would never be able to face my dad." Lloyd said in a tone of someone who had made up his mind. "Besides, now I know that dad is doing well, so I don't need to worry so much." Lloyd said with a boyish grin.

"Well, that's a pity. I'm sure you would make a great addition to our cause, but if that's your decision, we will respect it." Hawk said.

Sheena and Asuka just observed, mildly surprised that Lloyd had let down a chance to meet with his father after all that time for the sake of continuing to help his friends. Asuka then inclined near to her daughter and whispered, just so that Sheena could hear her, in her velvet tone:

"My, my. So he's a man of his word too. And if his father is like that, you've found a real jewel here, Sheena."

"Mother…" Sheena muttered, looking to the side and blushing.

- / - / - / -

"Are you sure that's what you want Lloyd?" Emil asked once they were back in their room at the Inn. The mayor had insisted on paying the bill for them as long as they stayed in Asgard.

"I said I would help you, so I'll help you. Besides, my dad always said that I had to honor my promises, so how can I face him if I broke an important promise to my friends like that?" the red clad swordsman said.

Emil smiled at that, though he also seemed a little embarrassed by having Lloyd affirming so readily that he was his and Marta's friend. The blond, young man also felt happy at the perspective of Lloyd continuing with them on their journey.

"Man. My dad, a General of Unity of both the Vanguard and the Renegades…" Lloyd mused as he sat on his bed.

"Your father seems to be a man of noble heart." Tenebrae commented.

"Yeah, he is. He was always ready to help everybody. Well, actually my mother was more. She said that she spurred it on him. But he was always defended anybody that needed help. He didn't like the idea of innocent people, who would never do anything against other beings or this world, suffering because of what others, who were greedy, did."

"If only we had more people like your parents during the war, we could have called them to defend the mana…" Tenebrae said, sighing.

"I don't know." Ratatosk's voice sounded, the Summon Spirit possessing Emil. "Humans tend to be very wary around things they can't understand. I doubt they would help me or Origin without hoping for something in exchange."

"Hey!" Lloyd exclaimed in protest, turning to Ratatosk. "My father isn't like that! Ok, he knows that we really messed up back in the war and that we need to atone for that, but my mother said that as long as we keep trying and don't give up, we can find a way to fix things."

"Oh, really? I'd like to see you humans try and fix the balance of mana you disrupted, or even live one day of your pathetic lives as one of us, then you would understand what it is to try and keep the Equilibrium with you humans messing with it the entire time." Ratatosk said, leaning closer to Lloyd, with his fists closed and his tone as harsh as ever, now with a daring connotation.

"Boss, calm down." Lumen said. "I don't think Lloyd's father is like that…"

"Shut up, Lumen! What would you know? You didn't have to deal with the humans and half-elves' idiocy..." Ratatosk suddenly stopped and grabbed his head with his two hands. His head suddenly shot up as Emil's voice sounded. "Don't talk like that! We're not all like this. There are people who work hard to…"

"Emil?" Lloyd asked, starting to get worried.

That didn't seem to be a simple discussion between Emil and the Summon Spirit merged to him like Lloyd had frequently witnessed during their journey. Emil's head turned to the side as Lloyd felt, again, something change in the air and he knew Ratatosk had taken the control back.

"You shut up! You don't have any idea of what your race did! You humans are the main reasons for all of this! Ugh! It's useless to talk with you people!" Ratatosk waved his arm and Emil was once again given back control, opening his emerald eyes.

"What the heck…?" Lloyd let out.

"Man, I haven't seen boss this angry since the war." Lumen commented, his cheerful and lively tone gone now.

"Yeah, it did seem he was angrier than the usual. Emil, do you have any idea why?"

"I'm sorry, Lloyd. I have the impression that he probably remembered something, since we hatched Lumen and I gained more power." Emil said with his head downcast by not being able to say why the entity inside him was that aggressive. "But I don't have access to Ratatosk's memories. They are attached to the part of my soul that belongs to him."

"Maybe you should give yourself some time, my Lord." Tenebrae said. "You've probably felt a reminiscence of the emotions that these memories carry. Your other self will probably be able to calm down with time."

"Right."

After that, Marta had entered the room and noticed the heavy atmosphere in it. She asked if something had happened, but Lloyd and Emil decided it was better not to tell her about Ratatosk lashing out on them. The petite brunette dismissed it and went to prepare herself for bed.

Lloyd and Emil decided they too needed some rest after that eventful day. When he laid on bed, all that Emil could think of was what Ratatosk could have remembered for him to suddenly get that angry…

- / - / - / -

While Lloyd, Emil and the Centurions had been talking in the Inn's room, Marta was out in the streets of Asgard. People had started to repair the damage done by the Desians' attack, but decided to stop once the sun had set and sleep to continue the reconstruction tomorrow.

The female fighter was looking for someone and soon located the person exiting the Inn that stayed right at the entrance of the town, where some of the Vanguard's soldiers were resting while they too helped with the repairs.

As Marta approached, the figure turned around and saw her. He then gave a salute as he greeted her:

"Lady Marta, it's good to see you safe and sound. How has your journey been so far?"

"It's alright Hawk, you don't need to address to me like that."

"Oh. I'm sorry, milady." Hawk said, still in his salutation pose.

Marta sighed. Hawk was the kind to take his job seriously, sometimes a little too serious. But that's how he earned the rank of sergeant anyways. She concentrated on the reason she had come to him and asked:

"How's daddy doing?"

"Commander Brute's doing just fine." Hawk answered.

"And what about with what we talked the last time?" she inquired again.

"There haven't been any orders to dissuade you or Emil back to the Vanguard by what I know. I would say he heeded Lady Lydia's last words. If anything, he's more cautious than ever about what troops he sends to fight against the Desians and the demons."

"Really? Good." Marta said.

She had feared her father would ignore her mother's words in favor of some kind of grudge he could have started against Ratatosk. After all, her mother died in the night Nebilim attacked that temple to kill Emil. Marta had never spoke a word about it so as not to worry the blond swordsman. For all that Emil knew, he could have assumed her mother was still alive and they were only mourning about those who lost their lives trying to defend him.

"Oh, another thing: don't mention who daddy is near my other companions. I don't want them to know about who exactly I am just yet." Marta said.

"Why not?" Hawk questioned. Marta was hoping he wouldn't ask that.

Hawk had the tendency to follow most orders without questioning, but when he saw something particularly wrong with one, which was not very often, he tended to ask about it. Marta had discovered that in some particularly inopportune situations, which almost made her change her mind.

"Just… don't, okay? I'm not ready for them to know about it." Marta said.

"You don't trust your companions? But this is a personal journey for you and Emil, correct? I doubt you would choose someone not trustworthy to accompany you." Hawk said.

"It's… just that… it's…" Marta said, seeming to be struggling to tell Hawk something without actually saying it. Luckily, the sergeant of the Vanguard's forces caught the message.

"Oh. You mean… of course. I promise I won't tell them." Hawk said, making continence again.

"Thanks Hawk."

Marta said goodnight to Hawk and left, however, on her way to the Inn, she felt something in the air, like a presence nearby. She had already sensed something similar before. It was then a voice echoed near her ear and a figure revealed itself, since there was nobody in the streets at night:

"You certainly seems to have too many secrets for an ordinary girl." Ventus spoke.

"Ventus? What were you doing eavesdropping me like this?" Marta said, trying to sound more angry than worried.

"Lord Ratatosk said for me to watch over you. I am also curious as to why you are so familiar to me, but it seems to me you have other secrets bound to you besides that." the Centurion spoke, perching himself in the air near Marta, his sharp, eagle eyes fixing on her, like he was trying to read her.

"Please. Don't tell him anything about what you heard right now. He already knows that I'm the daughter of the Vanguard's commander…"

"Yet, it seems there's something more that you're not telling your companions, including Lord Emil." Ventus interrupted her.

Marta could see Ventus was really precise in his analysis of things, no wonder Lumen had said he was the most intelligent of the Centurions. It would be hard for her to keep her secrets around the eagle-like Centurion. All Marta could do was to lower her head with an almost desperate expression on her face. Ventus noticed that and couldn't help, but feel a pang in his heart.

"But, I suppose I can keep it to myself. That is, as long as nothing of this poses a threat to Lord Emil." the Centurion of wind said. Marta shot her head up at hearing that, an almost unbelieving look on her eyes mixed with one of relief. "I hope I can trust whatever you are keeping to your own knowledge doesn't harm my lord directly."

"N-no, of course not." Marta rushed to say. She then added, head downcast. "Actually, it would be more probable it would harm me, rather than him."

Ventus raised his eyebrow, tilting his head to the side in confusion. Marta said it was nothing and said he didn't have to worry about it. The Centurion of wind sighed as Marta thanked him for keeping that conversation she had with Hawk between them.

"It's nothing. Though, it forces me to pose you a question: do you believe that your companions' opinions about you or their trust in you will change if you reveal whatever secret you are keeping to yourself?" with that, Ventus "drew" his wings to their full extension and flew, landing at the top of the Inn where his reincarnated lord was staying, leaving behind a Marta with a weight on her heart and several questions running through her mind…

- / - / - / -

A new day had dawned. Emil, Marta, Lloyd and the Centurions packed the supplies the mayor had given them and were ready to leave Asgard for their next destination. According to Emil, they should take the Hakonesia Pass and head for Palmacosta.

The group made a quick stop at Asuka's for breakfast and to give a farewell to their friends there. Tanny asked them to return when they could, as well as the rest of the workers of the night club/restaurant. Linar was also there, helping his sister with the kitchen, since they were receiving members of the Vanguard for breakfast and lunch because of the reconstruction, so Aster also got the chance to say bye to him.

However, Lloyd hadn't encountered Sheena after they left Asuka's. Instead, he had caught a glimpse of her "mother" there. Apparently, she was also helping the others with the intense movement. The red clad swordsman felt a sting at his heart by not being able to say bye to the woman who had caught his interest during those two days in Asgard.

While the group was chatting with their new Centurion (Lloyd decided to keep himself out of the talk, still wondering where Sheena was) and passing the entrance of Asgard, they heard a familiar voice calling them:

"Hey! Wait!"

The group stopped and turned. Lloyd suddenly felt like his heart was about to jump out of his mouth. Sheena was coming to them and, more surprisingly, she had a backpack slung over her right shoulder. She was also using a purple, low cut jacket, apparently the same one she used during her night work at Asuka's. The difference was that she was using a night-blue skirt with two open slits on it and black, tight pants with purple boots to match. Her arms were bare, except for two half-gloves she was wearing in each hand. Lloyd couldn't tell if she was wearing something below the jacket and the very thought of that made him blush.

"You didn't think of actually leaving without saying 'good bye' to me, did you?" Sheena asked, with a smile on her face.

"Well, we wanted to say 'good bye,' but we couldn't find you." Emil said, his tone sounding curious as he looked at the backpack.

"I guess it was because I was at home, gathering my things."

"Why?" Marta asked the voluptuous woman.

"Isn't that obvious? I'm going with you guys."

If Emil, Marta and the Centurions looked surprised, that was nothing compared to how Lloyd was. The young man was practically paralyzed on his spot, unable to speak or make any move at all. Sheena smirked at their reaction. Emil was the first to recover and asked:

"But… don't you have your work at Asuka's and all of your friends?"

"They'll be fine and mother already said she had to see personally how businesses were going, anyway. So, can I come along?"

"Well…Um…" Marta muttered, unable to form any phrase due to the shock of the revelation that Sheena now wanted to go with them on their journey. Emil and Lloyd had explained her they told Sheena about their journey in order to make she drop her suspicions about what they were doing in Asgard.

"I think that what Lady Marta is trying to ask is: won't you try and steal Emil from her?" Tenebrae spoke with a mild smile on his canine face at quoting the question.

"What?" Emil let out, looking to Marta, who just gave an embarrassed smile as she closed her eyes.

"For the last time: I'm not interested in him." Sheena said, looking to Marta, apparently ignoring the fact that it was Tenebrae who spoke.

"But it does seem there's someone you're particularly interested in our group." Ventus said in his soft, yet strong voice. He was perched on Emil's shoulder, though the blond boy didn't feel like the Centurion weighed too much.

"And what if there is? That doesn't mean I won't help you guys along the way."

"That might be, but…"

"Look, if you don't want me to come, just say it."

"N-no. That's not it." Marta hurried to say. "I mean, we would love to have you with us."

"Then it's settled." Sheena said, with her typical smirk on her face. "Now, where are we going to?"

"To Palmacosta." Emil said.

"Then off we go."

"Cool. I like your style already, Sheena. You know, maybe you could help Lady Marta with boss." Lumen said.

Everybody looked to the Centurion of light. One minute passed, they ignored him and started to walk like nothing had been said, though Marta was now considering the idea. Sheena had the air of a smart woman and considering how her stepmother was beautiful and probably had her lovers, maybe she could indeed catch some tips from Sheena. The petite brunette started to giggle at the idea, which made Emil look at her with a confused look.

At the back of the group, Lloyd was trailing very behind, still a little shocked and trying to process the reality that Sheena would be traveling with them now. It was then he felt someone put a hand on his shoulders. Lloyd felt like his entire body had gone stiff when he looked and saw it was Sheena, her smirk still in her face.

"What's the problem? You haven't uttered a single word since I said I was going to join you." the voluptuous woman asked.

"Yeah, Lloyd. What's up?" Lumen decided to ask too, also curious as to why the dual swordsman wasn't saying anything about the woman that he was interested in joining the group. He and Tenebrae were walking between Emil and Marta and Lloyd and Sheena.

"Well…Um…it's…well…I…uh…" Lloyd mumbled, incapable of forming decent sentences.

"Oh. So that's why." Lumen said with a look comprehension on his face.

"What did he say?" Sheena asked before realize to _who _she was directing the question to.

"He said: well…hum… it's…well…I…uh…"

Another minute of heavy silence passed at the back of the group. Sheena almost stopped at hearing another of Lumen's blunt statements. She then looked to the Centurion with a harsh expression on her face and a vein throbbing in her forehead, speaking in an angry tone:

"Do you want to feel some pain?"

Lumen seemed to have gotten scared by that, for he teleported from where he was to stay floating at Emil's front, peering at Sheena from behind the blonde's figure, that made Emil look even more confused than he was before. Tenebrae chuckled at the scene, probably enjoying the fact that somebody in that group was finally able to make Lumen stop speaking.

"Um…why did you joined us, really?" Lloyd asked, the awkward silence cause by Lumen's blunt statement seeming to dissolve the nervousness he was feeling seconds ago.

"Oh, you wanna know? Well, it's mostly because of you."

"M-m-me?" Lloyd stuttered, letting the exclamation sound louder than he intended to.

"Yeah. You might not realize it Lloyd, but you're the kind of guy who you can't find walking down the street every day, you know?" Sheena said, remembering the talk she and her mother had the other night:

_"So, you know they're departing tomorrow, right?" Asuka asked her stepdaughter as she and Sheena were organizing the bedclothes._

_"Yeah, so?" the guardian user asked._

_" 'Yeah, so'? Are you simply going to let a jewel like that Lloyd Irving-Aurion walk away without even trying?" Asuka asked, speaking like Sheena had just said to her that the clouds were made of cotton candy._

_"Mom… it's not like…" Sheena said, getting a little embarrassed by the talk._

_"You like him, don't you? I can see it written all over your face." Asuka said with a grin._

_"So what? It's not like he likes me back."_

_"Sheena… what had I taught you? Life is too short for us to stay dwelling in the past when a true chance for us to become happy in the present shows up."_

_"Yeah… but I…"_

_"Are you really going to be able to sleep knowing that you haven't even tried to win the most, if not only, decent man that has walked into your life. A chance like this happens just once. Take it now, or else you'll spend the rest of your life thinking why you haven't taken it when you had the chance to."_

_Sheena suddenly felt like she was sixteen again and her mother was lecturing her about the man that had almost taken her away from Asgard with his soft talk and gallant manners. She promised to herself she would always listen to her mother about that kind of thing from that day on. After all, her stepmother was very experienced in that field._

_But she also had set up a barrier around her heart and was very afraid of letting it down just for her heart to be hurt again. Asuka knew that and it was because of it that she was having that talk with her adopted daughter in the first place. Sighing, Sheena finally decided:_

_"Alright… I'll try… but what about you and… ?"_

_"Don't worry with me and the others. We can keep things going without you and you can visit us anytime you want. This is your chance Sheena. Savor it."_

_"Don't worry mom, I will." Sheena said, now able to smile._

Sheena's mind came back to the present. She saw that Lloyd was scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. She had to admit he looked cute when he did that and, now that she noticed, he was also quite handsome. No wonder Asuka insisted on her taking this chance.

"Do you… really think that?" Lloyd asked, unable to look at Sheena. "Because…I'm not exactly the most intelligent or sharp guy around."

"I don't think so. You can be quite smart from what I've seen so far. I also hope we can get to know each other better. In more ways than one, that is. Heh heh heh." Sheena added with an almost seductive tone in the last phrase, making Lloyd blush six different tones.

"That… that was kinda upfront." the dual swordsman said, though he couldn't deny he liked that.

"Well, mother always said that life is far too short for us to spend time on little games." Sheena said waving her hand. "So, it's better you be upfront and show what are your true intentions rather than spend time on something that might not even work out in the end."

Lloyd had to admit he agreed on that point with Sheena. Life in this demon ruled world was too short. He suddenly could see why she just tried to seduce him before. But it also made him come up with another doubt about that line of thinking:

"Ok, but…what if I…don't take your offer in the end?" asking that almost made his heart shrink in pain, because in truth, he knew Sheena was a good woman inside. Showing what some of her intentions were made Sheena part of who she was today.

"Then I'll know I have at least tried." she said, with another smirk. "Though it would really be a pity. You're quite handsome." the violet haired woman said that in a softer tone and with a soft expression on her face, putting her hand on Lloyd's cheek and caressing it. The swordsman felt like a part of the heavens was touching his right cheek. "But that's life. Better live it than be sorry later." she said, recovering her usual tone.

Sheena then moved away and started to walk to the front of the group. When she removed her hand from Lloyd's cheek, the red clad young felt an incredible urge to ask her to don't go. He touched his cheek. What Sheena said about at least trying…wasn't it what his mother once taught him?

_"It's better you try and fail, than not try at all and stay thinking you could have." _that was what his mother had once said and Lloyd found it to be very true.

"She's not very modest, don't you think?" Tenebrae said, bringing Lloyd out of his thoughts. "It makes me think what kind of upbringing she had."

"Hey. Don't talk about her like that!" Lloyd said, getting defensive without even noticing while closing his fist and lifting it a little. "It doesn't matter if she said that, she's a good person inside and that's what counts. She was just showing a part of what she felt for me."

"Ah, so you do like her." Tenebrae said, an expression of fake comprehension on his canine face.

Lloyd stopped, his expression frozen in his face at realizing the trick the Centurion had applied on him. Sometimes, he wondered how he could fall so easily for things like that. Lloyd then muttered, narrowing his eyes to the Centurion of darkness:

"Sometimes, I really hate you, Tenebrae."

"Hahahahaha!" the black dog-like Centurion laughed.

* * *

Remember what I said about characters having new traits as an effect of them living in this demon-filled world? Well, Sheena's "upfront" behavior is one of them. Remember that she was raised by other person than the ninjas of Mizuho; a person that has ample experience in the affairs of relationship, life and, why not say, seduction. But don't worry. As you saw before, Sheena's still Sheena and she still gets flustered and shy when complemented (see the previous chapter in case you don't remember).

Before finishing this chapter, I have one more thing I would like to share with all of you: a skit! Yes people, you read it right!

Why I'm doing one, you ask? C'mon. Admit that you simply love them.

Anyways... here it comes!

The skit is between Lloyd, Marta, Emil/Ratatosk and Tenebrae. I happens after Lloyd and Sheena fought against Rodyle.

- - - - - Rodyle, the Mad Scientist - - - - -

Marta: So, Lloyd, you said you and Sheena had to fight against Rodyle.

Lloyd: Yeah, but we couldn't defeat him at all. It looked like he was just toying with us.

Emil: Well, you have to consider, the Grand Cardinals are the strongest of the Desians. They are like Great Demons; capable of not feeling any pain at all unless you mortally injure them.

Lloyd: But… how can I make a wound like that on him if I could barely hit him?

Marta: Hey, don't worry. Remember: we're on this journey to defeat the demons and the Desians. You'll probably get stronger along the way, s, don't let it bother you so much.

Ratatosk: I do hope he gets stronger. Can't be the one doing all the fighting here.

Lloyd *narrowing eyes*: You really do know how to cheer up people.

Ratatosk: What's that supposed to mean?

Marta *sweating*: Hey, let's calm down. Anyway, what was Rodyle like Lloyd. Emil and I heard about the Desian Grand Cardinals, but we never got to know how they really are.

Lloyd: Well, he is just like most of the Desians: thinks everybody are nothing compared to him, doesn't respect the lives of others in the least and doesn't show mercy. But he also behaved like he was the only guy with a brain, like his projects or whatever he talked about were the most important thing in the world and got really angry when Sheena and I broke a gadget he used to make those copies of himself. Short of… shorta like…

Tenebrae: A Mad Scientist?

Emil, Marta & Lloyd: Exactly!


	8. Richter Abend

This one is huge. I would say a monster of a chapter! I don't remember having wrote something this big, aside, maybe, chapters of the final boss fight.

Anyway, I've finally got a second beta-reader! : ) So now this fic is brought to you by me and my reviewers **Maurice A. Nigma **and **Toske**.

Also, here the writing format in the story will have an addition, so I'll put right down here the different formats of speech of the characters:

"Speech"- normal talk.

_"Speech" _- exclusive of Emil and Ratatosk. It's when, for example, Emil is in control of his body and Ratatosk speaks with him and vice-versa.

_Speech _- normal thought's and, in Emil/Ratatosk's case, the thoughts of who is in control of the body.

Also, here comes another Skit! The characters involved are in the tittle.

Sheena and Ratatosk

Sheena: So, Ratatosk, how are the other Summon Spirits? Did you have any contact with them since you woke?

Ratatosk: No. Why do you ask?

Sheena: Well, let's say I know a thing or other about summoning, so I know how they must have suffered with the mana being burnt from the world and everything.

Ratatosk: And who exactly are the ones to blame for it?

Sheena: Oh, right… I'm sorry… I just wanted to…

Ratatosk: If you need this knowledge in order to live, I could tell you. Then again, I could not to.

Sheena: You know, for a Summon Spirit, you're pretty cold.

Ratatosk: You're one to talk.

Sheena: Uh?

Ratatosk: I heard from Lumen how you beat people senseless and then throw them out of your work place.

Sheena: H-hey. Those were perverts, they don't count. They deserved the beating I gave them.

Ratatosk: Huh. And Origin called me violent.

Sheena: You know what? You're probably the most temperamental spirit in existence.

Ratatosk: What?

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Richter Abend**

Two figures approached the entrance to the Refuge of Ruins, Asgard. One of them was floating while the other, the tallest of the two, walked. The floating figure then looked around the city, as if it was searching for something. The other figure asked its companion:

"Are they here?"

"They were, but it seems they left not too long ago. And I can feel Ventus' presence too," the floating figure answered.

Together with what they had discovered from the Tower of Mana, that meant Ratatosk already had three Centurions at his side once again. The taller stranger adjusted the glasses on his nose and turned, leaving the entrance of the city. The floating figure followed him while he said, more to himself than to his companion:

"If they already passed by Luin, that means their next stop will be the Thoda region. If we go on a quicker pace, we might be able to catch them before they arrive at Palmacosta..."

- / - / - / -

The group now composed by four humans and three Centurions passed through the Hakonesia trial, facing some monster along the way. Sheena had that chance to observe Emil perform the ritual of the pact and was impressed by how much energy was released and how the spiritual bonds between him, the Centurions and the monsters were formed.

_They never commented about things of this kind in training… _the guardian user thought.

After they left the pass between the Hakonesia mountains, the group arrived at the Palmacosta region. From there on, they knew they had to be cautious, since they would pass near a human ranch on their way to one of the biggest cities in Sylvarant. According to what they knew, the Cardinal that ruled the area was Magnius, also known as the Flaming Lion, due to his affinity with fire element and according to some words of people that claimed to have seen his demonic form.

However, all of their thoughts ceased once the members of the group with spiritual sensibility and the Centurions looked behind. Lloyd and Marta asked why they stopped. Emil then answered:

"There's something coming. I can feel it absorbing the surrounding chaos energy as it approaches."

"Same here," Sheena said.

"It might be the demons. Let's hide," Tenebrae suggested.

The group jumped out of the main road, descending a cliff that was nearby. There they saw a salience in which they could hide. Before they crawled on it, they saw something approaching by the main road. It seemed to be some short of vehicle made of metal and with its windows darkened in a way they couldn't see who was driving.

Deciding to leave the questions for later, they hid right as the strange machine stopped where they had been moments ago. The group heard what seemed to be a door opening and footsteps. A masculine voice then sounded:

"Do you see something?"

"No. Maybe it was just some stray demon entering or having fun," another masculine voice answered.

"I don't know. The reading didn't seem to match with demonic magic at all."

"In that case, let's continue searching," after that, they heard the door closing and what seemed to be wheels rolling.

The group got out of their hiding spot and back to the main road, where they could see the vehicle disappearing along the plains. Ratatosk took control of Emil's body again and spoke:

"Damn! I was careless."

"So you mean they can feel the energy emanated by the ritual?" Sheena asked.

"This certainly makes things complicated," Ventus stated. "It would be wise for us not to do any pacts near human ranches for the time being."

"Yeah, but the Desian guys already sensed us. What are we gonna do, boss?" Lumen asked.

"How the hell would I know?" Ratatosk said, turning his head to Lumen, speaking in his usual brash tone. "I didn't even know they had this kind of technology in the first place."

"There's a House of Salvation nearby," Marta said, making the group look to her. "Maybe we can go there and blend with the travelers while waiting for the Desians pass."

"Sounds like a good idea," Lloyd said. The group started to walk again as the red clad swordsman asked. "What was that thing anyway?"

With another change in the air, Emil took the control of his body again and turned his head to look to Lloyd while explaining, in the slightly serious and concentrated tone he used when toughing about something, which made Lloyd think of a scholar or how people called the blonde Aster:

"I think that was an Armored Van. It was a vehicle used during the Kharlan War. It uses the mana in the air as fuel and possesses an energetic core, which receives the captured mana and creates energy to make a series of gears and switches to work together and…"

Lloyd had already lost himself at the part of the "energy core" and didn't understand a word of what Emil said after it. Sheena was also having problems to understand so many technical terms; she was never good with machines and things in theory.

After apparently five minutes of explaining, Emil stopped and saw the clueless looks on Lloyd and Sheena's faces. The blond swordsman sighed at seeing they hadn't understood anything he had said. Sheena spoke, trying to take out the useful speech out of all information Emil gave them:

"In other words, it was some short of vehicle used in the war that runs with mana, right?" Emil nodded to her.

"No wonder she and Sir Lloyd are attracted to each other," Tenebrae whispered to Lumen and Ventus. The three Centurions were behind the group, with Ventus flying to accompany them.

"Indeed. Both can't understand the bases of magitechnology and get bothered easily," Ventus commented.

"I didn't understand any of that, magi-vehipec-thingy boss spoke about too," Lumen said, with a confused look on his cheetah face.

"That's no surprise, since you didn't understand the theory behind our roles in the mana balance either," Ventus talked to his brethren.

"What does he used to say? Oh yes. _'I'll find out when I have to do it, anyway.' _" Tenebrae said with a bad impersonation of Lumen's voice tone.

Before the three Centurions could continue, Sheena stopped, turned to them and bonked the three hard on their heads, making them fall to the ground in a pile. The angry, young woman then said:

"You three should watch what you say in case someone _is listening_!"

"Sorry…" the three Centurions said, at the same time.

Marta and Lloyd had sweatdrops running down their heads at seeing the scene while Emil just sighed. Sheena then turned to the reincarnated Lord of the Monsters and asked how come that Armored Van could work now with no mana to power it. Ratatosk took the control and said:

"They probably infused some demon technology to make it work with chaos energy instead of mana. It's probably how they tracked the magic of my pact too."

"'Demon technology'? I didn't know the demons had that kind of thing." Lloyd let out.

"What the hell do you think the demons are? A bunch of mindless beasts that live in a messed up spiritual plane?"

"But boss, wasn't that exactly how you described them?" Lumen asked in his tone of innocent bluntness as he and the other Centurions got up.

Silence passed for some time as the humans and the Summon Spirit in the group looked to the cheetah-like Centurion. Lloyd then crossed his arms, looking to Ratatosk in a pose that said "and you were talking about me". A vein throbbed in the harsh Summon Spirit's head as he looked to Sheena and asked:

"Can you beat Lumen senseless to me?"

"Gladly," Sheena said, cracking her knuckles.

Lumen gulped and teleported right behind Marta, hiding (without much success) in the slim frame of the petite brunette. Deciding to prevent Sheena from further harming the Centurion, Marta asked to Ratatosk:

"What about this demon technology you were talking about? Does that mean the demons are some kind of advanced civilization?" there was a tone of fear in Marta's voice.

"Not exactly. I think it's pretty much on the same level you humans had during the war. But theirs was designed to work using chaos energy. The demons also have a hierarchy in their society and an entire culture of their own."

"If they didn't have the least of organization, they wouldn't be able to consume as many worlds as they did," Tenebrae said.

"I hate to admit, but we should probably be grateful that they were able to advance to this level of competence and organization. Otherwise, the Treaty would never have been possible," Ventus commented.

"Treaty?" Marta, Lloyd and Sheena asked.

"It's a thing that was set between us, Summon Spirits, and the Grand Demon Lords at the final days of the War for the Young Aselia. It's far too complicated for you, simple mortals, to understand," Ratatosk said.

"Then why don't you try to explain to us?" Lloyd suggested.

"I rather not waste my time."

"What did you say?"

Seeing the tension rising between them again, Marta suggested that the group go to the House of the Salvation before the Desians came back. Lloyd agreed, but was still giving dirty looks to Ratatosk as they walk. If there was another thing the dual swordsman didn't like was people hiding things like that from him, just because they thought he wouldn't be able to understand.

- / - / - / -

The Houses of Salvation were originally built by the Church of Cruxis as a signal that the angels would also be protecting the travelers, that is, as long as they showed their loyalty to the Faith. However, after the formation of the Vanguard and the Renegades, some of the families who ran the Houses of Salvation offered the establishment as a meeting spot for traveling troops of the organizations in exchange for their protection.

That was the case of many Houses of Salvation in Aselia, though others were still loyal to Cruxis. The one in the road to Palmacosta was one of those who allied to the Sylvaranti Vanguard. Lloyd and the others arrived at the place after a short walk and rented a room in the second floor. There were only three beds there, so Sheena offered to share her bed with Lloyd, which made the swordsman blush wildly at the suggestion.

When night fell, the group decided to spread; Sheena and Marta were in the first floor while Lloyd, Emil and the Centurions were in their room. There weren't much people in the House of Salvation, so they would have some privacy.

"So, Sheena…" Marta said as she and the voluptuous woman sat in a couch that there was in a living room in the first floor . "you don't seem to have problems to show your feelings to Lloyd at all."

"Do you really think that?" Sheena asked raising her eyebrow, curious to know why the petite brunette touched that subject.

"It was your mother who taught you to be upfront like that, right?"

"Yeah. That was one of the many things she taught me."

"Then, could you… teach me?" Marta asked, getting a little nervous while asking that.

"Huh? Why?"

"I want to keep Emil interested in me. What if he suddenly sees another girl and falls in love with her? I can't let that happen! And I'll do anything to fight for him!" the younger fighter said in a determined tone.

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit? I mean, Emil looks pretty interested in you to me."

"D-do you really think this?"

"Believe in me, it's quite obvious. And you can't exactly prevent him from looking to other girls, if you try and put him on a leash, the guy will run away of you faster than you think," as Sheena was talking, Marta was hearing with an undivided attention. "Mother always said that, the more you try and forbid someone from doing something, the more he will feel tempted to go and do it. If another girl calls his interest, just show him you can do even better than her."

"But…how? Do I do it like you with Lloyd?" Marta asked.

Sheena's smirk froze in her face while she tried to picture Marta saying to Emil the things she said to Lloyd. She could just picture either the blond boy would back away, freaked out of his mind, or would faint from sheer shock. Trying to think of a way to convince Marta not to do that, Sheena spoke:

"I…wouldn't advise you to do that… I mean, Lloyd is one kind of person and Emil is another. Plus, you two have known each other since you were kids, right?" the petite brunette nodded. Lloyd had told Sheena some things about Emil and Marta after asking the two if he could. "So, things are a lot simpler in that case. I say, continue being yourself and you'll figure out what to do eventually."

"Ok, I'll try. Thanks Sheena," Marta smiled to the older woman, who said it was nothing.

- / - / - / -

The two figures approached the frame of the House of Salvation in the road to Palmacosta. The taller one asked its companion once more:

"Are they here?"

"Yes. I definitely feel Ratatosk's and the others' aura inside this building."

"Then let's go and do what we came here to do."

The tallest figure then approached the building while the other concealed itself. He then opened the door and entered. Looking around, he saw two people talking in the living room of the first floor. Recognizing the younger one, he approached and made his presence known:

"Hello Marta."

The petite brunette almost jumped out of the couch, startled. She and Sheena looked to the man that had entered the place…

- / - / - / -

"I wonder what the girls are talking about…" Lumen mused, as he, the Centurions and the boys were in their room in the Inn.

"Why the sudden interest?" Tenebrae asked his counterpart.

"Well, they might be talking about the boss and Lloyd. Maybe we should help them to stay together. After all, we are Lord Ratatosk's Centurions! We have to help him," Lumen said with a proud, yet goofy, smile on his cheetah face.

"I don't think playing matchmaker is part of our duties," Ventus commented.

"Indeed. What if we actually end up getting in their way?" Tenebrae questioned. "Humans tend to think they know everything, even regarding affairs of the heart. When things don't work out in their relationships, they tend to put the blame on those around them, even if these people actually tried to help them."

"Oh, c'mon. Don't you remember what happened the last time boss tried to get a girl?" Lumen insisted. Ventus and Tenebrae stopped talking, reflecting about that.

"On second thought, you do raise a good point," the eagle-like Centurion said.

"I agree," Tenebrae spoke.

"Hey, you three!" Ratatosk's angry tone sounded, startling the three Centurions and making them look to their reincarnated lord. "I'm here, you know? So it's better you start watching your tongues before I decide I need to create new Centurions," the three entities apologized, deciding to talk about other subjects that wouldn't threaten their positions or existence. "Ugh. I swear, they passed too much time around the mortals."

Lloyd had an interested look as he gazed at the Centurions. Ratatosk noticed that and asked what was up with the dual swordsman's expression. Lloyd gave a boyish grin before he turned to Ratatosk and spoke:

"So, you tried to get yourself a girlfriend before, huh?" the eyes of the Summon Spirit went wide, as seemed to be in shock. The expression was quite comical in Lloyd's opinion. "Was she pretty?"

"A-and why are you asking that? What, are you thinking in ditching Sheena?" Ratatosk asked, soon finding a witty comment to revert the situation at his favor.

Lloyd sighed. Dealing with Ratatosk proved to be a real pain sometimes. It seemed that each core they hatched, the Summon Spirit gained new witty comebacks and sarcastic comments to add to his already vast repertoire.

_Better I don't even bother myself… _Lloyd thought to himself. He then talked to Ratatosk. "Anyway, can you give the control back to Emil? I was talking with him."

"Why should I?" Ratatosk replied. Lloyd let out an "huh?" at that. "You know, you should get used with me around, because, after all, this whole journey is for me to recover my powers."

"But, what about Emil?"

"Who cares? He's a wimp, a coward. Without me and my powers, he would never survive this journey."

"Hey! Don't talk about him like that," Lloyd protested.

"Oh, and who are you to defend him? His boyfriend?" Lloyd shut up at that, eyes wide. The malicious and sharp tone Ratatosk used made the young man think the Summon Spirit really wanted to strike a blow on his pride. "Well, if you're so worried about him, I'll give him back to you."

With a pulse of energy that sounded like a heartbeat, Ratatosk gave the control back to Emil. The blond swordsman was blushing, no doubt because of what his other self implied. The Centurions looked at the scene with analytic looks (Tenebrae and Ventus, at least. Lumen looked just confused).

"Ok. I seriously don't want to talk with him anytime again. What kind of bug bit him?" Lloyd asked.

"I don't know. I'm sorry..." Emil said, head downcast and an apologetic look on his face.

"You don't need to apologize, Emil. If someone needs to, its Ratatosk," the red clad warrior said the name with a bitter tone. "Ugh! I swear, if he keeps up like this, I'm going to beat some good manners into him, Summon Spirit or not."

Emil then looked to the Centurions, but they quickly averted their eyes from him. That made the blonde think there was definitely something behind all of that. However, before he could think further on the subject, Marta opened the door to their room. She was panting like she had run for kilometers.

"Emil! Came down, quick!" the girl said in a hurried tone.

Sensing it was a serious matter, Emil and Lloyd jumped out of their beds and rushed down the stairs with the Centurions at their tow, concealing themselves. Upon arriving in the first floor, the two saw Sheena there, talking with a tall, red haired man.

The man then turned to Emil and Lloyd and the dual swordsman could take a clearer look on the stranger. The man wore glasses with a silver frame and brown gloves. His brown, travel coat was a bit tattered as was the rest of his clothes. However, his green eyes shone with an inquisitive and serious gleam and his expression passed the impression of someone who had been hardened by the hardships of life.

Though all of that worried Lloyd enough for his hand to reach for the handle of his sword, Emil just opened a big smile and ran to the red haired man. The blond boy then hugged the man, who didn't seem startled at all, just showed the tinniest of the smiles.

"Richter! It's you! It's really you!" Emil said, like someone to a good friend he hadn't seen in years.

"Good to you see again, Aster," Richter said in a strong voice tone with a tint of happiness in it.

"Wait. Who is this guy, Emil?" Lloyd said, approaching the group.

"That's what I've asked Marta, but she just ran up to call you guys," Sheena said.

"And you two would be?" Richter asked, his tone as strong as before, but now with a tint of deviousness in it as he looked from Lloyd to Sheena.

"They're our friends, don't worry," Marta said with a big smile on her face as well.

"In that case, it seems they need to realize the importance of aliases in these dangerous times," Richter said, adjusting his glasses on his nose while Emil let go of him.

"Don't mind him," Emil said to Lloyd and Sheena, who narrowed their eyes at the red head's sentence. "Richter tends to be a bit curt, but he's really a good person."

Lloyd and Sheena eyed the man. They could already see that kindness wasn't one of Richter's qualities. Emil turned to his friend again and asked:

"Richter, what happened? We thought that you had been killed when Nebilim attacked that temple to kill me."

Sheena then noticed something about Richter: he was clearly a half-elf. However, there seemed to be something more that was escaping her senses. The guardian user decided to keep her eyes open around that mysterious friend of Emil and Marta's. Richter then spoke:

"I think we should first organize things before going into details. Your friend certainly seems confused enough as it is," the red head looked to Lloyd, who indeed seemed to be lost in the talk. The red clad swordsman almost got startled at seeing Richter had been paying attention to him without even looking.

The group sat in the couch and the chairs around the living room of the House of Salvation. In the next few minutes, Emil and Marta explained to Richter who Lloyd and Sheena were and how they had met the two. After that, the young adventurers explained to the two warriors Richter was the scholar friend of their parents they had talked about and the one that had taught Emil about ruins, history and even some fighting to Marta and him.

"He was also researching about Ratatosk for me before the night Nebilim tried to kill me," Emil spoke.

"What happened then?" Sheena asked.

"I was captured by Nebilim," Richter said, making everybody look at him and gasp. The half-elf then looked to Aster as he spoke. "While the others were taking you away, I stayed behind to make sure no demon would get to them."

"I remember that. If I at least was stronger…" Emil said, head down cast.

"It was my decision, Aster, and as so, it was my fault I got captured. Anyway, Nebilim eventually showed up and I had to fight him. Logically, I lost. But he seemed to have gotten impressed by my skills and captured me."

Marta and Emil gasped once more and Lloyd had an expression of compassion in his face. Sheena, however, had a devious look on her face. The female warrior asked:

"And how exactly did you managed to escape?"

Richter stayed silent at that. Everybody waited the answer from the red head. After what seemed some seconds, Richter said in a curt tone:

"I found a way. That's how."

"Really…" Sheena said, making her suspicions about that clear in her voice.

"Sheena, give him a rest! It's obvious it wasn't an easy experience for Richter," Marta said in tone of protest.

"Fine, fine. Don't need to get all protective. Sheesh."

Though she had stopped asking questions about it, it was obvious the guardian user was still suspicious of Richter. After all, it wasn't everyday you heard about somebody that was captured by the demons and managed to escape alive and unscathed.

Deciding to change the subject, Richter looked to Emil and said:

"Before I came to you in that night, there was something, or rather, someone I wanted to present you. Someone I was sure would help you with your doubts about Ratatosk," with that, Richter threw one red bang, which was hanging at his front and to the right, to the side. "Aqua. Come out."

Water and bubbles seemed to form in the air, as a form materialized. At first, it seemed like some kind of fish, but then the group realized it actually had a human figure. The new entity had long, thick ears, with fish earnings on it, legs that had the form of fins and its hair was in the shape of a fish tail.

"Here, Master Richter," Aqua said in what sounded to be a tone of admiration.

As one, the other Centurions also appeared, all seeming surprised to see their brethren before them. Emil had his eyes wide at seeing there was a Centurion that wasn't in its core form right before him. He was even more surprised she appeared to know Richter.

"Aqua-girl! You're not a core!" Lumen piped in.

"Oh… hello Lumen… and thanks for stating the obvious," Aqua said in a sour tone.

"I see you haven't changed a bit. Always the wet blanket…" Tenebrae commented.

"What? You too? Grrr! I can't believe I'll have to put up with you again!" Aqua said in what appeared to be anger.

"Can't you two cease the animosities for now? Don't forget we are in a human settlement and in front of our reincarnated lord and his friends nonetheless," Ventus said, meaning Lloyd, Sheena, Marta and Emil, who all had their eyebrows raised.

"Oh. At least there's someone with brains and not annoying for me to talk to. How have you been Ventus?"

"Very well, as you can see."

"Aqua," Ratatosk's brash tone sounded. All Centurions looked to the now crimson-eyed Emil, as he had his gaze set on the Centurion of water. "Explain yourself. How come you're not a core and traveling around with this guy?"

"I see you still haven't gotten over your unfounded grudge against me, have you?" Richter said, in what sounded more like a statement, rather than a question.

"Please… why would I waste my time forming a grudge against you?" Ratatosk said, shrugging at the beginning of his line.

"Well, it certainly seems you do not consider forming a grudge against others of my race a waste of time."

Silence hung up for some seconds, Ratatosk almost frozen on his pose. It was then the Summon Spirit mumbled a "Shut up!" to Richter. Marta sighed. The petite brunette turned to Lloyd and Sheena, saying:

"There they go again… Ratatosk and Richter were never very fond of each other."

"Considering how our lord was angry with the humans and half-elves, I would say his and Master Richter's relationship is quite okay," Aqua commented. Ratatosk then dismissed his talk with Richter and turned to Aqua, asking again why she was in her corporeal form. "Oh, well, you see my lord, before you called us to the Ginnungagap, I have imbued some of the remaining mana on the water around my altar to give it healing properties. I had an intuition I would need something like that ready, just in case."

"Seems your intuition was right, for once," Tenebrae commented.

"Nobody asked you, Tenebonehead!"

" 'Tenebonehead'?" Lloyd asked, looking to the other two Centurions. Lumen was the one to answer, with his ever present goofy grin and cheerful tone.

"It's Aqua's nickname to Tenebrae. Though I still rather call him T-man."

"Well, I have to agree with her. It kinda suits him," Sheena spoke.

Ratatosk and Ventus sighed at the two, bickering Centurions. The Lord of all Monsters demanded attention again and Aqua continued with her story after casting a last, venomous glance to Tenebrae:

"After we transported your core to safety and were teleported back to our altars, I managed to get in my healing pool before I reverted back to a core. I stayed in a semi-conscious state since then and as the mana left, I also took the time to make my adaptation to the new state of the water."

"But for that to be concluded, she said she would need to renew her bond with Ratatosk, which was lost once the world was drowned into chaos energy," Richter stated. "I found her thirteen years ago, in a hidden sanctuary in the Thoda Geyser while trying to find information about the symbol on Aster's chest and Ratatosk's core."

"So, all that thing about you teaching me about magic, how mana worked on the world and combat was…" Emil asked, remembering about his training and education tutored by his friend.

"Aqua asked me to pass the knowledge on to you, including what she told me about Ratatosk. When Ratatosk's personality manifested, I came back to her and she said it was time for you to regain your bonds with the Centurions."

"But before Master Richter could bring you to me, Nebilim attacked you and… Master Richter was…" Aqua stopped there, seeming sad for Richter.

"It doesn't matter, anyway," Ratatosk said, not affected by the sad mood that downed in the room. "With you here, we don't have to go to Thoda Island," an energetic pulse emanated and Emil was back in control, his eyes and pose normal once more. "But, how are we going to remake the bond? I only knew how to do it if she was in core form and…" as Emil suddenly ceased his talk, another pulse emanated and Ratatosk was back in control, his tone now one of arrogance. "Correction: _I _know how to do the ritual of the hatching. You just take me to the altars to do it."

As the rest of the group didn't mind the talk between Aster and his Summon Spirit personality, Richter had a stone and serious look on his features. Nobody, however, noticed his expression, too concentrated on Emil and Aqua.

The blond, possessed swordsman then extended his hand to Aqua, like they were about to shake hands. The Centurion of water reached for it and held Emil's hand. A glow emanated from the ancient Summon Spirit of the Kharlan Tree and passed by his hand to Aqua. The Centurion's mouth twisted slightly, like she was experiencing something uncomfortable, but it soon passed.

The glow then faded and Emil suddenly collapsed without warning. Marta called for the boy's other name as she rushed to him. Aqua floated lower, seeming to try and look for any clue of what happened to her lord. Lloyd, Sheena, the Centurions and Richter also approached the boy. Marta then asked Ventus:

"Another effect of the merging?"

"Possibly. Though it seems the intervals between reforming a bond and this reduced to almost none," the Centurion of wind answered. "I assume he will sleep for the rest of the night."

"We should take him to bed, then," Lloyd suggested, the whole group nodding to him.

Marta and the dual swordsman passed the reincarnation of Ratatosk's arms by their shoulders and left the room. Sheena also left the local as the Centurions were still inside it, though the violet haired woman stopped when she heard Richter, who had stayed behind, spoke in a low tone, probably to not warn anyone else.

"How often has this happened?"

"Boss also passed out after hatching Ventus," Lumen's voice answered. Tenebrae and Ventus called his name in reprisal. "What?" the cheetah-like entity probably had said something the other Centurions didn't want him to speak.

"In that case, there's something I would like to discuss with you, Centurions, regarding your… boss and his soul on Aster's body," Richter said in his usual curt tone.

"We do not have to answer to your questions," Tenebrae stated.

Sheena thought about risking it and take a peep at the room, but she didn't know how accurate Richter's senses could be. She was already concealing her magical energy and keeping the vibrations of her aura at minimum, so as to not be discovered. However, if the female fighter had looked in the living room, she would have seen the almost comic, angry expression in Aqua's face as she lashed out at Tenebrae:

"What did you say to Master Richter? How dare you? You… spiteful, old dog!"

"Spiteful… old dog," Tenebrae said in a tone of repressed anger.

"Stop you two, before you wake the humans sleeping here," Ventus said.

"I'll wait for you all outside after I check on Aster," Richter said in a final tone. "That is, if you value the one that basically helped to educate and raise your lord and saved his life once," the scholar warrior said, pushing his glasses a bit up his nose.

Sheena hid behind the statue of an angel at the lobby after hearing Richter give that ultimatum to the servants of Ratatosk. The half-elf passed by without even noticing the female fighter had been spying on him. The Centurions also left after some time.

Feeling the presences of everybody up there, Sheena left her hiding place and took the stairs. Something was up with Emil and Richter seemed to have caught on that. The guardian user knew the Centurions would probably know what was going on, but trying to pry it off them certainly wouldn't work.

_In that case, I'll let Richter do it for me. After all, the guy even verbally owned Ratatosk. _Sheena thought with a smirk on her lips and a chuckle. Pity she didn't have anything to record that moment…

_-_ / - / - / -

After taking Emil to bed and making sure he was alright, the group settled themselves to sleep and wait the blonde wake up in the next morning to know what their next course of action would be. That is, everybody less one half-elf and the Centurions.

Sheena approached Lloyd's bed after she successfully got out of the bed she was sharing with Marta without waking her up. It was in those moments she was extremely thankful for the stealth training she had done since she was little and had perfected later by sneaking on Tanny, when they were children, and on the perverts that talked about her, so she wouldn't give them the chance to escape.

The violet haired woman saw Lloyd was deep in slumber and started to think on how she would wake him up without having to resort to blast him with her Pyre Seal. She then remembered one thing that she had always had with her that could wake up anybody. Reaching for her bag at a corner, Sheena rummaged through it and took out a little bottle.

_Liquid chaos..._ the young woman thought to herself as she looked in the bottle. _Remnants_ _of some minor demons that tried to attack Asgard. Tanny and I used to make stinky bombs with it when we were children. If left in closed recipes for a long time, it starts to get concentrated and rot, releasing a smell so strong it could knock out a dragon if it inhaled great concentrations. _she then uncorked the small glass and took a small sniff, immediately putting it away at sensing the foul smell coming out of it. _Urgh! It's also perfect for distraction. That is, as long as you have a gas mask with you._

The guardian user then approached the bottle to Lloyd's nose, but taking care not to put it directly under it, otherwise, he would be going deeper into slumber (and maybe even have nightmares). Lloyd's nose seemed to wrinkle after sometime and the young man sat up with a start, seeming ready to even scream if Sheena have not put her other hand on his mouth, making a "sshhhh" noise to him.

"Stay quiet, ok?" the violet haired woman spoke, taking her hand off Lloyd's mouth.

"Sheena? Why did you wake me up like this?" Lloyd asked, starting to get his sense of smell back to normal.

"Follow me and you'll see," Sheena said, as she bottled the glass containing the liquid chaos.

"Where? What do you want to do with me?" Lloyd asked, a little startled at realizing they were the only ones awake late in the night and Sheena wanted to take him somewhere, possibly away from the others.

"Now, now, Lloyd. Speaking like this, people might think you're the one with dirty thoughts around here," Sheena said in a malicious tone and smirking seductively to Lloyd, who realized what he had just said and looked down, his cheeks a crimson tone. "But as tempting as it sounds, no, that's not it. Follow me and you'll see,"

Blaming his later statement on his hormones, Lloyd dressed in his signature red jacket and exited the House of Salvation with Sheena. The two walked until near the road, hiding behind a wooden wall nearby. Peeking from behind it, they could see Richter standing with his back to them, looking at the horizon.

Lloyd was about to ask what Richter was doing out of the House of Salvation by himself, when four figures materialized behind him, taking the form of the Centurions. Aqua was the first to talk in the lovely tone of admiration she used to speak with Richter:

"Master Richter! We're all here."

"Though, mainly because somebody forced us to," Tenebrae commented.

"Shut up before I decide that facing Lord Ratatosk's fury is worth your death."

"You said you wanted to inquiry us about our lord's state, right?" Ventus asked the adult half-elf, not even bothering to try and stop Tenebrae and Aqua from starting another argument.

Lloyd had his mouth mild-open in surprise while Sheena had a sharp look on her slightly narrowed eyes. Would the Centurions really tell Richter what was the deal with the merging of Ratatosk's spirit with Emil's own? The red haired man spoke, after throw one of his red bangs to the side:

"Yes. More specifically about this merging process you were speaking about. My question is simple: if Emil is being affected like this each time he hatches one of you, what's going to happen to him when the last Centurion is awaken?"

Sheena and Lloyd had their eyes wide at that. They hadn't even stopped to ponder about how the merging process was affecting Emil or what that merging exactly meant. Tenebrae and Ventus looked between each other, as Lumen and Aqua seemed confused. The former obviously didn't have any idea about what they were talking about, the latter, having just been reunited with her lord, hadn't have time to analyze the situation.

It seemed the two had already debated on that subject, for Ventus soon looked to Richter and started to speak:

"Considering the circumstances in which the merging happened, we can only assume the human personality you know as Emil Aster Castagnier will eventually combine with our lord's own, though, what the final result will be is still uncertain to us. Maybe the stronger of the personalities will remain. Maybe they will become a new one."

"Is Emil aware of all of this?" Richter asked.

"He is," Tenebrae answered. "Lord Emil once asked me about it when he hatched me. He asked Ventus too. He says he is on this journey to discover what it means too."

"Yes… he is…" Richter said, looking to the ground. A tension settled in the air. Sheena and Lloyd almost didn't breath as Richter started to talk again. "Does your _lord_ have any idea about it?" by the emphasis Richter gave to the word "lord", Sheena and Lloyd knew he was clearly meaning Ratatosk's personality.

"He doesn't talk much about it. We tried to ask once, but couldn't get any concrete answer," Tenebrae said.

"In another words, we won't know until the time comes."

"Possibly," Ventus confirmed.

"In that case, allow me to ask you another question: is there any way for Emil and Ratatosk to separate? The two still seem not to have any effect on the other's personality yet."

This time, all Centurions looked between themselves. Lloyd then remembered the question he had once made to Emil about how he could stand all of that; being an important Summon Spirit and having to fight the demons. He could still remember the heavy, sad tone of Emil's answer:

_Sometimes I… really feel like I can be crushed by all of this…_

Was that why Richter was asking if there was a way to separate Emil from Ratatosk, so that the blonde could live his life like a normal human? Ventus looked back to Richter and spoke in his soft, yet strong tone carrying wisdom:

"Actually, there is a way. If Ratatosk/Emil gained a certain portion of our lord's former power before the hatching of the last Centurion and their consciousness still hasn't merged until then, it would be possible for his human and Summon Spirit self to separate from each other and become their own beings. Though, that might come with some minor side-effects…"

"That was all I wanted to know," Richter said in a tone of someone who thought of the subject as finished. "Thanks for your attention."

"Anytime you want, Master Richter," Aqua said. You could almost see hearts floating over her head as she regarded the tall man.

Sheena and Lloyd hid further once Richter passed by their hiding spot, who still did not notice the two. Once the red headed scholar was back to the House of Salvation, the Centurions followed, speaking between themselves:

"Is it my impression, or does that guy not like our boss very much?" Lumen asked to his brethren.

"Of course it's just your impression, Lumen," Tenebrae said in a sarcastic tone. "Why would he come to us and ask if there's a way to separate Lord Ratatosk from Lord Emil?"

"Oh. Good then. I was worried he really didn't like boss," Lumen said with his goofy smile and cheerful tone on.

Tenebrae stayed silent at the obliviousness and blunt statement of his counterpart while Ventus talked to Aqua:

"I don't think it would be proper for you to get so attached to that man. There's something about him that's bothering me."

"Pfft. And what do you know about Master Richter to say this?" Aqua retorted.

"Just watch out to not fall in the traps of love, or you might get hurt later," Ventus said in a wise tone.

"Why, thanks for the warning, Vent-know-it-all."

The Centurions then passed by Sheena and Lloyd and entered the House of Salvation. The couple got out of their hiding spot and stayed looking to the door of the building for some time, thinking on everything that they heard.

"Do you think we should talk to Aster about it?" Sheena asked Lloyd.

"I don't know. It seems like he already knows about this merging thing and all," Lloyd answered.

"In that case, I suggest we wait and see what happens. After all, this is Emil's personal matter. I don't want to butt in."

"Yeah."

- / - / - / -

_He was floating at the middle of the field. In front of him were three people, all of them half-elves. At the head of the group was a young, blond one, wearing white clothes with details in blue. He started to talk to the boy in an angry tone:_

_"Didn't I make myself clear? Protecting the mana is more important than going around playing mister hero!"_

_The blond boy answered, in a tone that edged defiance, which irritated him:_

_"Then do you expect us to simply turn a blind eye to someone who's suffering right in front of us?"_

_"Fool! If you don't hurry up and do something about those mana consuming weapons, there won't be any people left for you to save!" _

_"But Ratatosk, it's not that simple," the green haired woman that had been behind the half-elven boy stepped forward. He felt some compassion for the woman. Her soft, sweet tone bringing distant memories. "People aren't very willingly to listen to half-elves like us regarding this subject. Some think this war is for the pride of their countries."_

_"And if they don't stop it, there won't be any country for them to defend its pride. Can't you see that?" his tone was now softer and a little more appeased, though it hadn't lost its strength and brash connotation._

_"We know that and that's because we've been trying to gather able bodies and sabotage some factories, but we can't do anything about the weapons that are already in use," the blue haired man that had his hands entwined with the woman moments ago said._

_That man…he didn't particularly like him, but always felt he could at least keep a logic dialogue with him. That man, at least, understood the gravity of the situation._

_"So, you mean your efforts are useless."_

_"No, not useless," the green haired woman said. "We've already achieved to convince a parcel of the population about what we're doing is right…"_

_"And yet that isn't even close to solve the main problem, is it now?" he interrupted her. _

_"But… they will eventually understand," the blond boy spoke up. The insistent tone of that half-elf was starting to make his anger rise again. "These same people you recriminate us for saving are the ones who are supporting our cause."_

_"Have you heard anything I've said? We're running against the clock! If you aren't able to help me fix this, then I'll find a way to do it myself."_

_"But didn't you say that you and your brethren couldn't interfere directly, Ratatosk?" the blue haired man asked._

_"It was exactly because of it I asked for you three to make the pacts with my brothers, so we could interfere through you. But it seems Mithos wasn't able to even get past three pacts."_

_"But they've already helped us a great deal…" the blonde, Mithos, spoke, but was interrupted._

_"And yet you spend their powers 'saving' other people, when you should be using it to take care of the main problem. Don't you see? As long as this war continues, it doesn't matter how many you save, they will get in danger again."_

_"So what do you suggest we do? Use them to destroy the armies of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla?"_

_"YES! You people created these weapons for the purpose to kill each other, didn't you? I don't give a crap about it, but now they started to harm the world and you all simply refuse to listen to reason! They don't deserve to live in this world if they are willingly to destroy it for their own selfish reasons!" his tone was harsh and angry._

_"But… there must be other way," the green haired woman spoke in an almost begging tone._

_"Don't be so naïve Martel! These people won't listen to you, isn't that already clear enough?"_

_"Hey! You don't need to speak with her like that. We all are working hard to stop this conflict…" the blue haired man said, but was interrupted again._

_"But it's not enough, Yuan! Soon, if you don't do something, mana will be all burnt out and your vows with my brothers and sisters will be automatically broken, annulling your pact with them," he said that looking to Mithos, who didn't back away at the angry tone. "If the humans didn't want to get killed, they should have thought about what they were doing before ever inventing this cursed magitechnology!"_

_"No! I refuse to do this! There must be another way! Creating a slaughter won't bring anyone peace!" Mithos said, stating his belief._

_"If you aren't able to do what's necessary, then it seems I just lost my time talking to you. You three are nothing more than selfish parasites, using the Derris Emblem I gave you and the power of my brothers and sisters for your own causes." his tone was now one of cold accusation._

_"No!" Martel said, seeming now desperate, tears coming out of her eyes. "That's not true! We only want to…"_

_"SILENCE!" the very earth seemed to shake with his powerful yell. Martel, Mithos and Yuan backed slightly at his fury, eyes wide. "I won't be swayed by soft words anymore, no matter how much of your heart they carry! If you think there's a path, then show me, I dare you!" his tone suddenly lowered, turning as cold as the depths of Celsius' glaciers. "I will follow mine and do what's necessary to protect this world and my tree…"_

_With that, he left. He could come back and collect the Derris Emblem later, throwing in that half-elf's face how wrong he was. However, the situation was far too worse now. He lost too much time by thinking that those three would comprehend what was necessary to be done to save that world. They were just like the others he tried to call to defend the world; too afraid of the disapproval of others, to go against their petty ideals to take action and do what was needed._

_From that day on, Ratatosk swore he would never trust in the mortals again. They didn't understand that protecting the world and the Kharlan Tree came before everything. They preferred to cling to their idealistic visions instead of seeing the real situation, acting to reach their ambitions instead of hearing even to the ones that guarded their ingrate lives…_

Emil woke with a start, sweating. That dream…it wasn't a normal dream, he knew that…it looked more like a… a memory. But it certainly wasn't one of his. He never met anyone named Mithos, Martel or Yuan.

Thinking about that now, he remembered something: hadn't Asuka commented that the name of the Tethe'allan Renegades' leader was Yuan? That meant the leader of the Renegades was a half-elf. He had heard rumors about it, but never thought they were actually true. However, Emil was sure he never met the leader of the Renegades before. So, what was that memory?

Looking around, he saw it was morning; the sun was slightly making its appearance and bathing the room with a mild light. Lloyd was on his bed, deep on sleep, in the other side of the room. Emil looked to his right and saw Marta and Sheena sleeping on the bed they were sharing. The brunette girl was turned to Sheena's back, who was a bit further from her. Marta probably had tried to hug the older woman during sleep. She did that to Emil when they traveled together and had to sleep close to each other.

Sighing, the blond swordsman got up, dressed himself with his scarf and scabbard and got out of the room. The House of Salvation's workers had to yet wake up, so Emil decided to take a stroll outside to clear his head and think about what he just saw in his dream/memory.

Could that be an effect of the merging between his and Ratatosk's spirit? It probably was. But that memory…he even felt the emotions Ratatosk felt during that time. Emil had to admit, considering the critical situation in which the world was, he would be as angry as Ratatosk. But to kill thousands of people to protect the world… the thought was unacceptable to him. They weren't talking about just one human life.

_"They should have thought about that before killing my tree then. Those who don't value the world they live in, don't deserve to live in it at all," _a brash, strong voice sounded inside Emil's head, making he stop and jump. He knew that voice very well since he was thirteen.

"R-Ratatosk?" the afraid blonde asked aloud.

_"What? You can hear me? Oh, that's just great…" _Ratatosk's voice sounded inside Emil's head, with a sarcastic edge on it. _"What next?_ _You'll take on my appearance?"_

"Th-that's serious? Why am I hearing you in my head?" Emil asked, getting a little desperate.

"_Uh, I don't know. Maybe because our spirits are further merged? Duh." _

Emil had to admit: dealing with Ratatosk wasn't an easy task, but hearing his thoughts was a completely different thing. The young swordsman sighed, thinking:

_Gosh… What am I going to do now?_

_"How about stop whining for once?" _Ratatosk talked back. Emil narrowed his eyes. Great, it worked two ways. _"And don't give me that expression! I don't like this situation as much as you."_

"Then what should we do?" Emil asked the Summon Spirit aloud again.

_"Just keep collecting my Centurion's cores. The faster you do this, the faster we can get rid of each other. After all, that's what you want so much, isn't it?" _Ratatosk asked, his tone a sharp one.

Before Emil could reply, he heard someone calling his name. The blond boy turned and saw Richter coming, seeming completely awake. Emil never saw when Richter went to bed. The tall half-elf was generally the first to awake and the last to go sleep.

"Who were you talking to, Aster?" Richter asked.

Emil smiled to his old friend. He even missed Richter's constant lectures about how he and Marta should use the intelligent boy's alias while in public, though the two never really took what he said to the letter. Richter raised his eyebrow to the boy's expression, wondering what he was up to.

"Don't worry. It was just Ratatosk, Richter," Emil said to his friend.

"How? I didn't hear his voice," Richter asked with a serious look on his features.

"I can hear him in my mind now."

"You can?" the tone of the adult half-elf was a little louder now and with a tint of worry.

"Yeah. Is something wrong?" Aster noticed the tone in Richter's voice.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to talk with you about. You see…" before Richter could proceed, someone called him.

The red head's entire body went stiff at hearing the voice, which came from behind him. Emil took a look to behind the half-elf and saw someone coming, dressed in torn clothes and with a feral look on his face. Emil recognized the newcomer with a gasp: Grawlrus.

"Ah, there you are. Lord Nebilim ordered me to come and find you. You should have been back about…" the disguised demon stopped his talk once he noticed Emil, whose hand flew to his sword's handle, but stopped at hearing the almost friendly tone the demon was using with Richter. "Hey! You captured Ratatosk. Good work! And here we thought you were serious about the whole _'I'm not doing this because I want to'_ thing," the demon said, making a bad impersonation of Richter's voice tone.

"Richter…what is he talking about?" Emil asked, looking to his friend, who let out a grunt, still not seeming to be able to look to Emil or Grawlrus.

"Oh, didn't you realize yet?" Grawlrus taunted. "Richter is one of us; he works for Lord Nebilim and…" the wild-looking demon had to stop at mid sentence to jump back from a sudden attack from Richter, who quickly drew his weapons; the ax of round edge drew by its red blade, Sol, and the red sword, Mani. "What the hell? What are you doing?"

"Aster! Take the others away from here! I'll keep Grawlrus occupied!" Richter said, turning his head to look by the corner of his eyes to Emil.

"But…" the blond swordsman hesitated, looking from Richter to Grawlrus.

"GO!" the half-elf commanded, charging to attack Grawlrus again, who avoided the attack once more.

Emil decided to obey Richter and ran inside the House of Salvation, he found the others going down the stairs, all dressed and seeming ready to depart. The group gave the young boy confused looks at seeing him nervous. Emil then spoke:

"We were found. We have to get out of here!"

Marta brought her hands to her mouth, as Lloyd and Sheena wore determined and sharp looks as they drew their weapons, ready for combat.

"Then what are we standing here for? Let's go!" Sheena said.

The group quickly exited the House of Salvation, in time to hear a loud thud. They looked to the side and saw Richter standing there, ax and sword in hand, and Grawlrus on the floor, sitting with an angry look on his face.

"Richter!" Marta called.

The half-elf looked to the brunette girl upon hearing his name. That moment of distraction was all that Grawlrus needed. He called for Graar, making a portal open at his side and the big, grayish-blue wolf jumped out of it. The wolf demon charged against Richter, who just had time to turn and lift his arm as Graar dug his fangs on it.

Marta and the others gasped as Richter went to the ground, blood flying from his arm as Graar seemed to be trying to rip it off and left big stains on the ground and in the half-elf's clothes. The red head, however, was still with his weapon on his grip and had just his teeth gritted instead of shouting in pain like any other person would be doing under that kind of attack.

"BURN!" Richter shouted.

Flames involved the body of the half-elf, setting Graar aflame, hitting even his mouth. The wolf barked in pain as it seemed to be thrown back by the burst of flames. When the fire died down, Emil and the others had their eyes wide at what they were seeing.

Richter's appearance had changed completely: his coat and clothes had turned into what seemed to be pure darkness, there was some kind of dark matter floating around the ends of his coat, which apparently had merged with his body, his skin gained a reddish tone and his hair now seemed to be made of liquid fire and shadows and his glasses had disappeared. His weapons also transformed, their blades turning into that same liquid fire as his hair.

Seeing they were still there, Richter turned his eyes to Emil and the others and spoke, his voice seeming the only thing unchanged:

"Didn't I say for you all to go? What are you waiting for?"

Emil and the others nodded, getting away from the place as fast as they could, all too confused by what they have witnessed. Richter turned to Grawlrus who was tending to part of his feral companion's burnt fur. The disguised demon looked to Richter and pointed an accusing finger to him while proclaiming:

"You… you traitor!"

Richter simply sighed at that, seeming completely unaffected. He talked back:

"When did I ever show any pretensions of being loyal to your 'cause'? You demons are so delusional."

- / - / - / -

Night had fallen as the group had got a good distance away from the House of Salvation where they left Richter facing Grawlrus. No one was speaking, still too shocked by what they had seen. Emil and Marta, in particular, couldn't believe their friend was a half-demon. That should be some kind of really bad joke. Aqua had a sad look to her face while the other Centurions just looked to be in deep thought.

Sheena then stood and the whole group looked to the guardian user as she spoke:

"Look, I know this might not be the best time to bring this up, but ever since I saw that Richter guy I sensed something strange about him. By the looks of it, he was occulting the chaos energy that every demon and half-demon emanate."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Tenebrae inquired.

"You mean you didn't feel it? What kind of servants of Summon Spirit are you?" Sheena said with her eyes narrowed and crossing her arms. Tenebrae seemed to grumble as the violet haired woman continued. "Anyway, I didn't tell you because Emil and Marta seemed so trustful about him, I doubt they would have believed me."

"But Richter tried to save us!" Emil said in protest, getting up together with Marta.

"Yes! He can't be bad! There must be some sort of explanation," the petite brunette said.

"How about we ask Aqua then?" Lloyd suggested, making everybody look to the Centurion of water, who almost jumped on her place at seeing everybody fixing their stares on her. "You were with Richter before, right?"

"Aqua, you knew that and didn't tell us?" Ventus' tone was a recriminating one. "What if he had attacked us while we had let our guard down?"

"Because Master Richter would never do that. He was turned into a half-demon against his will!" Aqua proclaimed.

A heavy silence came after the declaration of the fish-looking entity. Emil and Marta were divided between feeling worried for Richter and relieved he wasn't against them. Lumen looked to everybody before looking to Aqua again, asking:

"You mean Nebilim did capture him?"

"Of course he did, you idiot!" Aqua said in a defensive tone. "Do you really think Master Richter would ever betray Lord Emil and Lady Marta? He has been withholding information from Nebilim ever since he was forced to participate the Chaos Ritual, but he can't disobey him if Nebilim gives him a direct order."

"Why not?" Lloyd asked. Tenebrae was the one to answer that question.

"It is in the demon's nature to obey those of a higher ranking than theirs. The demons were all created by the Descendants of Chaos, the original chaos, from their souls to serve them, so it is in their nature to obey their superiors, no matter what kind of order it is."

" 'Descendants of Chaos'? 'Original chaos'?" Marta asked.

Ratatosk took control of Emil's body in that moment. The Summon Spirit decided to explain to them about that concept, mostly because Emil had been "pestering"him about what that meant:

"The original chaos is the one that existed before all creation. It's from it that our Lords created everything. The Descendants of Chaos are the first demons and, as the name implies, its direct children. There are three and they draw their powers from any kind of chaos energy.

"Niflheim is a giant, spiritual realm overflowing with chaos energies which are closer to the original one. It's because of it the demons took control of it and call it their home. There, the Descendants of Chaos, or the Grand Demon Lords, rule all of their kind with god-like powers. Their goal isn't simply to destroy everything, but to return it to its original state, the chaos it was before. They like to call the original chaos Great Father, believing everything must return to him."

Ratatosk then looked to everybody around him. Marta and Sheena seemed to be clueless while Lloyd was trying really hard to keep his mind from shutting down with the overflowing information that had assaulted it. The crimson-eyed entity sighed, putting a hand on its face.

_See? That's exactly why we can't explain things like that to you, mortals. _the Summon Spirit spoke mentally. Emil apologized through the connecting between their merged spirits.

"Can you repeat it, boss?" Lumen asked, seeming as lost as everybody. The Centurions looked away from him in shame.

"What?" Ratatosk asked.

"Like, from the beginning?" Lloyd asked.

"Ok, to shorten things..." Ratatosk said, his temper quickly raising. "Original chaos; everything that the universe was before creation. Chaos Descendants: the three Grand Demons Lords, leaders of all demons and who created them to follow every order of their superiors, whatever they may be. There! Is that clear enough or do I need to draw something for your simple minds to get it?"

"You don't need to be so cranky, you know?" Sheena said.

Muttering a "whatever", Ratatosk gave the control back to Emil. The blonde could hear Ratatosk mumble "idiots" before feeling the link between their minds weakening, but still present. Having understood that, everybody turned to Aqua, who continued the story:

"According to what Master Richter told me, Nebilim had tried to force information out of him, but he simply wouldn't speak, telling half-truths or twisted and unimportant parts of it. It seems Nebilim then gave up and send Master Richter to do some missions in his name. They frequently involved threatening people or killing those that opposed the demons. Master Richter hated doing them and has been trying to do his best to get the people out of it with their lives."

"But wouldn't that be disobeying Nebilim's orders?" Marta asked.

"I don't know. But he mentioned something about playing with the meaning of Nebilim's words and putting some tasks in the missions as a higher priority than others so he could avoid them."

"Ah, so he's playing with words," Ventus mused. "Very cunning, I must say. Of course, if he focused more on part of his mission or twisted the meaning of his orders in a way it looked like he would be carrying them out, he could dribble the nature of the demonic blood flowing in his body."

"So, you mean that the servant nature of the demons isn't as strong in half-demons than it is in complete ones?" Emil asked the most intelligent of the Centurions.

"It would seem so, though I cannot tell with much accuracy, since half-demons never existed before."

"Word play… dribble nature… what exactly does this mean?" Lloyd mumbled, feeling as lost as a penguin in the middle of the Triet Desert.

"I think it means Richter can resist follow other demons' orders to some level, or something like that," Sheena said, scratching her head as she tried to understand so many extravagant words.

"And here I was, thinking Lady Sheena was actually smarter than she looked," Tenebrae commented in a whisper, however, the voluptuous female caught that.

Before anything else could be spoken, Sheena hit Tenebrae in the head, making the Centurion kiss the earth. A vein was throbbing on the guardian user's head.

"Thanks a lot. I've been wanting to do that to him myself for a long time," Aqua said, flashing a smile to Sheena.

"No prob," the violet haired woman said, smiling back to the feminine-looking Centurion.

"Anyway…" the Centurion of water said, making everybody look to her again. "Master Richter also used the time he had between his missions to ensure that other people and his friends were safe. He didn't make any contact with the Vanguard or the Renegades for he feared Nebilim would try and press that information out of him somehow.

"When he met me, before he went to you in that night, my lord…" Aqua looked to Emil. "...he promised he would bring you to me for us to renew our bounds. But then he was captured and turned into a half-demon, so, instead, he decided that as soon as he got word of Emil, he would come and take me to you.

"I got shocked when I saw Master Richter again, I almost sent one of my servants on him. But then, I saw…even with all the chaos around him and the demonic blood in his veins, Master Richter was still that same marvelous person of when I first met him."

Aqua's tone was a sweet one as she looked up, the expression on her face and hand over her chest telling the group she was daydreaming. Tenebrae and Ventus had big sweatdrops running down behind their heads. Sheena had her hand on her mouth, trying hard not to laugh. Marta had closed her eyes, putting her hands behind her back and inclining her body forward, a sweet smile on her face:

"Wow. You must really love Richter. Few people would describe him like this."

"I-I… I don't…" Aqua stuttered, recovering from her daydreaming and blushing beet red.

"C'mon, Aqua-girl. You're even stuttering and getting your face red," Lumen said. "Humans had this expression when they are heads over heels for someone. At least, that's what V-wing explained to me."

"S-shut up, Lumen!" Aqua said, quickly reverting from her embarrassed state to an angry one.

This time, Lloyd was the one with a sweatdrop running down his forehead, thinking:

_Great… even the Centurions with feminine appearance have this mood swing thing girls have._

"So he brought you to Emil and here we are," Lloyd decided to conclude. Aqua nodded to the boy. "Good. Can we go to bed now? My head is already aching."

Tenebrae would have made some remark about that, but he was still fearful that Sheena would inflict some harm upon him should he talk about her man like that. The group and the Centurions agreed to get a rest. As Lloyd and Emil went to the tents they had set earlier, Sheena, Marta and the Centurions stayed talking some more:

"Well, it's certainly good to know Richter is still our friend," Marta said, with a relieved smile.

"Yeah. I would hate if we had to fight against him," Sheena spoke. "I mean, he's your friend and I hate seeing friends fighting one another."

"A noble attitude, however, what if it might come to that someday?" Ventus inquired.

"Oh, I'm sure Master Richter will find a way. After all, Master Richter is amazing," Aqua said, her tone one of pure admiration.

"Yeah. Not as amazing as my Emil, but amazing anyways," Marta said in the same tone of admiration, but only for her crush.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" Aqua spoke, seeming to get very protective. "I agree that our lord is good, but he's still young and Master Richter taught him most of what he knows today. So, in a way, Master Richter is better."

"No. It's Emil," Marta talked back, also in a protective tone.

"Master Richter!"

"Girls. Calm down, okay," Sheena said, attracting the attention of the two. "You two like our men and everything and I don't blame you… but Lloyd could beat the two of them any day," the guardian user had a smile to her face.

There was one moment of silence, until all three girls broke in an argument, speaking the name of their loved ones again and again. The other Centurions just stayed there looking to that, unable to think on anything to say. Lumen was the one to speak:

"Isn't it nice they are so friendly with each other enough to talk about their guys?"

Ventus and Tenebrae decided not to reply to that…

* * *

Wew! That was some chapter... and as you all noticed, I used Richter's final form from ToS2 as his demonic form. You have to admit, in the game, it practically screamed "demonic badassness!"

Now, I would like to call your attention for an annoucement (which you can see in my profile too): since I've basically added an entire background story to the realm of Niflheim and its inhabitants, you can already guess by now that the volume of information aboout it is too big to be presented all at once and has to be spread through the chapters. So, after a certain character joins the party, which should happen around the beggining of the Act 2, I will publish a side-fic organizing the entire demonic mythology that was already revealed.

However, I'm not going to publish it as simply a text book or some kind of diary. No. It's going to have a very different format. How different, you ask? Well, once the character I meantioned appears, you all might have a clue.

Well, that's all. Until the next chapter!


	9. Anger

New chapter and more characters appearing!

Also, here's a skit for you all. This one is between Marta, Lumen, Tenebrae and Sheena and it would occur sometime after they left Asgard:

Asuka

Tenebrae: Asuka seems to be a good mother.

Sheena: Yeah, she is great. She experienced many things in her life and always tried to pass it to me.

Lumen: Doesn't she, like, scold you when you do some short of mistake or don't hear her? I heard most parents do that.

Sheena: Well, there was a time I didn't listen to her and even gave her the cold shoulder. I can just say, I regretted it latter. She didn't exactly yell at me after it, but gave me that look of "I told you" and we had a serious talk.

Marta: Then that means you two have a healthy relationship of mother and daughter.

Sheena: Really?

Marta: Yeah, you know what they say: we just scold those we love because we care for them.

Lumen: Like with you and boss when you get angry thinking he is looking to other girls?

Sheena *narrowing eyes*: I don't think that's the same thing, Lumen.

Marta: Well… hum… I…

Lumen: Because you sure get shaking when he looks to another woman or blush when they come on to him.

Tenebrae: Well, love is indeed the act of forcing your feelings over the other person, whether he will accept them or not. Also, it is the desire to keep your object of affection to yourself, just like you would do with a prized possession.

Sheena: What kind of twisted explanation for love is this?

Marta *sighing*: The Tenebrae kind…

**

* * *

**

Chapter 8

**Anger**

_"That… situation… so far… my mana…"_ _Shadow, Summon Spirit of darkness, mumbled to his listeners._

_"Good… thanks for the report Shadow," the aged-looking Summon Spirit of molecules, Maxwell, said._

_He sighed after having to hear the reports of all other spirits about the situation in the world, which he already knew. He then looked around him. When was the last time he came to the Summon Spirit's palace on that pocket dimension? He couldn't remember. But it seemed his brothers and sisters had modified the place to gain a more ethereal and otherworldly atmosphere. It almost reminded him of the Monster Graveyard and the Path of Ascension before the Ginnungagap._

_The room was round and with no walls, giving view to a starry sky, though he knew all of that was just an illusion, probably created by Origin, to give the place an atmosphere of freedom. The floor on their feet was actually an out flowing pool of water which they could walk over without sinking in, courtesy of Undine, certainly, and around them there were several pillars distributed in a circle, each one with a symbol engraved in it; the symbol of their respective elements. Behind him, on his pillar, was his crest._

_The Conference Room was one of the few rooms he remembered having been to in the Twilight Palace. He knew in the upper levels were the Summon Spirits' quarters. When he inquired Origin why they had created rooms for themselves, the King of the Summon Spirits said it was "for them to feel comfortable and have a place to relieve the stress of their work." _

_Why the hell would they need that? They were spirits, for Lord's sake! But after Gnome invited him to see his room and try the earth spirit's soft bed, he decided there was no use in complaining. Not when you had something that felt like you were lying down on clouds. Even he had his privative quarters in the Ginnungagap._

_"Ratatosk," Origin called him. He turned his look to the four-armed Summon Spirit, but didn't get out of his arm-crossed pose, leaning on the pillar behind him with his crest. "How is the situation in the Ginnungagap?"_

_"Nothing out of normal, as far as I can tell. There haven't even been attempts of any kind to force the door open. It's been quite boring."_

_"Man, that sucks," Gnome spoke. "You know, maybe you should get out more often. Really Ratatosk, it's been ages since the last you hang around with any of us," the hamster-like Summon Spirit said with a smile on his face._

_"Yeah. We miss playing with you," Yutis, one of the Sylph sisters, said._

_"More like torturing him," Efreet commented, chuckling._

_"Leave him be. You know how he tends to get easily angry over anything," Aska commented._

_He gritted his teeth at the second Summon Spirit of light. Aska never liked him ever since that situation with Luna. Sometimes, he could swear that over-sized, two-headed bird had his picture in a dictionary at the side of the word "overprotective."_

_"Oh, c'mon. Stop picking on him again, Aska. Honestly, and Undine says he's the one that hold grudges around here," Celsius spoke in his defense. He remembered that he and her had a thing sometime ago, after she broke up with Efreet, but his duty kept him locked in the Ginnungagap for so much time he didn't even know how she was still feeling about him nowadays._

_"I didn't say that," Undine spoke. He always pictured her as being one of the few in their brandy bunch who could actually come up with an intelligent talk. Aside Origin and Maxwell, of course._

_Predictably, another discussion started between the spirits. He sighed. He would never admit, but he missed even their arguing in the meetings. Origin and Maxwell sighed. Shadow was the one to stop the blabbering with his deep and hissing voice, sending waves of darkness around:_

_"Enough… !" everybody stopped at sensing the chill on their very essences. He smiled. Shadow did know how to efficiently break an argue. "Can't you… stop… even when… Ratatosk… comes… ?"_

_He and Shadow were never what you could call best buddies, but they kept a cordial relation at least. The other spirits apologized and he decided to resume to his report:_

_"If you ask me, the demons are probably concentrating their forces in invading another world."_

_"You think so?" Sephie asked._

_"I can't say for sure, but it might be it."_

_"Even so, it's not like we can do anything about this matter," Volt, the Summon Spirit of thunder, said in the ancient dialect, but they all could understand that. "Denouncing the actions of the Grand Demon Lords would be meddling in Niflheim's affairs and that would go directly against the Treaty."_

_"Yes," Origin said, his tone a conclusive one. "We cannot give them any reason for retaliation, even more in a dire hour like this. Should they attack Aselia, we wouldn't have means to oppose them."_

_"That's exactly why we need to put an end to this war," everybody looked to him once he spoke that. That was what he had hoped to discuss in that reunion. "Origin, you said yourself the Royal Family of both countries wasn't willingly to listen to your messengers, even though they showed proofs."_

_The spirits looked between themselves. They knew he was right, they knew they had to act, but they were with their hands tied by that oath of theirs. Even he was. That was because he had tried to get the help of the mortals, but they were too afraid of how others would see their actions and clang to their petty ideals instead of doing what was necessary to defend the world._

_"We have to do something. If you just let me use my monsters, I can wipe them out and…"_

_"Unthinkable…" Shadow hissed._

_"What?"_

_"Shadow is right, you cannot simply take their lives without justification," Luna spoke._

_"But it's not without justification. Those bastards are trying to destroy our world!" he exclaimed in an unintended outburst._

_A deadly silence fell over the Conference Room. It was then Origin spoke, his tone a deep, commanding one, which he used only when he was met with something that worried him:_

_"Ratatosk, control yourself."_

_He huffed, but obeyed notwithstanding. If there was someone he truly respected, that being was Origin. How could he not? The two fought side by side at the War of the Young Aselia. It was the King of the Summon Spirits who introduced him in their mean and helped him to protect the Kharlan Tree. Origin and the other spirits… they were his…_

_It was then they heard the sound of what seemed to be someone choking. Before they could locate its source, Undine fell in the water floor, though not sinking on it. The other spirits rushed to her. As he approached, he asked what was wrong with her. Celsius was the one that answered:_

_"It's her mana. Lately, people have been dumping toxic materials left by the machines that consume mana on the water."_

_"I've seen it," Maxwell spoke. "These substances leave the mana in the water in a state of complete disarray, not to mention pollution. She may have absorbed some of the contaminated mana while trying to correct it."_

_Undine seemed to be breathing deeply, her eyes closed and an expression of pain in her face. Origin adjourned the meeting and ordered Efreet to take the Maiden of the Mist to her quarters. The Red Giant nodded and picked her tiny frame in his powerful arms, exiting the Conference Room by the portal that led to the corridors of the Twilight Palace at the end of a staircase. The other spirits followed, worried looks on their faces._

_Maxwell gave a deep sight, his aged looks more evident in his worry for his fellow spirit. The Summon Spirit of the molecules floated out of the room. He then noticed the only ones left in the room was himself and Origin, who had a heavy, deep expression in his features. He turned to the King of the Spirits and said:_

_"See? That's exactly why we have to take action now."_

_"I know, Ratatosk, I know…" Origin spoke. "But we can't interfere directly. You know the consequences…"_

_"To the hell with those damn consequences! The world won't wait for someone to decide it's time to save it, unless you've had more luck than me in finding a mortal willingly to put himself on the line to defend Aselia."_

_He crossed his arms. Origin stayed silently. He knew his equal in power had no means to counter that argument. After all, it was Origin's idea for them to recruit people to help them end that war. However, in the end, it had resulted in nothing. The war was still on and the world was suffering while they could only watch. Why couldn't Origin simply give him permission to wipe out both countries and end that spectacle of stupidity at once? He had the means to do that indirectly, without breaking their oath and Origin knew that._

_"I know you're worried about Undine and the others, but you need to calm down Ratatosk," Origin insisted._

_"Of course I'm worried! She's practically my sister and you all… you… are my only family," he struggled to say that. He didn't like being emotional. For him that was a sign of weakness._

_Origin now looked to him with a surprised look on his face. Maybe Origin already knew he felt like that, given how sharp the King of the Summon Spirits was, but never expected for him to admit that outloud. He also heard from the other spirits that they also thought of their little group as a big family and he couldn't help, but feel like they were exactly that._

_"I never thought I would hear these words coming out of your mouth…" Origin said with a mild smile on his face as he closed his eyes. His tone was a soft one, carrying a tint of happiness on it. It soon reverted back to his normal, strong and serious one. "But Ratatosk, I ask of you: do not let the attachment you feel towards us turn into rage and hatred. The others wouldn't like to know that the source of your anger is their state."_

_"Ok… but I won't make any promises," he crossed his arms again, turning to leave the room and stopping to take a last look on his equal. "But let me ask you this, Origin: what would you do if you saw them being threatened by those ingrates?"_

_"I would think on a more efficient course of action than letting my emotions take a hold of me and work to save them." Origin answered promptly. He wasn't surprised. Their leader was the one to always keep his head cool even at the direst of the situations. "If that soothes you, I'm working on a plan to revert this situation. It may not take an immediate effect and I'm still working on it, but it might give us the chance to fix things personally should they go wrong."_

_"Then let's hope your plan works," he said in a neutral tone. Origin always formed a plan when things got too ugly. Good thing they always worked out in the end._

_But what would happen if Origin's plan didn't succeed this time? What if he wouldn't have enough time to put it into action? What if more of their brothers and sisters got affected by the state of their respective mana? Even his Centurions had been demonstrating symptoms of being affected by the chaotic state of the mana._

_He swore: if those humans took Undine or any of the others from him… if they took his family away… they would pay dearly…_

Emil woke up, sweating as he tried to catch his breath. His heart was painfully aching and pounding against his chest. The young swordsman took some time to recover and realize he was in the tent he had set up for himself and Lloyd to sleep and not in the palace of the Summon Spirits shown in his memories.

_Another memory of Ratatosk… _Emil mused as his heart went back to its normal rhythm.

_"Talk about this one to anyone and I swear I'll make your life a living hell," _Ratatosk's voice sounded, almost startling Emil. He forgot about the mental channel between him and the Lord of the Monsters.

_B-but why? Are you talking about how you felt about the other spirits? I thought it was very surprising, I mean, you didn't look like the kind of being who would feel like that towards anyone and…_

_"And I want it to stay this way. Don't you see? If someone knew about it, they could have used them to get to me. Showing attachment for someone like that is a sign of weakness that your enemies will use against you. Maybe you should think about that, since you and Marta are so close."_

Emil almost blushed at thinking about the brunette girl, but knew Ratatosk was right: if the demons knew of how he felt towards Marta, they would do anything to get their hands on her and use her to get to him. But even so, there was still something in those memories Emil wanted to talk with Ratatosk.

The blonde stood, putting on his clothes and weapons and exiting the tent. He looked around and once saw there was nobody else awaken walked until he stayed at the base of a tree. The swordsman called Ratatosk again on his mind. The spirit answered in an impatient tone:

_"What is it now?"_

_I don't think you should hide what you felt about the other spirits. I know it might have been painful for you to see them leaving this world and…_

Emil didn't get to end his mental speech, for in that moment he felt something tug at his spirit with enormous strength, so much it even hurt. He felt Ratatosk taking control of his body and could feel the Summon Spirit's anger like it was his own.

"Now listen up here, you soft-hearted idiot…" Ratatosk said, not even bothering to speak through thought. "My brothers and sisters didn't 'leave' this world. As you can clearly see in my memory, they were crippled by what you, humans, were doing with the environment and mana of this world, since their existence was based on it.

"It was your fault what happened to Undine and all of the others. You wanted them to go away, so you could be free to do whatever you wanted!"

_"No. We didn't…" _Emil tried to protest, but Ratatosk interrupted him again, his anger stabbing at the portion of the soul corresponding to Emil like swords.

"Shut up! What do you know? You weren't even born then, so shut your mouth when you talk about my brothers and sisters! Or else…"

Emil now felt fear take a grip on his heart when he saw his hand going for the inversed handle of his sword and pulling it out. Ratatosk then positioned the blade near Emil's other arm, all the while smiling an almost maniac smile. The rash Summon spirit spoke:

"I can't destroy this body, or else I won't have anything to take me to my Centurions, but since it's not mine to begin with, I think I can block the pain by putting you in the control at the right time."

_"W-what do you think you're doing?"_ Emil asked in a genuinely scared tone.

"If you don't keep your mouth shut about what you see in my memories, I'll have to teach you to keep silence through pain." the crimson eyes of the Summon spirit turned to blade, his maniacal smile on all the while, like he was enjoying the thought of inflicting pain on Emil. "I wonder what part of your body hurts the most."

_"Y-you can't be serious about it! What kind of spirit are you to… ?"_

"If you paid any attention to my memory, you'll see that physical pain is nothing compared to the one I felt at seeing what you, humans, were doing to this world." he looked to the blade again. "Humans deserve to be punished."

Before Ratatosk could approach the blade to Emil's skin, someone slapped his sword out of his hand. The blade fell to the ground and Ratatosk had a surprised expression on his face. He turned to look at who had dared to meddle with his affairs and saw it was Marta, with a stern look on her face. For the first time since he had reincarnated in Emil, the Summon Spirit of the Kharlan Tree found himself worried at how much the girl had heard.

"So, you think all humans deserve to be punished, regardless if they never did something to harm you or this world?" Marta asked in a serious tone.

"Marta…" was all that Ratatosk could say.

"Is that what all of us… what I am to you? A criminal who deserves to be punished?"

"I've never sai…" Ratatosk tried to say, but Marta interrupted.

"You just said it. 'Humans deserve to be punished.' Does that include everybody that died at that night protecting you from Nebilim?"

For the first time since he could remember, Ratatosk was at a loss of words. But why were that girl's words having that effect on him? It couldn't be Emil's heart. He could isolate the boy's feelings from himself, so why? He suddenly felt guilt building up inside him. It felt like he was being scolded by Origin.

"I know it must have been heartbreaking for you to lose the other spirits… your brothers and sisters…" Marta paused at that, looking to the ground before looking back to Ratatosk. "But there were people who also lost their families while fighting against the demons to protect you and help this world. We want to redeem ourselves to you."

"Redeem? Don't make me laugh," Ratatosk finally found his voice and shot back a retort to the brunette fighter. "You just want to do it to feel better with yourselves."

There was silence after his words. Marta had her eyes wide at hearing Ratatosk's answer. She then closed them and opened again. She had a sad and tearful expression on her face as she spoke:

"So that's what you really think of us… that we're selfish," she then picked up Emil's sword from the ground and gave it back to Ratatosk, who just eyed her with curiosity. "Very well. If that's what you feel, then kill me."

"What?" Ratatosk could hear Emil exclaiming together with him. What was she thinking?

"You want revenge for everything that happened with you and the other spirits, your family, don't you? It's our fault that you're like this. It's my fault too. So, please, if you have to punish someone, punish me," her tone was almost begging.

Ratatosk considered that for a moment. He had thought of, once getting his power back, giving the humans a true taste of what they have done, but he never thought of giving Marta the same treatment.

_But she's also a human. She's one of them… one of the assassins of my tree._ the Summon Spirit reminded himself.

_"NO! Please, do whatever you want with me but don't do anything to…" _Emil tried to protest, but Ratatosk silenced his pleads by weakening their mental link.

The crimson eyes of the Lord of the Monsters shone with cold determination, all anger he felt on his memories at seeing what the humans and half-elves were doing to his brothers and sisters returning. If he had to get past Marta to give the humans their just treatment by their disrespect with the world and life itself, so be it. Marta closed her eyes, preparing herself.

Ratatosk then held the petite girl's shoulder and raised his sword, aiming for her heart. A quick painless death, it was the least he could offer her. However, seconds started to pass, turning into minutes and Ratatosk didn't move his blade an inch, like his arm was frozen in midair. His anger was subsiding now.

Suddenly, he wasn't feeling angry anymore, but why? He had weakened the link between his and Emil's heart, so it wouldn't interfere, but he couldn't find the will to thrust his blade forward. His arm started to shake. He was hesitant. Would it be right for him to kill her? Should he simply ignore her words for the sake of satiating his anger and hatred?

_Damn! Why… why am I even thinking this? This… this is…_

With a cry of frustration, Ratatosk threw his blade to the ground and let go of Marta, who opened her eyes and looked at him, confused at his actions. Ratatosk gave his back to her, holding his head with his hand and with his teeth gritted. The girl called for the Summon Spirit's name.

"I… I need to be alone... please…" the Summon Spirit said in a heavy and sorrowful voice, which Marta never dreamed of hear coming from him. He never asked for anything.

Unable to find any words, Marta just nodded and left the entity merged with Emil, returning to the camp, where the others were starting to awake. Ratatosk stared at ground for some time, trying to understand why he suddenly felt his heart heavy. Looking to the side, the Summon Spirit saw all of his Centurions there, looking at him with serious and neutral expressions.

"What? Don't give me those looks!" he yelled to them, but none of the Centurions backed away, they just kept looking at him. "Get the fuck off my face!"

Ratatosk then took the sword from the ground and sheathed it, walking away of his subordinates. While he distanced himself from them, all he could think was:

_Why couldn't I kill her? She's… she's just another human. Just another filthy human being. _however, something inside him, which he was trying to ignore with all of his willpower, kept telling the Lord of the Monsters that Marta wasn't just "another filthy human being."

- / - / - / -

The group was now traveling to the city of Palmacosta, from there they would take a boat and go on to the next continent. However, the travel had been strangely silent. The Centurions, Emil and Marta were all very quiet. Even Lumen, who was usually the chatterbox of the group had a heavy expression on his cheetah-like face.

"Ok, who died for all of you to be like that?" Sheena finally asked, turning to them.

"Yeah. Really, it's good to have some silence now and then, but this is just plain awkward," Lloyd spoke up, also turning to his friends.

"It's…" Emil was about to say, but Marta was faster.

"It's nothing. We just have a lot in our minds lately."

"Are you sure?" Lloyd asked, finding it quite strange.

"It's nothing to worry about, serious," Marta said, with a more reassuring tone.

Lloyd was about to insist, but felt Sheena's hand close on his shoulder. He looked to the attractive woman, who shook her head, giving him a clear signal: they would tell them if it was something serious. The dual swordsman sighed and left it alone for the moment.

"Thanks… Marta," Emil said to his childhood friend.

"It was nothing," she replied trying to put up a smile, but failing.

"Um… Marta… about what Ratatosk…"

"What is that?" Aqua's voice sounded.

The group looked around as they were near the town so they could see the buildings. However, at the entrance of the town were two, strange vehicles, very similar to the one they had seen the other day. Lloyd was the one to ask:

"Aren't those armored vans?"

"That means the Desians are in town," Sheena spoke.

"It is better that we survey the situation before entering," Ventus stated. The Centurion of wind then called for a monster and a Chirpee appeared. The little bird would be perfect to spy without being noticed. "Chirpee, go and search this city for the Desians," Ventus instructed the monster of his element.

The Chirpee bowed its head to Ventus in what was clearly a nod and flew into the town, flying above the buildings to not call any suspicion. The group then settled at waiting. Emil called Marta to come with him and the two walked away of the hearing range from the rest of the group, sitting in an ancient, stone fence along the road.

"Marta, about what Ratatosk said before, I…" Emil started, but Marta interrupted him, saying.

"It's alright. I understand why he's angry with humans. We really did mess up everything even with the spirits during the war," the brunette girl said with a downcast look.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to do that," the young swordsman's tone rose as he spoke. "Marta, Ratatosk was so angry he wasn't thinking straight. He could really have killed you. Please, promise me you won't do anything as reckless as that ever again."

"Emil…"

"I… I don't know what I would do if you were killed and I couldn't do anything about it. I mean, you're my best friend and…" Emil started to blush as he spoke and lowered his head in embarrassment.

Marta couldn't help, but giggle at the expression on her crush's face. It seems he was still not able to confess to her. She then held her hands behind her and started to swing her body to the sides as she spoke:

"Ok then. I'm sorry for worrying you, Emil. I promise I won't do it again."

"Thanks, Marta."

While the two childhood friends were speaking, Lloyd and Tenebrae were observing them, with Lumen at their side. Sheena had gone to another point of the road with Aqua and Ventus was at the head of the group, waiting for the Chirpee to come back. Lloyd looked to the Centurion of darkness at his side and asked:

"What do you think they're talking about?"

"Lloyd, I don't think it would be polite to meddle into other people's busin…" Tenebrae was about to say when Lumen interrupted him.

"It seems boss and his girl are talking about how important she is to him,"

"How can you be so sure?"

"That little guy told me," Lumen pointed with his pawn to the stone fence along the road.

Lloyd and Tenebrae looked and saw a light brown, squirrel monster sitting there. Tenebrae recognized it as being a Peallaidh. The dog-like entity sighed as he spoke, more to himself than for Lloyd and Lumen:

"My, my, just one of Lumen's servant could be that lousy."

"Hey, I'm not lousy, whatever that means," Lumen protested.

Lloyd decided to leave Tenebrae and Lumen squabbling and moved away from the two to where he saw Sheena and Aqua. There was a frog monster with them, which seemed to be using a spray of water on the ground. Curious, the red clad young man approached and heard Sheena comment:

".. good thing you have a monster that can squish water. They were looking really dry."

"Yes. I've heard from some of my monsters about how the chaos energies have been affecting the plants. Is it true some forests petrified?" Aqua asked Sheena.

"Yeah. I saw it happen with the woods near Asgard… it's a pity." Sheena kneeled.

Lloyd could then see the violet haired woman was admiring some flowers and feeling their sweet aroma as the frog monster continued to water them. Sheena then noticed her companion standing right behind her and looked back. Seeing the grin on the dual swordsman's face, she stood, her face starting to redden.

"W-what is it? Why are you grinning?" the guardian user asked.

"This is the first time I see you doing this kind of stuff," Sheena let out an "huh?" at hearing that. Lloyd explained. "I never thought you liked flowers, but I think that's kind of just suits you."

"Y-you idiot," Sheena said, blushing. She hated it when people made her blush. "What? Did you think I don't have a feminine side at all? Just so you know, I do like flowers, okay?"

"Hehe. You're blushing," Lloyd stated.

Sheena blushed even redder at having that pointed out right on her face. She turned her body to the side as Lloyd found out that he could also make the guardian user feel all embarrassed by complimenting her. He felt like that was a sweet revenge for all those times Sheena made him feel embarrassed by saying those double meaning anecdotes.

Aqua sighed and left the couple, Sheena thinking in a good comeback to revert the situation at her favor. The Centurion of water decided to approach Ventus and talk with him. She called the eagle-like entity perched on the stone fence, looking to the port city of Palmacosta with a look that befit the animal he took the form of.

"So, why exactly are we going to Palmacosta?" Aqua asked her brethren. "From what I've heard, you all were going there to take a boat to the Thoda Island, where my altar is located."

"Yes, but thanks to this fortunate turn of events, we can now move to our next location. According to our Lord, we should move on to the Triet Desert. By boat, we shall take two days until we reach Izoold, from where we shall go on foot until the city of the desert and…"

"Ok, ok. I understood already. I know how long it takes to travel to there, thanks," Aqua said, rolling her eyes at another talk the Centurion of the wind turned into a lecture just to show how accurate his sense of directions was.

Ventus sighed. Sometimes he was forced to agree with Tenebrae about Aqua's behavior and personality. It was then he heard a chirp coming from the direction of the city. Ventus called his Lord and the other's attention, saying his scout have returned.

The Chirpee went to the eagle-like Centurion and reported in quick chirps. Ventus nodded his head several times and dismissed his servant, which was transported to his place of origin through the Centurion's power. Emil and the others gathered around Ventus, who spoke up:

"It seems the Desians are mostly around the port and Chirpee felt a powerful presence coming from that direction."

"Do think it can be… a Grand Cardinal?" Emil asked, fearful of the possibility of having to face one of the most powerful Desians. He doubted he could take on one, even if he was alone.

"Possibly. My suggestion is we go to the Inn and wait until they leave city. It didn't look like they were searching for you, my Lord," Ventus said.

"Ok. In that case, let's go right to the Inn," Marta spoke.

Emil and the Centurions nodded to the girl and walked to the entrance of the city. Sheena was about to follow, when she noticed Lloyd was still at his place with a look that mixed concern and anger. The violet haired woman turned to him and asked what the problem was. Lloyd shot his head up, almost confused. It seemed he was in deep thought.

"Oh, nothing," Lloyd said, though his tone didn't convince the beautiful woman in front of him a bit.

"You're worried the Desians might do something?" Sheena asked.

"Well… actually…" Lloyd said, scratching his head. Sometimes, he felt Sheena had the power to read the truth in people's face.

"If that's the case, how about we go and see what they're up to?" the violet haired woman suggested, with a smirk on her face.

"But we should go to the Inn with the others and…"

"And have you with this look on your face while imagining what the Desians are doing here the entire time? No thanks. I rather see the other cute looks that you make," Lloyd let out an "huh?" at that, blushing. "Yeah, like this one," Sheena said, smiling to him, which only made Lloyd blush all the more.

The dual swordsman was never complimented by his looks. The idea of girls finding him handsome was completely foreign, mostly because the girls back at Luin preferred to mock him for his attempts to cause problems for the Desians. But it seemed Sheena insisted in saying he was good looking, even if the red clad warrior didn't see himself like that.

When Lloyd was back to his senses, Sheena was already walking in the direction of Palmacosta. The voluptuous woman stopped and turned her head to him, asking if he was coming or not. Seeing there was no use in protesting, Lloyd followed her to the city. He just hoped Marta and Emil wouldn't get too worried once they noticed they were not in the Inn.

- / - / - / -

Palmacosta was known as one of the biggest cities of Sylvarant, together with Asgard and Iselia. Since its population surpassed the one of a common village, it had its Cruxis Representative and a church on it. Sheena had heard about him: his name was Dorr and, apparently, he was one of the few who were okay, not looking down on people as mere servants, but he also didn't lift a finger against the Desians threatening the population of the city. The proof of that was that there was a small group of them in the docks.

Emil and Marta had went right to the Inn, blending with the crowd that was avoiding go to the docks. However, Lloyd and Sheena were taking the opposite course and were approaching the local shorelines where the ships anchored. The stealthy woman instructed Lloyd to follow her and make silence. The red clad swordsman had to admit she was very good at hiding from others. He wondered where she had learned it from.

The couple located the Desians near a big steam ship and approached, hiding behind a pile of crates which contained fishes. Peeping from their hiding spot, Lloyd and Sheena saw aboard the ship a strong figure with red hair combed in curls and with a face full of scars carrying a large, battle ax. Sheena recognized him from the photos the members of the Vanguard showed her mother when they made meetings at the backroom in Asuka's.

"That's Magnius, the Flaming Lion," beautiful fighter explained to Lloyd.

"So Ventus was right after all," Lloyd said, gritting his teeth, memories of his fight with Rodyle surfacing. He knew if he and Sheena were spotted by Magnius, they were as good as dead.

"Don't worry, he won't catch us," Sheena said in a reassuring tone, putting her hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

Despite the situation, the contact made Lloyd blush again, even more at feeling how firm her grip on him was. However, what Lloyd didn't know was that the guardian user wasn't doing that simply by the pleasure of touching him or reassuring him, Sheena was also using her power to diminish the vibrations of Lloyd's aura, so the two wouldn't be discovered. Though, she also didn't mind touching him or inciting his imagination.

The two focused their attention on the ship once they heard someone speaking in a pleading tone. They saw it was a middle aged man in a captain outfit. Behind him was the entire crew of the ship, who looked absolutely horrified as they could just see the Desians taking something away of their ship.

Sheena looked to the large object being carried by two Desians. She didn't understand much about technology, but it seemed to be quite advanced for a simple gadget. She remembered seeing something like that in Asuka's that lit the neon sign at night.

"Please, without our steam engine, Elizabeth won't work," the captain said. Sheena and Lloyd saw that name written at the side of the hull of the ship.

"Like I care about that," Magnius said, pointing his ax to the throat of the man, who backed away, fear written all over his face. "And doesn't your 'faith' say something about developing new technology, vermin? Are you getting any funny ideas, huh?"

"N-n-no, sir Magnius! It's just that we…" before the man could continue, Magnius grabbed him by his neck, lifting him in the air.

"It's _Lord _Magnius, vermin!"

Without any further warn, Magnius threw the captain off the ship and into the water. The man surfaced, taking a deep breath and staying floating while the Desians laughed and pointed. Magnius turned to the rest of the crew, which cowered over the glare of the Grand Cardinal.

"It seems you vermin have yet to learn some manners. I would love to teach you, but I have more important things to do than deal with a bunch of ignorant vermin."

"Then why don't you let me lecture them for you?" a new voice said, a feminine one.

Lloyd and Sheena looked to the other side of the docks and saw a new group coming. To their surprise, there were two monsters there, one a balloon looking creature and the other a purple wolf with spirals in its eyes and white mane. Leading them was a blond girl with honey-colored eyes and a blue haired man carrying a dark-blue iron maiden with details in gold. The girl spoke up again in a baby voice:

"Well, well, if it isn't Lord Magnius. Dealing with these humans again?"

"Alice," Magnius said, an evil smirk coming to his lips as he regarded the girl.

Lloyd and Sheena looked between themselves and back to Alice. That girl was a Desian? She seemed to be far too young to be one. However, Sheena could feel the unmistakable demonic aura around her mixed to the aura of a half-elf. But when the guardian user looked to the man accompanying her, she got confused.

The man also emanated chaos energy, but his aura was much more instable than the other half-demons, though it seemed to be restrained by something. All thoughts and questions were erased from her mind when her nose picked up something. She and Lloyd had to cover their noses once they felt a terrible scent invade them.

"Ghaa, what the hell?" Sheena whispered, her eyes watering.

"It… seems to be coming from that guy," Lloyd said, pointing to the man accompanying Alice, who they now noticed was staying some distance away from him. Even the Desians stepped away once the man passed near them, obviously not very pleased with the _aroma_ either.

"Urgh, what is he using? Chaos essence?"

The man stayed at the end of the bridge to the ship while Alice went up. Magnius gave a look of disgust to him before turning his look to Alice and speaking:

"So, what brings you here? In case you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of confiscating some dangerous material from these vermin," Sheena and Lloyd couldn't tell if his tone was friendly or not, but he didn't seem to be eager to throw Alice into the water or slash her.

"Oh, just passing by. Nothing of too much importance," Alice said.

"So, you're slacking off?" Magnius asked with his evil smirk on again.

"Of course we aren't!" the man that accompanied Alice protested, making her and Magnius look to him. "We're here because we've received reports of Ratatosk being sighted in this region. So, as you can see, my darling Alice and me are just fulfilling our duty and…"

"Decus, shut up!" Alice shouted to her companion, who stopped speaking. His face then got a dumb expression of worry, when he realized he had spoken too much.

"Oh really?" Magnius asked, his smile turning into a grin.

Lloyd and Sheena had sweatdrops falling behind their heads at seeing Decus letting his words slip his and Alice's mission. It was clear the blue haired man wasn't the brightest star around. Alice turned to him with an angry look on her face, asking:

"What did I tell you about opening your big mouth?"

"Only do so if you command me. I'm really sorry, my dearest Alice," Decus said, making a very flashy reverence to her, stretching one of his legs forward.

"Whatever. Anyway, it's not like you would interfere now, would you Magy?" Alice asked, using a sweet tone mixed with her baby voice.

"Well, maybe I won't… if you deal with these vermin for me," the Desian Grand Cardinal said, giving space for her to face the crew behind him.

"With pleasure," Alice said, using the sweetest tone she had, in a sing-song voice.

Sheena and Lloyd shuddered as the girl looked at the crew, which seemed not to be as horrified as before, but they were still with worried and scared expressions on their faces. Alice seemed to be… enjoying the fear she was causing to those people, smiling like a little child in a candy store while patting the edgeless sword she had in her hand.

"Now, which one of you would like to volunteer for a lesson? C'mon, if nobody comes, it's not fun," her tone was as sweet as before while she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Wait a minute," a rather brawny sailor stepped forward, towering over Alice and seeming not as fearful as his workmates. "She's just a little girl," he then approached Alice and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey you! Don't you think you're too young to play around with this bunch?"

In an instant, Alice's expression changed from cute and sweet to neutral and emotionless as she looked to the hand of the sailor on her shoulder. Before anyone could blink, the Desian girl grabbed the man's arm and twisted it with ease, almost breaking it. The sailor let out a yelp of surprised and yells of pain as he felt his muscles and bones straining to their limit.

"Don't…" Alice said in an emotionless, cold tone as she proceeded to beat the man with her sword, first hitting his leg and making him knell while his arm was still being twisted. "ever…" another blow on the man's other leg. "touch me…" this time she hit his side, the blow didn't seem to carry much strength, but the shouts of pain from the sailor said otherwise. "again…"Alice ended by beating him in the face, leaving a vivid red mark where the point of her sword hit.

Lloyd and Sheena gasped, the former not understanding how those weak strikes could hurt so much. Sheena, however, saw how Alice was inflicting pain on the sailor. The blond girl charged an abhorrent amount of chaos energy on her sword and produce invisible discharges of it each time she hit the man, causing such damage to his vital energy that she didn't even need to inflict any physical damage to incapacitate him.

The man, of course, didn't understand what was happening. The blows didn't seem to hurt that much, save for the arm twist Alice gave him, but he felt like his insides were breaking apart upon the little girl's assault. The sailor then ended up falling in the ground. Alice walked over him and touched his chest with her sword.

"You humans are disgusting creatures…" suddenly small trails of smoke started to be produced from the man's chest, like Alice was burning him. He let out more painful yells. Sheena could see the Desian girl was actually burning the sailor's aura. "think you're better than any of us? Think you have the right to complain about how we treat you when everything you've done to us was just as horrible?" she removed her sword's point from the man's chest, who let out ragged breathes. "And to think pathetic things like you were the ones who actually changed the world to the state it is now," Alice's sweet smile and baby voice suddenly returned, like she had never been serious or cold before in her entire life. "Well, I guess that's what happens when you have idiots forming a mob. Not that I'm complaining about it, of course."

Alice then turned and started to leave the ship, with her eyes closed and walking like she owned the entire thing. She passed near Decus and spoke to him, loud enough for Lloyd and Sheena to catch:

"Take care of this one, Decus."

The blue haired man complied and went up the ship, dragging his iron maiden the entire way. The sailor who Alice had tortured was still on the ground, agonizing in pain. The rest of the crew tried to help him, but they all backed away once they saw Decus coming up the ship.

The Desian man then placed his iron maiden at his side and it opened, revealing a black broadsword with golden details and a forked point. He caught the blade and gave it a testing swing. The sailor saw him and spoke:

"You… why is a human… ?" that was all the man managed to say, because in the next second Decus had cleaved him in two.

Lloyd and Sheena closed one eye when they heard the sound of a gurgled exclamation and steel cutting through flesh. When they looked again, Decus was standing, his blade stained with blood and some droplets of it in his clothes, but his expression seemed totally normal as he pointed his blade to each one of the terrorized sailors.

"And may this be an example for all of you. Anybody who touches my Alice will feel the sharp steel of my blade."

Alice was smiling as sweetly as ever as Decus threatened the crew. Magnius, who had been on the docks, watching everything with his arms crossed, looked to the girl and said:

"Well, that was quite good. I guess you could make an actually decent general. If you got rid of that stinky vermin, that is."

"Oh, Decus, you mean?" Alice asked in her baby voice. "He's quite useful. My, I thought even you would know the advantages of having your personal slave, Magy."

If Magnius gritted his teeth by being called by that nickname, or because of the meaning behind Alice's line, Lloyd and Sheena couldn't tell, but it was quite clear the Grand Cardinal and the Desian General weren't best buddies. It seemed the two were on a "mutual tolerance" basis.

"I would watch your tongue if I were you, Alice. You are just a lowly general and I am a Grand Cardinal," Magnius said, with an edge of threat in his voice.

"Oh really?" Alice said, her tone completely unchanging, seeming to not be affected by Magnius' threat at all. She snapped her fingers. Almost instantly one Desian stepped in and lowered behind Alice, standing on four as the girl climbed and used his back as a seat. "It seems your subordinates do recognize me as their superior. Now, how could this be?" she shrugged, smiling.

The Grand Cardinal seemed to growl. Lloyd and Sheena remembered what Tenebrae and Ratatosk had told about demons always following orders of their superiors. It seemed Alice was indeed someone of an important position, just behind Magnius.

"Whatever. I have to take this vermin's engine and see if it's useful anyway. I don't have time to go around finding some runaway vermin," the Desian Grand Cardinal said.

"Oh, alright then," Alice said, standing as Decus came back from the ship. She started to walk away with him, reuniting with her monsters. "Bye-bye, Magy. Hope you don't get caught by the angels," with that last remark, Alice left the docks.

Magnius grumbled under his breath and ordered his men to move. They carried the steam engine out of the docks and Lloyd and Sheena could finally leave their hiding spot. Before both could say something about what they had seen, they heard Ventus' voice sounding near their ears:

"There are you two. What are you doing? Lord Emil and Lady Marta got worried once they saw two you weren't coming."

"We kinda had…" Lloyd started, but was unable to think on something to say.

Ventus looked to the direction the red clad swordsman was shooting glances to and saw the Desians leaving the city. The Centurion of wind looked from the dual swordsman to the attractive female, speaking:

"I see what motivated your little escapade. However, I wonder how Lord Emil and the others will take it."

- / - / - / -

"You went to where the Desians were?" Marta exclaimed upon hearing what Lloyd told her when he, Sheena and Ventus got back to the room Emil had rented in the Inn. "What were you thinking? What if they had caught you?"

Lloyd couldn't find something to say. Marta was kind of scary when she was angry and this was one of those moments. Sheena, however, looked completely unaffected, sitting in a couch in their room with her arms crossed and a bothered look in her face.

"Honestly, here we were, worried the Desians might come to this part of the city and you two simply go to them. Why did you… ?"

"Marta, chill out, will you?" Sheena said, finally getting tired of hearing the rant of the brunette girl. "They would have never found Lloyd with me around, so can you stop going all mother-mode over us?"

"I-I'm not trying to sound like your mom!" Marta protested. "It's just we were worried about you. Right Emil?"

The petite brunette was searching for support from her crush who was busy talking with the Centurions. Upon hearing his name, Emil turned to her, letting out an "huh?" Needless to say, that only angered Marta all the more.

"You weren't even listening?" the girl ranted again, startling Emil.

"I-i-it's just that… I think they knew about the risks Marta," Emil said, sweating under Marta's glare. "I mean, Lloyd and Sheena already fought against a Grand Cardinal. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't do something reckless like…"

"FINE!" Marta yelled, startling not just Emil again, but Lloyd too. "If you're going to stay on their side I'm not going to even bother myself anymore!"

Pouting, the girl sat down on her bed. Emil sighed while Lloyd just stayed looking at her. Sheena shrugged, not even bothered by the girl's mood and picking up a nearby magazine to read. Meanwhile, one thought was going through Lloyd's head:

_If there is one adversary I would really pass on fighting, it's women._

After some minutes, Lumen materialized in their room. The Centurion of light had gone outside to check if the Desians had already left city. He spoke:

"The bad guys already left, boss," Emil nodded and everybody got up. "But why can't we use one of Aqua-girl's servants to cross the sea? I mean, it would be cooler that way."

"Oh, of course they can… if they had the ability to breath underwater, you idiot," Aqua said.

"Oh. Well, that's a good reason," Lumen said in his blunt and innocent way, not catching the hostility and insult in Aqua's line. Nobody really paid heed to it. They were already used to the cheetah-like Centurion's personality.

"Can't I drown him. Please my lord?" Aqua asked in a begging tone to Emil.

_"Normally I would be more than glad to let her do it. But since I don't have enough power to create a replacement right now...," _Ratatosk replied mentally to Emil.

"You can't," Emil said simply, omitting the violent remarks of the spirit inside him.

It was Aqua's turn to pout as she and the other servants of Ratatosk concealed themselves as the group exited the room. Now that the Desians have left the city, Lloyd and the others could see a mob around the church. All seemed very worried and were talking between themselves.

That called the curiosity of the four as they heard all voices silencing and a priest in the front of the church start talking, at his side was a blond man with a blond beard, wearing fine clothes. Marta, Emil and Sheena recognized him as Dorr, Cruxis' Representative of Palmacosta.

"Now my people, please calm down," the priest said. "We know every time the Desians come to our town you all get nervous. We are too. But we must not forget it is in times like this that our true dedication to the Faith is tested. The teachings of the Faith clearly states: _thou shall not enter in unnecessary conflict with the demons and their servants, for any careless approach might lead to destruction. _Only the holy agents and the Knights of Cruxis truly stand any chance against these beasts."

The silence was so heavy it seemed no one was breathing. Lloyd and Sheena could just roll their eyes at that, suppressing the urge to voice the same thought:

_Oh, then we should sit and wait for Cruxis or the Knights to come and let the demons have their way meanwhile._

"We need to have faith in our protectors," the priest continued, pointing to a marine-dark obelisk at the center of the plaza, behind the crowd and near Lloyd, Sheena, Marta and Emil. "Since their blessing was bestowed upon us, we haven't suffered any attacks from the demons."

"But the Desians are still coming," someone in the middle of the crowd spoke, with others agreeing with him.

"That might be… but doesn't it mean some of us are not dedicating themselves enough to the Faith?" the priest asked in a rather sharp tone, like he was interrogating the crowd about a crime they witnessed.

The people in the plaza looked between themselves, murmuring something. The priest continued:

"Only the Faith can guide us to our redemption in the eyes of the gods and goddesses. When that happens, Cruxis will drive the demons away of our world and restore the order, but we must continue to uphold the Faith and follow its teachings until then."

The people nodded and some even cheered. Dorr, who had remained quiet the entire time, didn't move a muscle while the priest of the Church of Cruxis was speaking. It seemed he was there more as a representative figure.

Marta and Sheena said for them to go, angry expressions on their faces. The boys accompanied them as the two started to talk:

"Can you believe that? The way he talked to everybody," Marta said.

"Yeah, no kidding. What's their problem? He spoke like it's our fault that the Desians oppress us," Sheena spoke to Marta.

"I hate people like that. They think that just because they have a safe place in some kind of religious order they can talk down to everybody like they have never done anything wrong."

"It seems the sermon made Lady Marta and Lady Sheena completely forget their previous argument," Tenebrae pointed out to the Centurions, Lloyd and Emil, who were walking behind the two females.

"Yes, but the words he spoke…" Ventus said, landing on Emil's shoulder while still concealed and retracting his wing to its "hand mode", putting it under his beak, in a thoughtful pose. "Are all followers of this Church of Cruxis like that?"

"Most of them are," Emil answered. "But it seems they act like that just because the angels act the same; constantly reminding people that it's their fault that the world is in this situation."

"Like they are being of great help reprimanding people like that," Aqua said. "I mean, it is indeed the humans' fault the world is like this, but they shouldn't waste time blaming others for that. They should think about doing something to fix things right away."

"Unfortunately, humans do have this 'necessity' of finding someone to put the blame on," Tenebrae spoke. "They find it easier to blame others instead of realizing their own mistakes and work to correct them."

_"Hypocrites until the very end, that's what they are," _Ratatosk said inside Emil's mind. The blonde was trying to keep the Summon Spirit in check, so he wouldn't come out and say those things aloud.

The group arrived at the docks and started to ask the sailors for a ship that could sail them to Izoold. Unfortunately, most of the ships were damaged by the demons that took residence in the sea and the violent, marine monsters. Others had their power engines taken away by the Desians or simply weren't willingly to set sail in the dangerous waters.

After one hour of fruitless searching, the group reunited in the pier and discussed what they would do now. It was then they heard someone say:

"Hey, you all there!" the group turned and saw a man with a purple jacket wearing nothing under it and blue pants. He also wore a blue, captain-styled hat. "I heard you're looking for someone to sail you to Izoold, right?"

"Yes, but it seems nobody want to do it," Lloyd said.

"Well, then you are lucky mate. I am Aifread, the legendary pirate!" the man said in a proud tone and flashing a toothy smile with his eyes closed, while putting his hand under his chin.

"_'Legendary'_?" Lloyd and Emil repeated, looking between themselves.

"If you're 'legendary,' how come I never heard of you?" Sheena asked, crossing her arms.

Aifread kept his pose, but seemed to start to sweat from the question. He quickly came up with something and said:

"T-that's because I am known mostly by the man of the sea and in port towns. Anyway, you are looking for transport, right? Well, I happen to have a boat right here!"

Aifread pointed to a point in the pier the group hadn't checked and there they saw a boat, a very tiny boat. It looked like the model fishermen used, with only a cabin where the wheel was located and a sail, nothing more. Lloyd couldn't contain the words that formed in his mind and spoke:

"You're kidding right? I've seen boats before and this looks more like a floating bathtub."

"How dare you speak like that?" Aifread spoke, seeming angry. That only made sweatdrops fall behind the heads of the group. "I know I might not have a big crew like most of the other guys, but I have already braved the seas under a furious tempest and even sailed to the remote regions of Flanoir and all by myself!"

"Because nobody was stupid enough to come with you, right?" Sheena inquired in a sarcastic tone.

Marta put her hands on her mouth to stop her giggle as Lloyd and Emil did the same not to laugh at the face Aifread made by Sheena's remark. The so called legendary pirate narrowed his eyes, looking to the side and speaking:

"You have quite the sharp tongue, mate…"

"Wait, but can you really sail us to Izoold?" Emil asked, returning to the main subject of the talk. "Aren't you afraid of the demons?"

"Hah! The demons never achieved to keep me away of the sea, mate. They already tried it several times, but I am Aifread! I shall not give up to the likes of them! I am a man of the sea, my heart rests there and nobody will deny me from it!"

Though the group had to admit Aifread's enthusiasm was something admirable, they couldn't tell if the guy was underestimating the demons or not. The group looked between themselves and asked for Aifread to give them a moment, walking some steps away of him.

The three humans and woman with elven blood considered the situation: they didn't have any other means of crossing the sea, so they would have to take Aifread's offer, even if that meant putting their lives in charge of the strange pirate. They approached him again and Lloyd said:

"Ok, we're going to take the offer. How much is it?"

"Since you insulted my ship, it's 10,000 gald for you and 5,000 per head for the others," Aifread said in a resentful tone.

"WHAT? That's highway robbery!"

"Oh c'mon. Please? Can't you see we're in a desperate situation here?" Marta spoke up.

"Well, hmm… maybe I could. I mean, a pirate like myself has never let down a pretty lady like yourself," Aifread said, with a smile to Marta. He then looked to Sheena. "If that beauty over there also asked."

Aifread raised his eyebrows suggestively to Sheena. Lloyd saw that and narrowed his eyes. However, he didn't need to do anything because in a blink of eyes Sheena had grabbed Aifread by the collar of his jacket and suspend him above the sea in the docks.

The pirate looked absolutely terrified when he realized the situation he was in, but he got even more frightened when he saw the angry look in Sheena's face. The strong, female fighter spoke:

"Say that again and I'll make sure your heart stays _under _the sea, understood?" Aifread quickly nodded to her. "And another thing; you're going to charge us the normal price for a boat travel which is 4,500 gald. Did I made myself clear?"

"Crystal, miss," Aifread said in a scared tone. "C-could you please put me down now… ?" he barely finished his sentence and Sheena threw him back at the pier.

The violet haired human let out an "hmph" and walked away. Emil and Marta could just look with wide eyes at that demonstration of her "negotiation abilities." Lloyd couldn't help, but grin at seeing Sheena doing that to Aifread. The pirate then got up, dusting himself and trying to recover from the shock. He spoke:

"I-I will depart tomorrow at sunrise. The demons are less active around this time."

"Ok. Thanks," Marta said, now with a smile on her face.

The group walked away of Aifread, who had to hold in a wooden support of the pier to steady the way, Lloyd couldn't help, but keep smiling as he thought of the way Sheena got them a discount from Aifread. The red clad swordsman then said:

"Man, that was awesome, Sheena."

"You think?" the violet haired woman asked.

"Yeah. If you haven't done that to him, I would have put my blade on his throat for the way he spoke to you," Lloyd said, with some anger on his voice.

Sheena looked to the side to hide her blush from the others, who were looking at Lloyd, wondering if Sheena's violent traits have spurred on him. The guardian user never had anyone to be angry for her when men tried to hit on her, besides her mother, of course. The thought that Lloyd also cared for her dignity was touching in her opinion.

_Oh no, stop with that, Fujibayashi! You're going to start blushing again. _Sheena scolded herself.

"Well, I have to say Lady Sheena's tactic of negotiation is quite effective," Tenebrae commented.

"To speak the truth, mother did say I have the talent to 'convince' people," Sheena said, trying to distract her mind from what Lloyd had said.

"Really? Then maybe that's how Asuka's got so popular, because Sheena convinced people to go there," Lumen said in his cheerful tone, not catching the tone the voluptuous woman used in "convince."

"Uh...I don't think that's the case," Emil spoke with a sweatdrop.


	10. Faces of the Past

Finally we reached the end of the Act I.

Unfortunately, this time there won't be a skit, since I'm out of ideas. Sorry people.

Anyway, next we will have an interlude chapter before beggining the second act. For those that are wondering what the heack is an interlude I will explain: it is just another definition of a pause. There will be interlude chapters between every transition of acts and they will be focused on (quote) the dark side of the force (end quote). You will soon know what I'm talking about.**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9**

**Faces of the Past**

Lloyd was sleeping soundly in his bed within the Inn's room. One that knew the dual swordsman would know it would take a lot of effort and probably a bucket of ice cold water to wake him up. And that was what a figure that was currently slipping into his bed was counting on.

The figure wanted to see what his reaction in the morning would be. Aside of the fact it would probably give her a good laugh, it also would help to satiate her own curiosity. She had been aching to see how it would be like to be at his side like that, but since it couldn't be done during the day (since he would shy away, blushing furiously), this was the ideal hour to do it.

The night passed and dawn came. Lloyd's eyelids started to quiver as they were hit by the sudden brightness of light. He started to open his eyes little by little, closing right after just to open it a little more in the next attempt. As his other senses returned, he could now feel his arms, legs, feet and head. However, when his sense of space and touch returned, he could feel his arm was around a form he could barely discern with his blurry vision.

It was then he felt this object that was at the side of his bed was actually warm and somewhat soft to touch. The young man started to question just what that was. He tried to move his arm away, but discovered there was something holding it in place. When his vision finally returned and when he turned to the side of his bed, his face reddened immediately.

Sleeping at his side, holding his hand around her midsection with a content smile on her face, was Sheena. Lloyd couldn't contain the exclamation that formed on his mind and voiced it:

"S-SHEENA?"

That immediately awoke Emil and Marta, who sat upright on their beds. The Centurions also materialized, seeming startled. As the two youngsters and the servants of Ratatosk took in the situation, Lumen was the first to speak:

"What happened? Did someone get…" it was then the cheetah-like entity noticed Sheena stirring on Lloyd's bed. "Oh, sorry. We didn't see nothin'," Lumen said, turning and disappearing, obviously thinking they had interrupted something.

"Honestly, if you two planned on doing that, you could have at least rented a room for yourselves," Aqua said with a scolding tone, looking to Lloyd.

"W-Wait! It's not…" the young man was interrupted by Marta, who once realized what was going on, put her hand on her mouth.

"Lloyd…"

The young man started to feel his credibility dropping faster than a bird demon suddenly losing its winds in mid-flight. Sheena was lazily stirring at his side, like nothing was going on. Before Lloyd could defend himself, however, Marta had her so-common dreamy expression on her face as she closed her eyes and put her clasped hands at the side of her face, speaking:

"This is so romantic! Sleeping together, not minding what others will think. Way to go!" Marta said in an encouraging tone.

Lloyd could just let out an "huh?" at that. He looked over Emil for support, but the blonde seemed to have decided he was better not meddle with that, looking to the side, though Lloyd could see a blush on his left cheek. To make things even worse, Tenebrae commented:

"My, my, it seems you humans really don't let anything stand in your way when you are attracted to each other, including good sense and the notion of decency."

"S-shut up! I-I-it's nothing like that!" Lloyd said, almost feeling desperate. He then turned to Sheena, who already seemed completely awaken. "T-Tell them it isn't like this, Sheena!"

"Sorry, Lloyd. As much as I would be happy to do it for you, it would be useless to hide what's obvious, don't you think?" Sheena said in a playful smirk.

Lloyd let his arms drop as his mouth hung open. Ventus then spoke:

"I really hate to interrupt your… morning activities, but shouldn't we be preparing to leave? Aifread is waiting for us."

"Not you too, Ventus…" Lloyd said.

- / - / - / -

"That was low, Sheena," Lloyd talked, his eyes narrowed as the group walked to the docks of Palmacosta.

"What are you talking about, sweety?" Sheena said in an almost seductive voice.

Lloyd's left eye almost twitched at her tone. He could hear Emil sigh and hurry his step, obviously not wanting to eavesdrop any "private talk" between him and Sheena. Lloyd grumbled. Sheena could be quite devilish when she wanted. The red clad swordsman spoke again:

"You know what I'm talking about. Why did you sneak into my bed?"

"I just wanted to see what your reaction would be," Sheena said, now in her normal tone and with a smile. Lloyd shot a confused look to her. "And I wanted to see what kind of person you are early in the morning."

"What for?"

"To know what I should expect in the future," she said. The guardian user then put her finger under Lloyd's chin, caressing it. "Well, I can just say that you've passed."

Lloyd's cheek blushed at the contact. Sheena smiled and giggled, walking faster to stay at Marta's side in order to talk with the girl. Lloyd kept walking on his pace, his mind feverously working to try and understand what just happened. It was then he heard a nearby chuckle that sounded a lot like Tenebrae. The dual swordsman looked to where the sound was coming from and asked with his eyes narrowed:

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Now, now. Whatever makes you think that?" Tenebrae asked in an innocent tone, though it was ruined when he chuckled again.

"Since you were paying so much attention, can you at least tell me why Sheena is acting like that?"

Ventus, who had been flying over the group, surveying the town to see if there were any enemies around, landed on Lloyd's shoulder, who, though couldn't see the bird-like Centurion, could still feel his talons closing lightly on his shoulder. The wisest of the servants of Ratatosk spoke:

"Actually it's very simple, Sir Lloyd. Since Lady Sheena is obviously interested in your person, she seeks to know every aspect about your person, including how…like how active you can be in the morning. Now, it might just be my assumption, but I would say her act this morning might mean she's expecting something from you."

When Ventus ended, Lloyd had a lost look on his features, trying to understand what the Centurion had just said with such formal speech. Tenebrae sighed and explained to the clueless boy:

"She expects you to answer her actions in a… let's say, cuddly manner."

"R-really?" Lloyd said, understanding that and blushing at the same time.

"Well, that or something else, but she doesn't seem the kind of person to expect _that_ so early in a relationship," Ventus spoke. "But what's the matter? You speak like you never have experienced something like this."

"To be honest, I never had much luck with girls," Lloyd said.

"I think you're being too modest," Tenebrae said.

"No, I'm serious."

"Really? Then why don't you ask that group of girls on your left which had been giggling while looking at you ever since we entered the docks?"

Lloyd didn't catch what the Centurion meant, but looked notwithstanding. To his surprise, there was really a group of three girls close to each other eying him with interested expressions on their faces. When they saw the swordsman had noticed them, the three started to giggle almost uncontrollably. Lloyd blushed again and looked away.

"You could make quite the heartbreaker if you took advantage of half of your natural charm," Tenebrae said.

"You know, I'm starting to agree with Aqua's idea of drowning you," Lloyd said, shooting a searing look at Tenebrae.

The group finally arrived at where Aifread's boat was anchored. The pirate was already there and greeted the group as soon as they approached him:

"Ahoy there, mates. Ready for a ride, then?"

The three humans and the woman with elven blood nodded, though not with much enthusiasm as they were still unsure if it was a good idea to let Aifread lead them across the sea. Emil handed Aifread his money and they all boarded the small boat. The pirate made some last checking on the wheel and prepared to let loose the sail. However, right when the ropes were being undone, two Harpies appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the sail with their talons, keeping it enrolled.

"What in the… ?" Aifread exclaimed.

Lloyd and the others saw the two monsters and had surprised expressions on their faces. What were two Harpies doing in the middle of a port city? Before they could decide on what to do, a voice sounded nearby. A very familiar voice:

"Well, well, just look at what the winds brought me," the voice was accompanied by a giggle. Emil and the others turned to see a blond girl and a blue haired man carrying an iron maiden approaching. "If it isn't Ratamil and Martmart."

"Alice," Marta said in a bitter, venomous tone Lloyd and Sheena had never heard her use before. "What are you doing here?"

"My, did you get stupid or what? We have orders from Lord Nebilim to eliminate you two on sight."

"You two know her?" Lloyd asked Emil while drawing his swords and standing on a battle stance.

"Yeah. We do," Emil said in a tone as bitter as Marta's, which was quite uncommon for him.

"This… this… _'girl'_. She's the reason Emil and I have to leave our families," Marta said, seeming to shake in anger, though she was keeping her battle stance. "She sold Emil out to Nebilim."

Sheena and Lloyd's mouths hung open at hearing that. Alice's smile dropped at that and Decus stood with a neutral expression. The female Desian General then threw one of her cap's straps to the side, saying:

"Well, it's not my fault that Ratamil refused to see how futile it is to fight the demons."

"Don't act innocent! You were spying on the Vanguard under Nebilim's orders!" Marta yelled.

"How dare you speak to my Alice like that?" Decus said, readying his iron maiden. However, Alice held up a hand, stopping him.

"Look, I don't care if you hate me or anything. I've had plenty of people hating me in the past for what I am, so what's the difference if one more adds to it?" Alice's sweet smile returned as she spoke next. "Now, let's stop with this sentimental chitchat and get down to business," Alice's smile turned malicious as her canine teeth seemed to get pointed as she spoke. "Ratamil is coming with us, that is, if you care for the safety of this city."

Lloyd, Sheena and Emil looked around. People were hiding behind counters and creates all over the port, peeking their heads and trembling at seeing Alice and her monsters. Aifread looked from the blond girl to the Harpies holding his sail.

"So what is it going to be?" Decus asked.

Sheena was about to say something, but Marta beat her to it:

"Take me instead."

"Marta?" Emil and the others exclaimed, but the girl seemed to pay no mind to it as she spoke next:

"You let Emil and the others go and take me instead. After all, you do hate me, right?"

"Hum, true…" Alice said, her expression reverting to her normal, cute-looking one while she pondered about that, tapping her whip sword on her hand. "Alright then," she said with a smile.

"Alice, are you sure?" Decus whispered. "Lord Nebilim said Ratatosk took priority."

"Oh, we are going to take him, don't worry. But right now, I can't wait to wipe the floor with Martmart's face."

Sheena heard what Alice said with her trained ears and found it quite disturbing the Desian General could say things like that while using that sweet tone of hers. Marta started to walk the boat's bridge towards Alice and Decus. The Desian girl had a gleeful smile at seeing Marta coming to her, probably planning how she would inflict pain or kill the brunette.

It was then Lloyd perceived a change in the air around Emil and Sheena sensed a sudden twist in the boy's aura. The two turned to see Ratatosk's crimson eyes shining with hatred as he looked to Alice and Decus. The Lord of the Monsters then spoke:

"Like hell you're taking her! Aqua! Ventus!" the two Centurions materialized at the call of their lord.

"At your service, my Lord," Ventus spoke, opening the full length of his wings, inclining his head up as his spiritual energy flowed and he called for monsters.

"Go, my servants!" Aqua said, pointing to Alice and Decus, who looked with surprised expressions at seeing the two Centurions appear so suddenly.

Many things happened at once. Two Ravens and several Chirpees appeared, answering to Ventus' call and attacked the Harpies commanded by Alice, driving them away. Three mermaid-like monsters, two carrying harps and the other a lance, jumped out of the water and attacked Alice and Decus, who readied their weapons and defended from the assault. Ratatosk grabbed Marta by her hand and dragged her back in the ship, shouting for Aifread to go to take the wheel.

The pirate complied, even though he didn't understand what was going on. Ventus gave a new order to his servants and they positioned behind the now open sail, flapping their wings and creating gusts of wind, which made the boat speed up and leave the pier faster than any other ship would be able to.

As Decus cut down the Asrai attacking him and Alice froze solid the two other monsters, the boat was already sailing away in the horizon. The two Desians looked at their escaping targets and Alice pouted:

"Awww. No fair."

Back at the ship, Ventus dismissed his monsters and perched himself in the main mast, Aqua was sitting in its border. Tenebrae and Lumen also appeared, since it was now useless for them to hide. Lloyd and Sheena were looking to Ratatosk, who was scolding Marta:

"What were you thinking?"

"I had to keep you all safe," Marta talked back. "Plus, she would destroy the city if I…"

"And you fell for it." Ratatosk spoke. Marta stopped speaking at that, looking to the Summon Spirit possessing her crush's body with a confused expression. "Think Marta! The city is protected by those Cruxis angels. Do you think Alice would do as she pleased and leave before being captured by the Knights or the angels? Plus, do you really think they would take you and simply leave it at that?"

"I… I didn't…" Marta mumbled, looking to the wooden floor.

"And they say I act without thinking…"

Lloyd and Sheena could just look from Marta to Ratatosk, unable to speak anything. They felt that was a particular talk between Ratatosk and Marta, but they were on that little ship, there was no way they wouldn't hear the two speaking at that volume. Ratatosk continued:

"Were you trying to prove something? Or were you wanting to take revenge for your mother's death?" now Marta looked to Ratatosk with wide eyes, just like Sheena and Lloyd.

"What did you say, Ratatosk?" Sheena asked.

"I just had to put two and two together. Honestly, I don't know how that soft-hearted wimp didn't figure it out yet, considering all the intelligence I gave him," Ratatosk mumbled, putting his hands on his waist, looking to Sheena and Lloyd. "But the thing is; Marta's mother, Lydia, was killed during the attack Nebilim commanded to take me out. The one who tipped him off about where I was at the time was Alice."

Lloyd and Sheena looked to Marta, who could just look to the ground with a look of sadness. Ratatosk then continued:

"Not that I'm against you for wanting to get revenge, you have all the right to give that sadistic bitch a good beating, but you were clearly outnumbered there. So don't go on wasting your life like that," Marta looked up again, surprised. That was the last thing she expected Ratatosk to say to her, even more considering what had transpired between them the other morning. "I've already seen too many stupid people doing really stupid things. I don't want to see you end up like them, understood?"

Marta couldn't hold the smile that came to her face and nodded to Ratatosk. The Centurions took a brief look on their Lord and his girl, smiling at seeing the scene. Lloyd and Sheena decided to give the two more space, but before they walked to the other side of the ship, they heard Marta:

"Hmm…could you all…don't tell Emil about my mother?" the group looked to her again, with inquisitive looks. "I don't want him to think what happened to her was his fault or anything. She died to protect you, Ratatosk."

Marta put her hands behind her, but did not swing her body. Ratatosk stayed looking at her for some time. He had already weakened the mental link between he and Emil before he started that talk with Marta. The rash entity then thought back at Marta's mother. He once met her personally, while in control of Emil's body. The Summon Spirit finally said, shrugging:

"Fine, whatever. It's not like I was going to give him a hint if he can't even see it by himself."

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like that, you know," Sheena said.

"Pfft. And what do you know, woman?"

Sheena and Lloyd sighed, seeing the moment had come to an end thanks to Ratatosk's smartass attitude. Marta, however, giggled…

- / - / - / -

The stars blinked in the skies as the boat sailed through the seas. Aifread tried to ask the group what all of the confusion back in the docks of Palmacosta had been about, but none of them answered him, saying the knowledge would just bring him trouble. The pirate shrugged and concentrated on taking them to their destination.

Lloyd and Sheena were at the back of the boat, sitting against the cabin. The guardian user then laid her head on Lloyd's shoulder, who, at feeling the contact, blushed, making his friend laugh at the reaction. The red clad swordsman asked, with a tone of mild-accusation in his voice:

"You really like making me get all embarrassed, don't you?"

"I can't help it, you're just too cute for me not to do it," Sheena said, pinching the bridge of his nose, which made Lloyd's entire face match the tone of his red jacket.

"I-if that's the c-case… y-you're c-c-cute too," Lloyd said, trying to get Sheena embarrassed.

The violet haired woman got surprised at hearing that and her cheeks got a tint of pink on them, but the effect would have been more noticeable if Lloyd hadn't stuttered when he spoke. Sheena quickly recovered, deciding two could play that game.

"Do you really think so, sweety?" she said in a seductive voice, passing her finger under Lloyd's chin. The young man started to sweat and mumbled incoherent words. It was clear to Sheena that she had control over him. "In that case…"

Sheena's face started to slowly approach Lloyd's, whose forehead could be mistaken for a water source now. The voluptuous woman parted her lips and Lloyd's eyes were the size of plates upon realizing what the intent of the beautiful fighter was:

_She… she… she's going to kiss me. Oh man, oh man, what do I do? _Lloyd thought, almost desperate as several other thoughts pass through his head in complete disorder. _I never kissed a woman before. Is she going to notice? Do I have a bad kiss? What if she doesn't like it? What if she wants to go beyond it?_

The last question worried Lloyd more than anything. He never talked about sex with his father, mainly because he never thought someone would ever desire him that way. Kissing was one thing, but _that_ was…his train of thought and Sheena's actions were interrupted when they heard Aqua cursing:

"Argh! You both are impossible!" the Centurion of water appeared from the side of the cabin and looked to them, not even paying notice to the fact Sheena's face was very close to Lloyd's. "Can I stay here with you two? Tenebrae is being such a pain again."

"O-of course…" Lloyd said, willing to take any chance he had to avoid what was coming. He simply wasn't mentally prepared for that kind of advance from Sheena.

The violet haired woman sighed and settled on her place, taking a last look on Lloyd. He seemed relieved. Did that mean he wasn't interested? Did that mean he didn't want her in the first place? The face of the female fighter paled once she realized she might have gone too far on her advance.

_Oh no. I was so eager that I might have intimidated him. Dammit, I should have thought this through!_

On the other side of the ship, Tenebrae was sighing as he saw Aqua going to where Lloyd and Sheena were. The Centurion of Darkness said:

"My, my. She's quite sensitive about Richter, isn't she?"

"T-man, you were talking about how weird a pair they were," Lumen said. "Seriously pal, not cool."

All talks on that part of the ship ceased as everybody looked to Lumen. The Centurion of light asked what was it, thinking he might have something on his face. Ratatosk was the one to speak:

"That's the first smart thing I've heard from you since… forever, I think."

"Really? Yay! Ventus! Boss said I'm smart!" Lumen said, with a cheerful expression on his cheetah face.

"Yes… and I'm still not believing that such an event could ever occur," the Centurion of wind said.

"What event? Like a festival?" Lumen asked, now putting up a clueless look, losing the track of the subject in Ventus' intellectual way of speaking.

"Well, that was surely short-lived," Tenebrae said.

Ratatosk shook his head and looked at the night skies with Marta at his side, who sighed at another display of Lumen's not so brilliant intellect. The brunette girl looked to Ratatosk, admiring him just as she admired Emil when the shy boy was in control. The Summon Spirit noticed that and turned to her, asking:

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"I just wanted to thank you for earlier," Marta said.

Ratatosk, to say the least, was surprised. He hardly received thanks from anybody, not counting the other Summon Spirits and he couldn't even remember most of his time with them. In his time as Emil, people would thank his other self, not him. He was used to getting reprimands or comments of how scary he was when angry. The crimson-eyed entity looked away of Marta, for her not to see the light red tone that his cheeks were gaining. Why couldn't Summon Spirits be immune to feelings like that?

"I-it's nothing," Ratatosk said. Marta giggled again.

"You know, you're good person deep inside," the brunette girl said.

"I… I'm not nice. I just spoke what I thought, that's all."

"But you do care for me, right? That's because you… didn't…"

Marta hesitated to speak the next words, but Ratatosk caught on what she said. He suddenly started to feel guilty about that in the other day. The Summon spirit gritted his teeth at sensing the feeling emerging again.

_Dammit! What's up with me? _the rash spirit asked himself mentally.

"Look. I just… don't want to see you dead, ok?" Ratatosk said, not believing those words left his mouth, but something compelled him to say them.

"Of course. I promise I will always stay right here, by your side," as Marta spoke that, she grabbed his arm and put her head on his shoulder.

"You mean Emil's side…" Ratatosk mumbled. Marta let out an "huh?" not catching what the Lord of the Monsters said. "Nothing," before Marta could question, Ratatosk gave the control back to Emil.

"What was that Ratatosk said?"

"Umm…" Emil was about to speak when he heard Ratatosk speaking.

_"Tell her and I swear the next time you enter in a battle, you're going to bleed."_

Emil gulped and quickly said it had been nothing important. Marta then decided to dismiss it and resumed to cling to her crush's arm, putting her head on his shoulder. Emil blushed wildly at that. However, one question was still remaining on his mind: what did Ratatosk exactly feel towards Marta to act so… not like himself?

- / - / - / -

The sun beat the faces of the four friends as they woke from their sleep. The wooden floor of the boat wasn't very comfortable, but since there was no other place for them to lie down. Sheena and Emil were the first to stretch their muscles to get the soreness away.

"Hey, Lloyd. Wake up," Sheena said, shaking Lloyd awake. The red clad swordsman slowly opened his eyes, scratching them and asking if they had already arrived. "I think that we…" Sheena said, looking around. She stopped speaking once she took notice that she couldn't see Izoold. To be more specific, she couldn't even see land anywhere. "What in the… ?"

"Shouldn't we have arrived there already?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes," Emil said, coming to join his friends. "A travel from Palmacosta to Izoold should take one day by boat. Why aren't we there yet?"

"I think a better question would be: why don't we even see any land around?" Marta inquired.

"I think our friend, the legendary Aifread, would be able to answer that," Tenebrae said, his tone a sly one while he pointed with his head to the cabin.

Emil and the others approached the cabin and their jaws dropped at seeing Aifread. The pirate was sleeping over the wheel, snoring soundly and even drooling. And by the smile on his face, he was having a very good dream. Lloyd and the others felt a murderous vibe coming from Sheena and turned to see the violet haired woman, her bangs covering her face and her body slightly curved as she shook in anger. The three stepped out of the way when Sheena went to Aifread and kicked his leg, making him fall on the floor.

The red head woke up with a sharp pain on his leg and chin. He got up as he massaged his hurt face and was greeted with the face of a very pissed off guardian user which almost made him jump in fear.

"YOU WERE SLEEPING BEHIND THE WHEEL? WHAT THE HELL KIND OF PIRATE ARE YOU?" Sheena exploded.

"H-hey. C-calm down, mate. I-it's not like it's…" Aifread tried to say, but Sheena interrupted him, making him stand on one foot while covering himself with his arms, like he was expecting an attack from the violent woman.

"DON'T COME SAYING THAT IT'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT! BECAUSE OF YOU WE'RE LOST!"

When Sheena stopped, she was breathing very loudly. Marta and the others finally stopped covering their ears with their hands, seeing they were not in danger of getting deaf from Sheena's screams anymore. Aifread, who had been reduced to a cowering mass, slowly recovered his pose when he saw Sheena was calming down. He spoke, not so loud as before as to not provoke the wrath of the violet haired woman again:

"Look mate, I know where we are, ok? So don't worry. The great Aifread has never let down any lady before," he flashed a toothy smile as he said the next part. Sheena rolled her eyes at another display of Aifread's bravados.

"Oh really? Then can you explain to me where exactly we are?" Sheena said in a tone of defiance.

"Of course. We…" Aifread stopped and looked around. He noticed there was no land around. "Umm… we're at the sea," the pirate said with a smile.

"That has to be the bluntest answer I've heard in my entire existence," Tenebrae commented in a dry tone.

"Oh really? Phew! I thought for a moment we were really lost," Lumen said, sighing in relief and recovering his goofy smile.

"See what I mean?" Tenebrae pointed out again.

Sheena put her hand on her forehead, shaking it. Lloyd had his eyes narrowed at Aifread while Emil seemed worried and Marta had an angry expression on her face, putting her hands on her hips. The brunette girl said:

"And you call yourself a pirate when you don't even know where we are. I can see what kind of 'legend' you are."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Aifread spoke.

"AH!"

Everybody turned to Emil at hearing his scream. The group saw the worried expression on the blonde's face as he was looking at the water. Lloyd asked what was it and Emil answered:

"I saw something moving in the water. Something big."

Ventus and the other Centurions looked to Aqua, who nodded to them. She then summoned one of her servants, a Remora, and commanded it to go in the water and investigate what was there. The aquatic monster quickly jumped into the sea.

"Just what kind of people are you? You can control monsters just like that Desian girl," Aifread commented, watching the display of the strange beings' powers.

"Shut up!" Sheena said, turning to him and pointing a finger at the pirate's face, whose expression got terrified again. "You don't have any right to speak about us! Mainly because how you got us lost."

"But now that he mentions it…" Lloyd said, turning to the Centurions. "How come Alice could control monsters like that?"

"Since she's a half-demon, she's probably using the chaos energy to do so," Tenebrae said. "Monsters are sensible to these energies as much as they were to changes in the mana, so it would be possible for a demon to learn how to attract and command monsters under the influence of strong concentrations of chaos energy. However, most of them choose not to do so, since they think monsters are inferior in comparison to themselves and their brethren."

Emil turned to Aqua and asked when her scout was coming back, thinking it was taking too long to investigate the sea. Aqua found that strange too, before she could reply though, the group saw something big emerging from the water and diving in again, something dark with what seemed to be a spiked shell. They couldn't guess its exact size, but it seemed to be bigger than the boat they were in.

"W-what was that?" Marta asked, scared.

"I don't know, but it sure was big," Sheena said.

"So… it came after us, uh," Aifread said, looking from inside the cabin. Everybody turned to him upon hearing that.

"What do you mean?" Marta asked.

"I saw something like that once, right before my old ship was sunk," he said in a cryptic tone.

"Then take us out of here, you idiot!" Sheena said, grabbing Aifread by the collar of his jacket and shaking him.

"Sheena, calm down," Lloyd said.

Sheena looked to him and let go of Aifread. The pirate almost fell, but managed to keep himself standing. He then dusted his clothes, mumbling something about violent women. It was then he looked to the group and saw they were all looking past him, with horrified expressions on their faces. Aifread got confused by that.

"What's the matter, mates?" he asked and looked to where they were looking. He soon understood why the group of friends and Centurions had those expressions on their faces.

In Aifread's front, at the side of his boat, was an enormous red eye with blue iris. The sailor jumped, letting out a surprised scream when the eye fixed on him. The sound of what seemed to be the cry of a whale was heard as the monster at their front dived in the seas again, making the boat shake and almost throwing the group out of the ship.

"What is THAT?" Emil asked, in panic. Before anyone else could speak, Ratatosk took the control of the blonde's body. "That's a Kristher. A Sea Waver."

The group saw the Kristher surfacing again, letting out another whale cry as it submerged once more. Aifread got up and went for the wheel, trying to get the boat moving. The pirate cursed:

"Dammit! This is the same sound I heard when my ship sunk!"

"Get this floating bathtub moving you idiot! Or do you want all of us to get killed?" Ratatosk yelled.

Aifread didn't even mind that the dirty-mouthed entity called his boat a bathtub. The impulse of getting away from the sea demon was stronger than anything. The Centurions were holding in the mast as the boat swayed while the Sea Waver appeared some more times, circling around the boat.

"This is not good, we won't get away like this!" Ventus said.

"Then summon some of your birds to make wind like before!" Lloyd exclaimed from his position, holding in the doorframe of the cabin together with Sheena and the others.

"I think that's too late for it! LOOK OUT!" Aqua said, pointing to behind them.

The humans and woman with elven blood turned and, to their horror, they saw the Kristher at distance, jumping out of the water and getting high in the skies. How could something that big jump that high? The question hung on their minds until the Sea Waver came down crashing on the water, creating a giant wave.

"Oh yeah! Now I remembered why this thing is called Sea Waver," Lumen said, temporarily making everybody forget the dangerous situation they were in and look to the Centurion of light.

The group then looked back to the tsunami coming at them. They just had time to scream before the giant wave took the boat and flipped it, making the group fall into the raving sea right before the wave crashed down, utterly destroying Aifread's boat…

- / - / - / -

Lloyd's eyes opened a bit, closing right afterwards. His mouth tasted like salt and his head felt heavy. The red clad swordsman tried to open his eyes again, almost getting blinded by the sun. Then he noticed someone was over him, more specifically, over his mouth.

The dual swordsman finally identified Sheena's form over him and made a sound to indicate he was awake. The guardian user quickly moved away from over him and the young man immediately sat, turning his head to the side and coughing out the water that had accumulated in his lungs. Sheena sighed in relief as she saw her swordsman was alive and well.

"Thanks goodness you're okay," Sheena said.

"Sheena. What… ? Why were you… ?" Lloyd asked, his face turning into a red tone, which didn't have any relation to the sun beating down on him.

"I-I swear that was just to save you," Sheena quickly justified herself, blushing. "I just did some CPR since you didn't seem to awake and…"

"Ahem," Lloyd turned his eyes to Sheena's side and saw Tenebrae there. "It was my suggestion for Lady Sheena to perform it. After all, isn't that one of the first-aid techniques you humans do to save people who just drowned?" the Centurion of darkness inquired.

Lloyd stopped and analyzed the situation. They were on a beach, the sea very close to his legs. He then remembered that they were trying to escape from that whale demon and it created a tsunami and… his head started to hurt as the red clad swordsman brought his hand to it. He then looked to Sheena and thanked her for saving him. Sheena mumbled it was nothing and looked to the side. She soon spoke in a sad tone:

"Um… about the other night… in the ship… I'm sorry I forced myself onto you," Lloyd looked more attentively to Sheena when she said that. "I guess… I was so eager to… be with you that I ended up forcing a situation that you probably didn't want. I will understand if you don't want to be with me anymore."

"No. It's not like that Sheena," Lloyd rushed to say. "I… I like to… to…"

Lloyd cursed himself mentally over and over when he felt his tongue stuck and his face redden. Why couldn't he speak now? He didn't want Sheena think that he didn't want her. The truth was, he did appreciate that and he even liked the way she was so upfront on her feelings for him. He was just a little scared of that new experience and that he might not make up to Sheena's expectations.

It was then Tenebrae decided to step in and spoke:

"I think what Sir Lloyd is trying to say is that he doesn't object to your displays of amorous interest for him."

"Uh, what now?" Lloyd asked, not understanding those complicated words.

"He's just insecure that he might not be able to satisfy you," Tenebrae continued like Lloyd hadn't talked.

That part Lloyd understood and it made him blush three different shades of red. Sheena could just look from Tenebrae to Lloyd with wide eyes, in an expression that asked "is that really true?" The dual swordsman quickly stood, pointing to Tenebrae with an angry expression on his face while saying:

"Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"Oh. So are you actually sure that you will be able to satisfy Lady Sheena's expectations?" Tenebrae asked with an expression of mock surprise.

"It-it-it's not that! I was going to say that I just… I think she might not like me because I have no experience in a relationship!"

When Lloyd realized what he had said, he suddenly went mute again, getting extremely embarrassed. Sheena, on the other hand, had an attractive smile on her face at hearing that. So Lloyd was actually insecure when it came to relationships. It was good to know that and it gave her the chance to think on a way to help him to get over it.

"As much as I would love to continue with this pleasant talk, shouldn't we be searching for Lord Emil and Lady Marta?" Tenebrae asked.

Lloyd shot a look at Tenebrae before starting to search around the beach and call for their friends together with Sheena. They soon heard someone call back to them and saw Marta running across the sand to meet them with Emil and Lumen close behind and Ventus soaring over them.

The group reunited and asked each other if they were alright, receiving affirmative answers. Lumen was the one to voice the question in their minds:

"How did we just survive that? V-wing, did you do something?"

"No. I don't have any power over the water. I remember having fallen into the sea with you all and I felt something under me."

"I sensed that too. Wonder what it was."

"That would have been me," Aqua's voice came.

The group looked to the direction of the sea and saw Aqua sitting with one leg crossed over the other on the spiked shell of a Tortoise, which was walking to the group. There were more three of the turtle monsters coming out of the water. Aqua slid off of the Tortoise she was sitting in and approached her lord, who was extremely surprised at seeing the big, aquatic monsters.

Marta then asked what those were, since she never saw Emil doing a pact with those monsters before. Aqua explained to the petite brunette:

"These were near the island where my altar is. I thought it would be useful if I started to remake the pacts, so when Master Richter came to take me to Lord Emil I asked him to help me take my servants back along the way."

"That was a wise decision, Aqua," Ventus said.

"Yeah. Thanks to you, we're safe," Emil said with a smile.

"It was nothing my lord," Aqua said, returning the smile.

"Where is Captain Aifread?" Lumen asked.

The group looked around, searching for the pirate that had leaded their travel until that point. It was then they heard a yell. The group looked to see Aifread a little far from their position, hands on his head and messing his hair as he looked to the sea, looking panicked. However, when he talked, the group could notice it was anger he had in his voice, not fear:

"They took my ship yet again. Damn those demons!" the "legendary" pirate started to wave his arms as he spoke, still facing the sea, like the demons in it could actually hear him. "But don't think you've won against me. NEVER! I am Aifread, the legendary pirate! I won't let you demons get away with this, do ya hear me?"

The group had sweatdrops running behind their heads at seeing that. At least he was still alive. The group then looked to the other side of the beach and saw a city. Their trip with the Tortoises had actually brought them to Izoold. Deciding to leave Aifread cursing the demons, the group took off towards the town. Their captain would probably notice it soon, so there was no problem in leaving him to his own devices.

Aqua dismissed her servants and went to join her master, as the group walked towards the road that gave access to the small fishing port…

- / - / - / -

Izoold was a small community, composed mainly by fishermen. It was also one loyal to Cruxis. The proof of that was a marine-blue obelisk near the entrance of the village very similar to the one the group had seen in Palmacosta. There was also a church, from which they could see people entering and exiting. There was just one Inn in the city with only one floor, though the building itself seemed to have been expanded to accommodate more people. It was common for some cities that didn't suffer constant demonic or Desian attack to expand its residential and commercial area.

Lloyd and the others stopped near the obelisk and the red clad swordsman asked:

"By the way, what's this thing? There was one in Palmacosta too."

"It's called the Obelisk of Mana," Emil answered, assuming his didactic tone. "Apparently, it serves as a symbol of Cruxis' blessing upon the community. All villages that are loyal to Cruxis have one. They say it serves to repel the demons thanks to the Sacred Stone imbued in it, which can turn mana into holy flames that burn chaos energies," Emil pointed to a blue stone that was engraved in the smooth surface of the obelisk.

The group looked to it and Sheena could see the Sacred Stone glowing with a multicolored aura, which apparently entered inside the obelisk and shot to the skies from its top, forming some kind of beam that went high in the skies and seemed to spread in several others, raining down in the area around the village. It was probably projecting some kind of barrier around the village.

"But it doesn't work on half-demons as the Desians," the violet haired woman pointed out.

"Yes. It seems that the Desians only have their demonic blood suppressed when around the range of influence of the obelisk. The rest of their power remains unaffected."

"Well… then it's pretty much useless if the Desians can still attack people," Lloyd commented, extracting what he could understand from Emil's lecture.

"It's because of that the Knights of Cruxis supposedly exist; to combat the Desians that try to enter in the cities," Marta spoke. Her voice turned into a disapproving one as she spoke next. "But they're just a bunch of lazy bums. The Vanguard and the Renegades say that the Knights are more of a police of the church than anything. All I've ever see them do is punish offenders of the church and those that break the teachings of the Faith."

"Yeah. I heard some stories about them too," Sheena said.

Tenebrae and the Centurions approached the obelisk while still concealed. The four entities looked attentively at the object before turning to the group. Tenebrae asked Emil:

"Are sure this obelisk is truly made of mana, my Lord?"

"I don't really know," Emil said, turning to the Centurion of darkness. "They say it is mana concentrated in a solid form so it can't be burnt easily, making the effect of the Sacred Stone last for years, but the church doesn't let anyone study it."

"Why?" Lumen asked.

"They say it has something to do with one of teachings of the Faith that states: _Knowledge is as much of a blessing as it is a weapon. Investigate that which has been passed down by the agents of heavens is a sign of the human curiosity trying to reach the divine, when it does not possess that right_."

"And that would refer to Cruxis' blessing," Ventus said in a statement, not a question, though Emil nodded to him. The Centurion of the wind, put his wing on its "hand mode" under his beak, in his usual thoughtful pose.

Lumen and Aqua looked to the obelisk again. The cheetah-like Centurion then spoke:

"I remember mana, and this thing doesn't feel like it. Are you sure you cannot take a look at it, boss?"

"I would like to, but if someone catches me doing it, they will see that as breaking the teachings of the Faith."

"And you're going to pay hell for that. I've already heard this story several times," Sheena spoke. "Then let's leave this thing alone. How about we go and eat something then? I'm famished," the voluptuous woman asked with a smile.

"Alright! I'm also pretty hungry too," Marta said, jumping in an approving gesture and returning the smile.

"In that case, you all go and buy something to eat. I'm going to rent us a room at the Inn," Lloyd offered.

The group agreed and Emil, Marta, Sheena and the Centurions went to the other side of the city, where the docks were located and where they could see stands with several varieties of seafood in it. Lloyd walked to the Inn at the side of the city's entrance and entered.

After talking to the person at the counter and renting some beds, since the Inn wasn't that big and had only three rooms, Lloyd walked out of the building and stretched his arms up, feeling some of his bones making snap sounds. Sleeping in the wooden floor of Aifread's ship hadn't been too good on his back, but thankfully he and the others would have beds this time.

It was then Lloyd looked to the Obelisk of Mana and saw someone at its front, seeming to look attentively to the mark of Cruxis' blessing. Lloyd tilted his head to the side in confusion, the person looking to the obelisk seemed very concentrated, since he wasn't moving a muscle. The red clad swordsman hadn't seen anybody doing something like that in Palmacosta or when they entered Izoold. Generally, the people just passed by it and shot quick looks of admiration.

Deciding to go and see what was up, the dual swordsman approached. Lloyd could see the person was actually a blond boy. If it wasn't by the fact he was using white clothes with details in blue and that he didn't have a strand sticking upwards, Lloyd would have thought that was Emil. He approached and the boy turned to him, like he had sensed his presence.

"Hi," Lloyd said, trying not to sound surprised when the boy turned to him so suddenly and putting up his best friendly tone and smile.

"I-I wasn't doing anything wrong. I swear," the blonde said in an almost scared tone.

"Hey, calm down. I'm not blaming you of anything. I'm not of the church if that's what you're thinking," Lloyd said, keeping his smile on to transmit confidence.

"Oh…" the blond boy said. "Ok then."

The blonde then resumed to look at the obelisk. Lloyd approached him and saw the boy was looking to the Sacred Stone engraved in the mark of Cruxis' blessing. Taking a closer look, the red clad swordsman could also tell that boy seemed to be around sixteen and had blue eyes. He also used two violet bracelets in his wrists. Lloyd stopped at the side of the boy, staying quiet for some time, not knowing how he could start a conversation, since the blonde seemed so interested in that Sacred Stone.

"Interesting things these obelisks…" the blond boy spoke suddenly, catching Lloyd off guard and making the young man let out an "huh?" "They say it is made of mana, which was burnt from existence fifty years ago, at the end of the war…"

The boy's voice had a pitch to it, making it sound almost feminine, though there was something else in his tone, some kind of maturity that suggested to Lloyd this boy had seen many things during his life that people normally didn't see. Lloyd then asked:

"Really? Has it been that many years since the end of the war?" Lloyd had never thought about how much time had passed since the end of the war. People rarely worried about dates nowadays.

The boy shot a quick look to Lloyd. The red clad swordsman thought for a moment he had seen something that looked like scorn on the boy's face, but it had been so fast he thought it had been his mind playing a trick on him. The blonde then said, looking back at the Sacred Stone:

"Oh, yes… I suppose humans wouldn't know, since you are more worried about surviving," the almost cold tone that boy used when he spoke "humans" made Lloyd's instincts warn him something was off. Was that boy a half-elf, maybe?

"Well, isn't that what everybody is trying to do? You can't live in a world like this without being worried if you're going to wake up alive the next day or not."

"Hum. I suppose you're right."

Silence fell between Lloyd and the boy again. The red clad swordsman was really feeling out of place with the boy's remarks and that serious tone that edged between maturity and teenage. Lloyd decided to break the ice and gave another of his boyish smiles as he tried to put up a confident tone when he asked the blonde, making he turn to him:

"My name's Lloyd," the boy arched one eyebrow at that, like he was asking why Lloyd was introducing himself. "What's yours?"

Another minute or so passed. Lloyd kept his smile on to show he was just trying to be friendly. The blonde moved his lips slowly, almost reluctantly, as he spoke, looking to the ground, his blond bangs covering part of his face:

"My… name…"

Before anything else could be said, Lloyd heard Marta calling his name, making he turn to see her coming with some food in her arms. Lloyd waved to the brunette girl and remembered he was still talking with the boy. He spoke, while turning:

"Sorry. What was… ?" when Lloyd turned he stopped speaking, surprise written on his face. The blonde boy had disappeared without leave any trace, like he had never existed.

"Lloyd, what took you so long?" Marta asked as she and the others reached the red clad swordsman. "What are you looking at?" the petite brunette asked, once she saw Lloyd was looking very intensively to the ground.

_Did I… imagine it? _Lloyd wondered.

"Hey! Aselia to Lloyd," Sheena called. Lloyd shook his head and looked to her. "What's up with the expression?"

"Ah… nothing. It's nothing…" Lloyd said.

"Anyway, try this out."

Sheena offered Lloyd a plate full of fried shrimps. The red clad swordsman bit one and his face instantly lighted up as he tasted the seafood. He took the plate from Sheena's hand and ate everything in a matter of seconds. After finishing it, he looked to her and said:

"That was wonderful!"

"Well, they don't just say Izoold makes the best seafood in all of Sylvarant for no reason," Marta said with a smile. "Fried shrimps and seafood gels are one of their specialties. People generally like to use it as a complement to their dishes or, in the gel case, even in sandwiches. The fishing industry here doesn't bloom like in any other place since the temperature of the water in this region is… wait a minute," Marta stopped when she took noticed of what she was talking. "How come I know all of these things?"

"Apparently, Tenebrae had been applying one of his _'techniques'_ on you, Lady Marta. Though the information may be quite outdated." Ventus said, regarding his brethren with his wing.

"_Techniques_?" Emil asked, confused.

"Oh well, since I was found out…" Tenebrae said that shooting a brief look to Ventus. "That is one of my many abilities. I like to call it midnight hypno-study."

The Centurion of darkness spoke that with a tone of self-admiration in his voice as he closed his eyes. Emil, Lloyd and Sheena had sweatdrops running down their foreheads. Marta and Aqua seemed angry as the Centurion of water spoke:

"You whisper things to girls while they're sleeping? Ugh, you're such a spiteful, old creep."

"Seriously! Next time brainwash me into knowing something useful!" Marta spoke.

While the two girls bickered at Tenebrae, the rest of the group sat on a nearby bench and enjoyed their food while chattering. Meanwhile, a figure observed them from afar with a cold, emotionless expression on its face…

_End of Act I

* * *

_

Three cookie points to whoever guess who was the character Lloyd was talking with (like that wasn't already obvious) and who was spying them at the final._  
_


	11. Interlude: Between Demons

Here is it, an interlude chapter. Like I said, these kind of chapters will be focusing on the "Dark Side of the Force", meaning we will see what the other characters are doing while our heroes travell across the globe.

Since this isn't an actual chapter in the story there will be no skits here.

Don't worry, I have one skit planned for the next chapter.

* * *

_Interlude: _

_Between Demons _

The Path of Ascension, one of many areas on the path to the Ginnungagap, the portal between Aselia and Niflheim, was now the domain of the demonic invasion horde, just like everything inside the Ginnungagap. The Path had been expanded in the last years, adding more platforms to its design. One particular and isolated section of it was used as a meeting space for the leaders of the demonic forces and the Desians.

"… and that is all I have to report to you, my Lord," a green haired woman using a skin tight, red suit spoke to a red haired figure that was standing at the highest platform.

Nebilim nodded to Pronyma and looked to all the present Desian Grand Cardinals. Though the platforms on which they were standing were at the same level, one could sense the atmosphere of superiority one Cardinal tried to pass over the others.

Nebilim looked from one Desian to the other, wordlessly invite one of them to talk if they had anything to say. The blue haired Cardinal, Rodyle, took the chance and spoke:

"I would like to pass you the latest advances we had regarding our special project, my lord."

Rodyle then took something from under his shirt, below his cloak. At first it looked like a hexagon-shaped pendant, but, looking closely, one could see the glass surface at its top and the circuits inside it. That pendant was Rodyle's personal data storage. It was of common knowledge to the Grand Cardinals that Rodyle never went anywhere without bringing it along and all data regarding his experiments and findings in the outside world were recorded in the little device. The only person Rodyle ever let touch his data storage was Nebilim, since the demonic commander was also the one that helped Rodyle to develop it.

Ever since Nebilim discovered Rodyle's knack for "questionable" experiments, which was the reason why the half-elf had been banned from the former academic city of Sybak, the demonic commander had been commissioning several researches from Rodyle, some which he took part directly, others that were passed to him by the Grand Demon Lord that envisioned the invasion in Aselia.

Rodyle then threw the data storage to Nebilim, who caught it with ease. The powerful being then activated the projector imbued in the device and analyzed the archives, reading all information contained in them. Thanks to his photographic memory, Nebilim didn't need to keep any reports. He then threw the device back to Rodyle, saying:

"It seems you've made quite some progress, Rodyle. However, looks like you still yet have to find suitable test subjects."

"Yes, my Lord. That is actually the reason I wanted to…"

"Speaking of which…" a voice interrupted Rodyle, who looked to its owner with a look of utter disgust. Kvar, the silvery-blond haired Grand Cardinal just smirked back at his fellow half-demon. "I also would like to present my Lord with my achievements in the project."

"You what?" Rodyle exclaimed.

Magnius and Forcistus, a green haired Desian with a golden cannon in the place of his right hand and a golden and red eye patch, snickered at Rodyle while Pronyma had a smug smile on her face. The scientist Grand Cardinal often bragged about being the only one in their ranking that was capable of help Nebilim to further strength their forces. But ever since Kvar had ascended to their ranks, thanks to a certain slip from his predecessor, the newest Grand Cardinal had been making a fool out of Rodyle, proving he could be as cunning as the Desian chief scientist.

"Here," Kvar said, throwing a report to Nebilim, who caught it and read with his eyebrow raised.

The powerful being was very aware of the competition between the heads of the Desian troops to earn his praise. However, he couldn't care less about it as long as that didn't stand in the way of their duties. If anything, that just motivated them even more to get their assignments done efficiently.

"Very interesting I must say…" Nebilim spoke.

Kvar shot a smirk to Rodyle, who seemed to be constipated. The blue haired Desian spoke:

"My Lord! You can't possibly accept that this… this thief who stole my research data is worthy of the assignment that was passed to…"

"Really?" Pronyma spoke, attracting the attention of the Desian Grand Cardinals, as Nebilim continued to read the report. "If you held this research as your highest priority, shouldn't you have taken better care to see if there wasn't a leak of information?"

"S-shut up, Pronyma!" Rodyle exclaimed.

"Oh yeah. You even went as far as to attack Asgard without consulting us first," Magnius sneered. "Very daring of you to invade the territory of another Cardinal, Rodyle. A pity you were stopped by those Vanguard vermin. You almost gained my respect."

"Like I care about gaining the respect of such a primitive brute as you."

"What did you say?" Magnius roared, drawing his war ax.

"Chill out, Magnius," Forcystus said, with a carefree tone as he waved his left hand. "Considering this guy barely leaves his tubes alone, you might break him before he can even put up a good fight."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rodyle questioned.

"My, my. For someone who brags so much about being the most cunning among us, you sure lack some manners," Kvar sneered.

"SHUT UP! I'M GOING TO…"

"Enough!" the air around the meeting area seemed to raise its temperature when Nebilim spoke, his aura agitating like flames. He turned to Kvar. "It seems you added quite some advances on the project."

"I could have too, if I had the right host bodies!" Rodyle insisted, but was ignored.

"Thanks, my Lord. I am here to serve you, after all," Kvar said, bowing to Nebilim with a grin plastered on his face.

"In that case, seeing as you are well informed about the advances and details of the project, you and Rodyle shall work on it together to speed its completion," Nebilim stated.

"WHAT?" Rodyle exclaimed. The other Desian Cardinals couldn't contain the grin that came to their lips at seeing the humiliation Rodyle was facing. "BUT… but… you can't be serious, Lord Nebilim! This… this is… !"

"I expect you two to work having in mind the true objective of the project," Nebilim cut in again, making Rodyle almost jump. "The Great One has been quite impatient."

"In that case, we shall work twice as hard, my Lord," Kvar said, his sneer never leaving his face.

The Grand Cardinals and Nebilim looked to Rodyle, who was still stunned by the news. He couldn't believe he had been outsmarted by an upstart fool like Kvar and was now stuck working together with him. The Desian scientist would have called it an absurd, but he knew questioning Lord Nebilim's decision resulted in only one outcome: his demise.

"Rodyle…" Pronyma called, making the blue haired Desian look to her. "Lord Nebilim has spoken. So, it's up to you carry out your orders or face the consequences."

After a few moments of reluctance, Rodyle bowed to Nebilim and muttered a "yes, my Lord" under his breath. He would make Kvar pay for that humiliation.

It was then the group sensed a new aura approaching their meeting space. Turning to the bridge that gave access to that area, they saw a red haired half-demon coming, a stoic expression on his face at being back to the place he most despised in all over Aselia.

"Ah, Richter. You arrived just in time," Nebilim spoke with a malicious smile on his face.

"I've heard you wanted to talk with me… Lord Nebilim," Richter said in an emotionless tone, struggling as he didn't want to say that last part, though his demon blood commanded him to do so.

"In fact I do," Nebilim said.

The Desian Grand Cardinals all turned to Richter. That was something all of them enjoyed: seeing Nebilim torture the half-elf who had been trying to resist the demonic commander's will since the day he joined and force answers out of him.

"You've completed your last assignment two days ago, yet you didn't return to us. Was there anything you were doing during that time?" Nebilim asked.

"Nothing particularly special," Richter answered, knowing he wouldn't be able not to respond to his superior.

"Really? Because I heard an interesting tale; that you've been meeting with Ratatosk," Nebilim said, launching the bait and smiling.

The Grand Cardinals leaned forward to take a better look at Richter's expression. However, the reluctant half-demon didn't show any reaction in the least, his stony expression never faltering. Richter then answered:

"That is a lie. I haven't gone meet Ratatosk."

Richter wanted to smile at seeing Nebilim's now serious expression at not getting the direct answer he wanted, but kept his stoic facade on. The red head had much time to practice giving half-answers and keeping a straight face the entire time. Richter never considered himself a liar, but he was very good at hiding things from people.

"Really? Then what have you been doing while you were out after finishing your mission?" Nebilim asked, his expression turning analytic.

The Desian Grand Cardinals shot looks of disgust and anger at Richter, but the red head paid them no heed. He stated since the beginning he would never be part of their little "gang", but since he was forced there and couldn't strike them down, it didn't mean he had to make their lives any easier.

"I went to see a friend of mine," Richter answered in a vague manner.

"Who?" Nebilim inquired.

"Not a member of the Vanguard or the Renegades if that's what you're asking."

"Then _who_?" Nebilim asked, starting to lose his patience.

"Someone who knows of my hardships," Richter answered, throwing one of his red bangs to the side.

"You impudent!" Pronyma spoke. "How dare you defy Lord… ?"

Before Pronyma could go on and scold Richter (something he was used to) Nebilim held his hand up, stopping her from any further yelling at the other half-demon. The Grand Cardinals looked to Nebilim, who had a cold expression on his face as he spoke to Richter, with an undertone that promised a severe punishment for that latter:

"Alright, you may go."

Richter knew he would pay for that latter, but he could care less, he was getting used to the punishments he was put through every time Nebilim decided he needed to be "disciplined." They would make him taste intense pain for several minutes until he either passed out or told them something really useful, but since the latter never happened, Richter could just brace himself for what was to come his way.

The demons and Desians couldn't believe somebody could resist their lord for so long, even more one of them, who was supposed to follow his orders unquestionably. Some thought there was some kind of secret behind Richter's resistance, others thought the former half-elf had some kind of special ability. However, only Richter knew why he was capable of resisting all of that. He could even tell them, but no one would ever understand what he spoke of.

_These fools don't have anything to fight for, anything to protect. They can even kill me, but that will only mean I won and was able to keep Emil and Marta safe. And since they gave me this demon blood, I might as well put it to good use. _those were the thoughts that kept Richter going on.

The red head gave a brief nod to Nebilim and left the meeting area of the Path of Ascension, leaving the Grand Cardinals and the demonic commandant alone once more. Kvar then turned to Nebilim once Richter was out of sight and spoke to their lord:

"Surely you don't believe in a word that traitorous rat has said, Lord Nebilim."

"How can you even doubt something like that?" Rodyle exclaimed, pointing to Kvar. "How someone who doesn't have faith in our great leader has gained a place amongst our ranks is the only question here."

"Licking Lord Nebilim's shoes won't get you to where you want, Rodyle," Forcystus piped in, his smile returning at poking fun at the blue haired Cardinal.

"S-shut up!"

"I know he's hiding many things from me, about that you can rest assured, Kvar," Nebilim said to Kvar, like nobody besides the newest Cardinal had spoken. "However, forcing it out of him has proved to be ineffective until now."

"Then why keep the vermin around?" Magnius asked. "It would just take your order, my lord, and I will cut him down without hesitation."

"Richter is useful, that's the only thing that keeps him breathing," Nebilim said. "Now, Rodyle, Kvar…" the powerful being said, looking from one Desian to the other, his tone indicating he wouldn't discuss about the previous subject any further. "I want each of you having total access to the other's research data. See for the project to advance to the next phase."

"But… but…" Rodyle mumbled.

"Meeting adjourned."

With that, Nebilim gave his back to the Grand Cardinals and walked to the extremity of his platform, disappearing in an explosion of hellish flames. Kvar teleported out of the meeting area with a smirk on his face. Magnius and Forcystus also left the local. Just Pronyma and Rodyle were still there, the latter devastated at the turn of events. He heard a chuckle from Pronyma and turned to her, asking what was so funny.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking: for one who claims to be the brilliant mind in our group that was quite disappointing, don't you think?" Pronyma replied.

"Get out of my face, you wench," Rodyle said, teleporting away.

Normally, Pronyma would have killed on the spot anyone who as much as raised his voice to her, but considering Rodyle never used such low language, just proved how destroyed his pride had been, so the whole situation amused her more than anything. The leader of the Desian Grand Cardinals teleported away with chuckle.

Nebilim reappeared in the depths of the Ginnungagap, in Ratatosk's domain, where the portal was located. Normally, the gate would be closed, but ever since the end of the Kharlan War, Nebilim and the demons had kept it open. Without mana or Ratatosk around, it had been very easy to render the lock useless against the spread of chaos energy around the world. Now they had the main road between the two realms completely unblocked, rendering them limitless enforcements from Niflheim.

And yet, that didn't satisfy Nebilim. There was still a threat, a small one, but a threat nonetheless. If he were to carry out the wish that both the Grand Demon Lord and he shared, Ratatosk had to be destroyed.

The demonic commandant then opened his arms looking to the bottom of the endless spiral of energy that was the rift between the two worlds. It was time to communicate with the Grand Demon Lord that issued the invasion and ask for the next instructions. Nebilim hated having to ask to do anything of relevance, but it was necessary, otherwise, the former elf would never reach his ultimate goal…


	12. In a Desolated Site

Act II starting now people.

By the way, here's a question: have you all been in check with your studies?

No?

Then tremble, because here comes Professor Raine!

* * *

_Act II: Sleeping Guardians_

**Chapter 10**

**In a Desolated Site**

The wind blew, carrying the scorching sands of the Triet Desert. In the middle of that desolated land stood the Oasis of the Desert, the city of Triet. However, walking to that city had become a nearly impossible task since the desert started to expand and its heat rise. Emil and the others caught a glimpse of it right at the foot of the Ossa Pass.

There were banks of sand near the road that went up the mountain. That worried Ratatosk and the Centurions to no end, since it meant that even if they achieved to purge the chaos energy from Aselia, it would take centuries for the desert to go back to its original size.

The group took two days travelling the desert, making frequent stops to refill their canteens whenever Aqua detected there was water under the soil. Ventus summoned his biggest monster birds to provide shadow to the group and fresh air, so the heat wouldn't reduce their stamina even further.

"Ugh, man… I'm completely beat," Sheena started to complain at the afternoon of the second day. "I know deserts are supposed to be hot, but this is insane."

"I know what you mean. My clothes are clinging to my body…" Marta said, as tired as Sheena.

"My, my, you humans are so inconvenient sometimes," Tenebrae commented.

"What do you want? Not everybody here is a spirit that isn't capable of feeling the heat or the cold," Sheena protested.

"I am not a spirit, just so you know. We Centurions are…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just… shut up. It's already hard to put up with this heat and if I have to hear you lecturing, I rather get sun burnt."

"My thoughts exactly," Aqua spoke. "Honestly, you're as insensible as you're obnoxious, Tenebonehead. Can't you see we girls are a bit more sensitive than you guys?"

" 'Girls'? Since when are you a girl?" Tenebrae asked.

At that moment, Aqua's shoulders started to tremble in pure anger. For the first time since the two got together, Tenebrae looked fearful of his brethren. Ratatosk took control of Emil's body and commented:

"Great, he's done it again."

"Done what?" Lloyd asked. Ventus, who was perched on his reincarnated lord's shoulder and was using his wing as a parasol to shield his lord from the burning sunrays, was the one to answer.

"Tenebrae sometimes insists on reminding us we do not have genders. However, some of us like to think we do have, just like some Summon Spirits. Aqua is particularly sensitive about it."

"What do you mean we don't have gender, V-wing?" Lumen, who was close to the two boys, hearing to their talk, asked. "If I'm not a boy then… does that mean I'm a girl?" the Centurion of light took some time to think until he inquired his wiser brethren again, seeming a little disturbed by the idea.

"Not really. Actually…"

"Of course you're a boy. What? Do you think I didn't thought of that when I made you all?" Ratatosk interrupted.

"Oh. Whew. That's a relief. I was starting to think I would start to have the… period thing," Lumen seemed to shudder at the thought.

"As you can see, it's easier to some of us to cope with the idea. And considering Aqua's mood swings, I would say she does act like a girl most of the time," Ratatosk said to Lloyd.

"YOU INSENSITIVE PIECE OF CRAP!" came Aqua's angry voice. The others turned and saw her mauling Tenebrae with a rock she picked up, which was three times the size of her body.

"Don't you think you should help him?" Lloyd asked to Ratatosk.

"Are you kidding, Lloyd?" Sheena asked. "This is going to be one of the rare moments we don't have to hear Tene-idiot's jabs," the violet haired woman smiled at the thought of not having to hear the Centurion of darkness' comments for the rest of that travel. She then turned to Lloyd once she noticed something. "By the way, how come you're not bothered with the heat, Lloyd? Even Ratatosk is sweating."

Lloyd looked to the Summon Spirit and saw there were indeed droplets of sweat running down his forehead. Ratatosk looked to the side, mumbling something about "fragile human bodies." The red clad swordsman didn't feel it was too hot, so much he was even using his trademark red jacket.

Ever since he was a kid, Lloyd never had problems with high temperatures. Even in the peak of summer days he would feel like the climate was moderate. He remembered playing with candles when he was little, passing his hand near the flame, for the simple amusement of doing so. He even heard his mother talking to his father that it was surprising he never burnt himself. Kratos often liked to playfully attribute it to the fact that Lloyd had his genes, which resulted in a discussing between Lloyd's parents about qualities he took after each family.

Lloyd turned to his crush and shrugged. Sheena sighed and decided to drop the subject. It was so hot she didn't even have the will to further pursue it…

- / - / - / -

At the night of their second day of travel, the group could finally see the walls of Triet, however, they had to camp outside town to recover their strength. Lloyd didn't complain about the heat during the day, but he shivered like crazy during the night.

The rest of the group couldn't understand that, since they welcomed the freezing climate after their scorching walk during the day. Once Sheena had part of her energy and humor back thanks to the drop in the temperature, she even joked that maybe she should sleep close to Lloyd to keep the dual swordsman warm. That made the group remember the episode in Palmacosta Inn's, making most of them blush.

On the morning of the third day, they finally entered the city. Marta was very eager to finally get a good bed in the Inn and take a shower to get rid of all the sweat.

"Really, sweat and beauty doesn't mix. How can I keep Emil interested in me if I'm smelly?" the brunette spoke to herself and Sheena while the two walked at the back of the group.

"I know what you mean. Man, now I know how a waterfall feels," Sheena commented.

"Well, at least you have nice figure, so Lloyd might even prefer you like this," Marta pointed out with a tint of jealously in her voice.

Sheena then looked to her dark-blue jacket and the white shirt that were clinging to her body, giving away even more the curves of her body. She then turned to Marta and spoke:

"Uh, I think it's more likely Lloyd will back away in shyness if he notices me like this. He's one of those rare types."

"Well, Emil is too," Marta replied, her tone assuming a sweet connotation.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway…" Marta shot a grumpy look to Sheena at having the older woman interrupting her like that. "You shouldn't keep bugging yourself over something like your figure. Mother always said: beauty is a matter of how you want people to see you. There were some workers on Asuka's that were… uh… just like you…" Sheena said, pointing to Marta's flat chest. The younger girl narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Hey, don't look at me like that! Just so you know, each one of them took mother's advice and three days later, they had a line of suitors at their disposal."

"Really?" Marta asked, dropping her grumpy look and replacing it with a surprised one.

"Do I look like someone that joke about things like this? Believe me, what you don't have on body you can replace in the 'cute factor'."

"Wow. Thanks Sheena!"

As the girls went on their discussion, the group finally passed the gates of the city. They ceased their talk once they noticed something strange with the city: there was nobody around. No sellers in the shops, no kids running around the plaza, no dogs in the streets, nothing. The only sound in the city was the wind and the creak of the Inn's suspended sign being blown.

"What the…?" Lloyd let out. "This looks like…"

"A ghost city?" Tenebrae offered.

"Yeah. What happened to everybody?"

Ventus took flight to survey the area as Lumen, Tenebrae and Aqua ran along the streets to try and find someone. Lloyd and the others kept walking together in the case there was some demon or monster hiding inside one of the buildings.

The four then arrived at the oasis at the back of the city. What they saw made their jaws drop. The oasis had completely dried up. There was just a rugged crater where it once stood. Emil voiced everybody's doubt:

"Could this be the effect of the increase in the heat?"

"But even so, for it to dry up an oasis like this," Marta spoke.

"Well, there have been cases of lakes and rivers drying up even in tropical regions," Sheena pointed out.

"I don't like this. It's just… disturbing to think about it," Emil spoke, shaking his head.

"Let's go back to the city. Maybe Tenebrae and the others found something," the others nodded to Lloyd and rushed back to the city.

The group then entered the Inn, where the temperature was a bit fresher and waited for the Centurions to come back. The girls went to the kitchen to see if they could find something edible, but there was nothing. The Centurions then returned and Ventus reported:

"There's no sign of human life for kilometers."

"We didn't find anybody around too, boss," Lumen said.

"But, there was an obelisk standing at the plaza. Shouldn't Cruxis protect this city?" Marta spoke, reminding them they had seen the mark of the heavenly organization's blessing.

"I hardly think they would have control over something like the temperature, unless a demon is controlling it," Ventus said.

"What do you think of it, Ratatosk?" Sheena asked to the Summon Spirit, who took control of Emil's body once he was called.

"I don't know. The only ones that would have control over the climate in the desert are one of my Centurions and Efreet, but since none of them are around, it's probably the chaos energy further corroding the Equilibrium."

"Guys, I found something," Lloyd called them from behind the Inn's counter. The group approached as Lloyd put what seemed to be the register of the Inn's guests in the counter. "There are some annotations in the other pages that sounds like somebody was recording what happened."

Emil and the others gathered around Lloyd as the young man read aloud one of the entries in the Inn's checkbook, which dated from 1 year ago:

_23 of September,_

_Today one of the elderly fainted in the middle of the plaza. We took him in and called a doctor. Turns out he had a severe case of sunstroke._

_Lately, the desert has been hotter than usual. We heard from travelers that it seems the borders are expanding towards the Ossa Mountains and Iselia's plains. This was the first sign…_

_30 of September,_

_We haven't seen any travelers coming by lately. The supply caravans won't come either. We thought it was because of the rumor of monsters in the desert getting more aggressive lately. But they surely would know that our city, being protected by Cruxis, would be a safe haven for them._

_Two more people collapse in the plaza, this time two adults. They seemed to be severely dehydrated and had a sunstroke case very similar to the old man, who still hasn't recovered._

_7 of October,_

_The old man we were tending to passed away and three more people collapse near the oasis. This time children. The researchers that live in town also stated that the oasis is two meters below its normal level._

_We've decided to send a messenger to Iselia and communicate the Cruxis Church about it. Surely our protectors will do something about this._

_10 of October,_

_Five more people passed out on the city. Food is starting to miss and the oasis is three meters below its level._

_There has been no word of our messenger._

Sheena and the others looked to themselves while Lloyd read on. So Triet was faithful to Cruxis to the point of waiting for it to give them the word on how to deal with a situation that was clearly getting worse as time passed.

Lloyd continued reading, his tone now a little somber:

_15 of October,_

_One quarter of the city is bed driven with severe cases of sunstroke. We are rationing food and water is starting to miss._

_Still no word of our messenger._

_We decided to send another to see what happened to him and why our pleas haven't reached Cruxis yet._

_19 of October,_

_The Oasis is already half of its normal level. Some say it will dry soon. Half of the patients have already died and still more cases of sunstroke are appearing._

_Why isn't Cruxis doing anything to stop this?_

_21 of October,_

_Have we been at fault to the Faith's teachings? Have we not obeyed Cruxis' words dutifully? All these questions and more hangs in my mind now as our people are starving._

_We can't stay in the city anymore, but we can't abandon it or else we don't know if Cruxis will protect us along the road. There are rumors that demons are going around the desert lately._

_We don't know how long we can hold…_

Marta was covering her mouth with a horrified expression on her face. Emil seemed to be nervous in his place as Sheena had a stone look on her features at hearing all of that. Lloyd continued:

_23 of October,_

_Half of the city is already dead. We made graves for them at the back of the Oasis, which now looks a puddle compared to what it used to be._

_Some left the town. Surely either the desert or the demons killed them before they could even get out of the region._

_Our protectors left us…_

_I don't know for how long I will stay alive either…_

_Soon, water will be completely gone and the rest of us will either die from starvation or try and leave the city just to die in the desert…_

_We must have sinned against the Faith for Cruxis to…_

"Gah. I can't read it anymore!" Lloyd said, closing the checkbook and turning his face to the other side, seeming disgusted.

"So this was how Triet met its end," Ventus said in a cryptic tone.

"I can't believe they didn't leave even when they saw the oasis was drying," Emil spoke, looking down and feeling sorry for all of the city's populace.

The party stayed silent for one minute in respect of the decease civilians of Triet. Lloyd was the one to break the silence, his tone one of indignation:

"I just don't understand how come they were blaming themselves for what was happening. They didn't have any control over it, so… why?"

"People need to have faith in something, otherwise their spirits and will crumble in the face of so many hardships," Tenebrae spoke. "These people's faith in Cruxis was what sustained them and since Cruxis said no word about what was happening, it is only natural for them to think they have done something to upset their protectors."

"Yeah, but… that doesn't mean they have to ask Cruxis permission to save their own lives."

"Oh, and do you think they would hear to these words?" Tenebrae replied.

Lloyd stayed quiet at that and lowered his head. He knew many people placed their own lives on the line when it came to Cruxis, even sacrificing themselves if the angels so commanded and blame themselves or others in case something bad happened to their city or community.

That was one of the reasons Lloyd didn't like them. They talked about atonement, but many times asked for people to put their lives on the line and made the same people they protected think that the hardships they were facing was their fault. Surely, it was true in a way, but to put them even more down instead of convince them to make up for their mistakes… to treat their lives like they were expandable… it was just not right. It couldn't be.

_"Strange…"_ Emil heard Ratatosk speak in his mind. The blonde asked mentally what that was. _"These Cruxis guys… there's something off about them."_

_What do you mean?_ Emil inquired.

_"I can't say for sure, but of one think I'm certain: they knew this was going to happen to Triet."_

_What? Then why didn't they warn the people beforehand?_

_"C'mon, are you that stupid?"_ Ratatosk asked, making Emil show a confused look, but it soon was replaced by one of horror. The Summon Spirit couldn't mean that… _"That's right, moron. Cruxis wanted the city to die."_

"That can't be true!" Emil spoke aloud, making all of his companions turn to him. The boy however paid no attention to it.

_"Huh, that's exactly why it's impossible to reason with you, humans. What does it take for you to see what's right in your face?"_ Ratatosk then weakened the link, meaning that was his final word.

"Emil, what was that?" Marta asked, worried that Emil and Ratatosk could be arguing again.

"I-it's nothing," Emil rushed to say, turning to the brunette girl.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Marta dismissed the subject, but Sheena kept looking to Emil with a serious expression, which the boy caught. He knew she had seen through his lie. Tenebrae then called the group's focus back at what they would do from that point on.

"I think we should leave, since there's nothing in the city, and get going as soon as we can," Lloyd suggested. "We can't run out of supplies before we reach the border of the desert, so it would be better we spare some and don't waste time here," the others nodded to him.

"Um… could we take this with us?" Marta asked, referring to the checkbook that contained the annotations about the city's demise. "I think people should know of what happened here."

"That would be a wise decision," Ventus encouraged the girl. "The more informed people are, the more conscious they will become of what state the world is in."

"If that is so, then let's get going," Sheena said. "Man, I just wish I could have that bath."

"Oh, if that is the case, you can use one of my monsters as water source," Aqua offered.

"I… thanks but… I don't want to cause trouble," Sheena said, trying to disguise the fact she wasn't very inclined on taking a shower with water coming from a monster's mouth.

"Oh c'mon. Water from aquatic monsters is actually a very pure one, since they filter it naturally," Aqua insisted.

"I think I'll take that offer," Marta said. The girl then turned to the boys. "And you all, no peeking ok?"

"I-I wouldn't do that, Marta," Emil spoke up.

"Oh Emil, I know you won't. I trust you," the brunette fighter spoke in a sweet tone, which reverted to a slightly dry one, once she turned to the others. "I was talking to Lloyd and the others."

"Hey! What do you take me for, some kind of pervert?" Lloyd protested.

"Yeah. Our buddy double-L is a decent guy," Lumen said in defense for Lloyd. The group looked to the Centurion. "He didn't even stare at Sheena since she has her clothes clinging to her body."

"She what?" Lloyd asked, looking to Sheena more attentively.

It was then he noticed he could see much more details about Sheena's figure than before. Lloyd's face got the tone of his jacket as he stuttered a little, before looking to the side, clearly embarrassed.

Sheena, Marta, Tenebrae, Aqua and Ventus all looked to the young man with the same thought in mind:

_Is he really that oblivious?_

- / - / - / -

After some hours of traveling, the group finally reached the Triet Ruins. Sheena and Marta decided they would fix themselves after searching the ruins and take the core. Lloyd couldn't look anywhere near Sheena without his eyes wandering to her curves and, as a result, his face taking the color of a tomato.

As the group was approaching, they noticed there was a figure standing near the entrance to the ruins. The group stopped, surprised at seeing somebody in middle of such a desolated place. They approached without making sound, for the case the figure was actually a demon in disguise. They heard the figure speak in a woman's voice:

"It's not these either…" the woman then sighed. "Seems my search is still having a long ways to go…" she seemed to lower her head. "Oh well," she suddenly turned her head up and her tone changed to one of excitement. "Since I'm here, I might as well study these. OH MY! This is a Polycarbonate door! Absolutely fascinating!" the woman then knelled, seeming to touch something in the ground.

Emil and others immediately dropped their stances, big sweat drops falling behind their heads at seeing the stranger's mood around those ruins. It was like watching a child in a room with tons of her favorite candy. The group looked between themselves.

"What just…" Marta let out.

"This seems kinda familiar. Guess she's one of those kinds of researchers," Sheena commented.

"What do you mean?" Emil asked to the older woman.

"Well, there were these researcher guys who once have lunch in Asuka's. They practically went crazy when they asked what was the most ancient site in the city and I answered it was the stone dais. It was quite disturbing."

"Anyway, how shall we proceed? These ruins might house a Centurion's altar," Tenebrae pointed out after concealing his entire form.

It was then the strange woman stopped, sensing the presence of somebody around and turned to the group, who looked to her once they noticed they had been spotted.

The woman at their front had aqua-blue eyes and silver, short hair. She used a brown, adventurer hat to protect her eyes from the sun, a light, orange coat, white shirt and shoes and black shorts. The group noticed she was wielding a staff as she looked to them with an inquisitive and devious look.

"Oh my. And who all of you might be?" the woman asked them, even looking to where the Centurions were and making it clear she could see them.

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine," Lloyd replied.

"That sounded kinda arrogant," Marta pointed out.

"Really? I thought it sounded cool."

"I think it does, double-L," Lumen spoke.

"Can you stop calling me that? It sounds like I'm in some short of gang."

"Anyway…" Sheena spoke, loud enough to interrupt their talk. "who are you and what are you doing out here? I'm certain you didn't come from Triet, since we found out the entire city is abandoned."

The woman got down of the stone stand and looked from one member of the group to the other, like she was deciding if they were a threat or not. It was then Sheena noticed something about that woman's aura.

"You have elven blood in you," the woman said the statement that Sheena was about to voice.

"Hum… yeah I do. And you're a half-elf, right?" Sheena asked back.

"Yes. My name is Raine Sage. Professor Raine Sage."

"Professor? From where?" Ventus asked, revealing himself just like the other Centurions.

"From Sybak."

"But wasn't the city destroyed long ago?" Marta asked.

"Yes. It was destroyed thirty years ago by the actual leader of the Desian Grand Cardinals, Pronyma," Raine explained in a cool voice tone.

"Thirty years? Wow. Guess you really are a half-elf," Emil said.

"Well, since I introduced myself, could you make up to your word and introduce yourselves?" Raine said, looking to Lloyd.

The red clad young man got a little startled at being under the serious gaze of the female half-elf, even more that she clang to his line like that. He resumed his pose and introduced himself and the others, giving Emil's alias instead of his name just in case.

"And who the beings accompanying you might be?" Raine asked, her tone edging between her normal, cool one and an excited one. Tenebrae walked forward and introduced himself.

"I am Centurion Tenebrae. Pleased to meet… he-hey, what are you doing?" Tenebrae exclaimed when Raine, faster than anyone could see, touched Tenebrae's midsection and started to pass her hand over it.

"Amazing! Such smooth fur. This feeling... is it mana? Oh my!" Raine said with some kind of glint in her eyes as she resumed what the others could just suppose was some kind of examination method. "A spirit? No. Feels more like a monster. Oh, you must be a shape-shifter!" Raine concluded, getting up.

The entire group stayed silent at that for what seemed two minutes, not daring to utter a word in the face of what they had seen. Ventus was the one to speak, trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere that made itself present:

"You truly must be an experienced researcher to guess so much about Tenebrae with one touch."

"Thank you," Raine said with a smile. "Can I touch you all as well?" the woman added.

Marta had her hand over her mouth, tying not to get in a giggling fit over the faces the Centurions were making. Lloyd, however, was laughing outright at the face Tenebrae made while he was being examined. Sheena seemed almost disturbed, while Emil could only stare. All of the remaining Centurions backed away.

Ventus had a fearful expression on his avian face for the first time since the party had awakened him. Aqua was floating away, a look of fear in her face as she said:

"Get away of me!"

"Boss, she's scaring me," Lumen whined, going to hide behind Emil.

"Boss?" Raine inquired, dropping her excited demeanor and looking intensively to Emil.

_"That's it. First thing I will do when I get my powers back will be to erase Lumen from the face of Aselia," _Ratatosk spoke through his link with Emil's soul.

"I thought you looked strange. Your aura isn't like anything I've seen before,' Raine said, regarding Aster.

"Hey! Don't talk to Aster like that!" Marta spoke up, already getting protective. "You're also very suspicious. What are you doing out here?"

"Hey, calm down, Marta," Lloyd said. "I don't think Raine means any harm."

"You're just saying that because you were checking her out," Marta said in an almost acid tone.

"W-what?" Lloyd gasped.

"Don't think I didn't see it. I saw the way you looked to Raine. What kind of boyfriend for Sheena you are?"

"I-I-I wasn't checking her out! I-I was just…"

Raine had a mild surprised look in her face, but she put her hand in front of her chin and tried to disguise the fact she was somewhat pleased to find somebody who thought she was attractive. Emil and the Centurions could just look at the squabbling friends. Sheena had a sweatdrop running behind her head at the scene. She sighed and turned to Raine, speaking:

"So, how about a deal? We don't ask why you're here and you don't ask about our group either. How does that sound?"

"Fair enough to me," Raine said. She decided that, since Sheena seemed to be the oldest in the group, not counting the "fascinating" beings with them, she could trust on the violet haired woman's word.

As Marta and Lloyd continued their talk, Emil decided to talk with Raine:

"Um. Ma'am…" the shy boy started.

"Call me Raine, please," Raine said, giving a slight smile to Emil, who blushed.

"Uh… um… Raine, we kinda need to do something here, so… um… could you…?"

As Emil tried to speak, Marta stopped her argue with Lloyd, recognizing that voice tone. She then looked to her crush and her face started to twist in what seemed to be pure jealously. She could clearly see Emil was fidgeting as he tried to talk to Raine.

_Obviously, he's enchanted by her looks. What's wrong with these guys? Do they have to drool every time they see a pretty face?_ Marta thought.

"And what exactly are you going to do here? Is it going to damage the ruins?" Raine asked, her tone getting slightly alternated from her normal, cool one to one more devious.

"Hum… well…"

"Because I can't allow that to happen. These ruins are just too important."

The group forgot their previous talks and all looked to Raine. She seemed somewhat hallucinated with the idea that whatever they were going to do could damage the Triet Ruins. Sheena was the first to recover and spoke:

"Chill out, Raine. They are just ruins."

Upon hearing that, Raine's head suddenly seemed to jolt up and she turned to Sheena in a blink of an eye with a very angry expression in her face and voice tone. The researcher asked:

"What did you just say?"

"They're just stones. Surely, whatever you were doing here wasn't that important that you had to risk your life over some old site."

"Some. old. site?" Raine repeated that like it was an insult. "Do you have any idea of the historical importance of these ruins? The knowledge of the past that could be lost if they were to vanish?"

"What's in the past, is in the past. That's what I think," Sheena said, not seeming phased at all. Lloyd and the others could just look from one woman to the other as they continued that discussion.

"Oh, of course. For somebody like you, I'm sure it isn't very valuable, is it now?" Raine asked, using a sharp tone and mildly narrowing her eyes at that.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Sheena inquired, now getting exasperated.

The two grow ups continued with their argument. Ventus sighed and Lumen back off a little more, obviously scared of the Professor. Emil, Lloyd and Marta couldn't take their eyes off the squabbling women. Tenebrae then decided to speak up so just the three humans could hear him:

"I think we should take this chance while Lady Sheena is so kindly distracting Professor Raine for us and break the spirit seal in the ruins."

Aster and the others nodded to the Centurion of darkness and walked to the entrance of the ruins without being noticed by Raine, who was still arguing with Sheena about the historical importance of the ruins. The three went up the stairs and saw a blue, stone slab covering an underground entrance. Aster dusted some of the sand in the slab and revealed a symbol on it.

The blonde got up and let Ratatosk took over and undo the seal. At that moment, Raine sensed a slight disturbance at the currents of energy around and turned. She found its source as being Aster and felt his aura was slightly agitated, like he was charging a spell.

_But how can he do that if he's a human?_ Raine thought. There was definitely something off about that group of travelers.

The symbol on the stone slab shone and it slid to reveal the entrance to the ruins. Ratatosk grinned at seeing how easy it had been. He was about to turn to the others and order them to proceed when he came face to face with Raine, who was standing right behind him. The reincarnated Lord of the Monster jumped behind, slightly scared. If she acted that way around his Centurions, he didn't even want to know what she would do when she discovered what he was.

"Hell! Don't scare me like that woman!" Ratatosk didn't achieve to hold back the retort. Raine looked more intensively to him. Ratatosk immediately realized he should have given the control back to Emil.

"Very interesting. Not just your pose, voice tone and eye color changed, but also your entire personality," Raine commented more to herself than to the others.

"H-hey! What did I say about talking to my Aster like that?" Marta said, trying to sound angrier than worried, so she could distract Raine. However, it didn't work and the expression of the half-elven woman remained analytical.

"Oh, don't worry. I promised I wouldn't question about your group further as long as you did the same about me," Raine simply spoke. "But, since you opened the entrance to the inner ruins, shall we proceed?"

Without waiting for an answer, Raine walked down the entrance to the ruins, leaving the group behind. Silence befell them for some seconds, until Lumen decided to turn to Tenebrae and say:

"Hey, Professor Water copied you, Tene-man," the group turned to Lumen at that, repeating the nickname he just gave Raine. "Yeah. You know, her name kinda reminds me of rain and rain has water. Get it?"

As Lloyd and the others tried to absorb the infamous joke from Lumen, Tenebrae commented to the cheetah-like Centurion:

"Did you ever think about leaving your Centurion career and try one as a comedian, Lumen?"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of that. You guys would all be very sad if I left," Lumen said.

"No, go on. We will survive, don't worry," Aqua said.

It was then the group heard a scream that sounded a lot like Raine, coming from inside the ruins. They quickly dismissed the previous subject and ran to inside the ruins, drawing their weapons in the process and getting ready to fight. Lloyd was the first to arrive and looked around as he asked:

"Raine, are you alright?"

"MARVELOUS!"

The group stopped at their places at hearing that and looked to where the scream had come from. They saw Raine there, her eyes widened like they were about to jump out of their orbs and a big grin plastered over her face. She looked pretty much like a child on a sugar rush while looking to a line of columns that decorated the entrance hallway.

"Look at these carvings! This style is definitely elven, but there are some different details in it. What could it be?" Raine mused.

Lloyd and the others were about to say something about she making false alarms and startling them, but Emil beat the group to it. What he spoke, however, wasn't anything they expected the blond swordsman to talk:

"Really? Let me take a look," Emil then walked to where Raine was and looked to the column. "Oh, I recognize it. It's dwarven art."

"Really? How can you be so sure?" Raine asked him.

"Just look at the outlines and the design at the base. It's slightly more crude than the rest to be elven, since the elves always believed everything should be represented smoothly while the dwarves prefer things closer to their natural state," Emil spoke in his didactic tone.

Lloyd and Sheena had their mouths hanging open at seeing Emil and Raine interacting like research colleagues. Raine then asked Emil for his opinion in some interpretation she had about a part of the ruins or another. It seemed like the two were now off to their own, little world. Marta sighed at the scene, speaking:

"And there he goes again with his Aster Mode."

"'Aster Mode'?" Sheena asked the brunette girl.

"Oh, it's just how Lady Marta likes to call Lord Emil when he acts like that," Tenebrae answered. "She seems to attribute it mainly to the fact that Emil had gained some popularity between some researchers while using his alias. She also likes to say that when Lord Ratatosk's soul manifests on Lord Emil he is in his Ratatosk Mode."

"Ratatosk Mode? Aster Mode?" Lloyd asked, seeming confused. The dual swordsman then looked up, like he had thought on something important. "Hey, if that's the case, then Raine is now in her 'Ruin Mode'."

Sheena and Marta looked to Lloyd. The older woman then spoke:

"I really don't think that's…"

"Hey, I got it! Ruin Mode!" Lumen suddenly said, turning to Lloyd. "You're a genius double-L."

"Uh… thanks…" Lloyd said, eying Lumen when the Centurion used the nickname he recently gave to the young man.

"Ok… anyway," Sheena said, eying Lumen and turning to the others. "What are we going to do about Raine? It might be dangerous if she insists on coming along."

"YOU'RE A GENIUS ASTER!" Raine's scream attracted the attention of the group, yet again. When they looked where the half-elven woman was, they saw she was hugging Emil like he was some kind of plushy. "Just imagine all the things we could discover together! Oh, the knowledge that would be in our reach with our combined minds!"

Aqua looked from the excited archeologist to Marta, who now had her right eye twitching. The brunette girl seemed to be using all of her willpower not to go there and snatch Emil away from Raine. The Centurion of water could see what kind of danger could be associated with Raine coming with them to the innermost parts of the ruins. Lloyd commented:

"Is it just me or does she seem really excited about the idea of studying more ruins?"

"Sexually excited, I would say," Sheena inputted.

"Well, then how do you suggest we convince Professor Raine to stay behind, Lady Sheena, since it seems she and Lord Emil are already finding they have much in common," Ventus pointed.

Marta seemed to be ready to fume at that remark from the Centurion of wind. In her mind, she was losing Emil faster than Ratatosk lost all manners when pissed off. Sheena could feel the dangerous vibe emanating from the Emil's childhood friend and decided they had to act fast before Marta decided to murder Raine.

"I think one of us could try and talk with her. But Emil seems to already be busy…" Sheena spoke. Aster was now analyzing the markings at the ceiling, with a still excited Raine nodding to what he said. "So we will need somebody else."

The group thought at that and soon they looked to Lloyd, who was still in a thoughtful pose. Upon feeling the eyes of his companions were on him, Lloyd looked back to them, asking why they were looking at him. It took a whole minute for the dual swordsman to catch the meaning of their stares. His expression immediately went to one of worry as he shook his head and backed away one step, saying:

"Oh no. No, no, no."

"C'mon Lloyd. Make use of your good looks for once," Sheena said.

"W-what? Sheena! You can't possibly be agreeing with… what about…?"

"Ah, I know there's no danger for me. Besides, I can tell Raine isn't exactly interested."

"How can you tell that?" Marta asked.

"Trust me. I've seen enough on Asuka's to know these things."

"Then why do you think if I speak to her that she will listen?" Lloyd asked.

"Because no woman in her right mind can resist listening to the voice of a good-looking guy that knows how to talk with her."

Though Lloyd felt flattered by the compliment (which made his face blush a scarlet tone), he still had his doubts about it. Talking to Sheena about his feelings for her was already hard. Now, trying to sound suave to a completely strange woman was an entirely different thing.

"C'mon Lloyd. What's the problem? Scared you might not be up to it?" Aqua teased.

The reaction was almost instantaneous as Lloyd looked to her, asking what she meant with that. Tenebrae and Ventus caught on Aqua's strategy and decided to play along:

"Well, it seems we clearly choose an incapable person. Better we reconsider, my ladies," Tenebrae said, turning to Marta and Sheena.

"H-HEY! I can do it, just so you know!" Lloyd answered, letting his manly pride get the best of him.

"Really? You seemed quite afraid. Surely, if even Lord Emil, with his shy demeanor is capable of…" Ventus teased, giving it the final stroke.

"I'm going! You wait here!" Lloyd said, stomping away of the group. As soon as the red clad swordsman was out of hearing range, the Centurions and the girls started to giggle.

Lloyd then thought on how he would talk to Raine. He decided just to be natural and show that he was worried she could get hurt. When the young man was close to the silver haired woman, he called her attention. Raine then seemed to revert from her Ruin Mode, back to her normal demeanor at seeing Lloyd wanted to talk with her.

"Excuse me, Miss Raine," Lloyd started, thinking that showing some manners could help around Raine. Good think his father always insisted for him to pay attention to those things.

"Professor Raine would be better, dear. Or simply Raine," Raine said, though she appeared to be pleased at being called with such cordiality.

"Me and the others… we think that it would be better if you stayed here or outside the ruins. Um… not that we want you to leave, just…" Lloyd stumbled a little on his words, trying to find a way to sound the polite. "I'm worried that there might be some monster here. You could get hurt if we got into a battle."

Raine put her hand over her chin again, in a thoughtful pose. The girls behind Lloyd seemed impressed that he was getting to convince Raine. Sheena seemed to be proud of the dual swordsman. However, Raine then spoke again, her voice a little sweeter than the usual:

"If that's the case, I think I can trust you to keep me safe, since you're so worried with my well-being."

"W-what?" Lloyd let out.

"You're not going to let any harm come in my way, are you Lloyd?" Raine spoke still in her sweet tone and put a hand on Lloyd's cheek.

The skin where Raine touched started to get terribly hot and Lloyd's face gained a scarlet tone at having his plan spectacularly backfiring at him and the sweet voice the older woman was using on him. Lloyd came to discover, while travelling with Emil and Marta in Asgard, that he had a thing for older women.

In Lloyd's opinion, older women were the kind that could always be relied on and they held an air of maturity and understanding of the things. He particularly liked the ones that didn't force people to be something they weren't and the ones that worked hard to get what they wanted instead of waiting for others to do things for them. Raine clearly fit that category and that made Lloyd see her as attractive and since he never had much experience with the opposite sex, he was unable to resist her charm.

"U-uh… I-I-I-I…" Lloyd stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"I'll take that as a yes. Thanks Lloyd," Raine said, giving him another smile and going deeper into the ruins.

Lloyd stayed frozen on his spot, mouth closed an eyes widened comically. Sheena and the others just observed how Raine easily took control of the situation and turned Lloyd's charm against him. The guardian user then spoke:

"Man, she's good. That's not going to be easy."

Lumen and the other Centurions suddenly perked their heads up. Marta noticed that and asked what it was. Ventus was the one to answer:

"I sense monsters nearby."

The group then heard a gurgled sound coming from the end of the corridor they were in. They looked past Raine, who had her staff in hand and saw some kind of one-eyed, red, humanoid monster. One of his arms was shaped in the form of a shield and the other held a sword that seemed to be made of flames. The monster didn't have a neck; therefore his only, yellow eye seemed to be attached to his main body.

"That's a Fire Warrior," Lumen said.

The fire warrior seemed to gurgle again and raised his shield arm. A ball of flames formed at the point of his clawed fingers and illuminated the adjacent corridors with a red light. Soon more monsters' howls could be heard.

"He gave the signal!" Tenebrae spoke. "Everybody, prepare for battle!"

Emil was immediately possessed by Ratatosk, who drew his blade. Marta, Sheena and Lloyd took out their weapons, as Raine backed away until she was behind Emil. The blonde then ordered Aqua to summon some monsters and the Centurion of water nodded, summoning a Tortoise and two siren-like monsters.

From behind the Fire Warrior and the sides came two more Fire Warriors, three birds which seemed to be made of pure flames and five spheres which seemed to be made of animated, red rock. The group then charged at battle as the Fire Warrior gave signal for the guardians of the ruins to advance.

Lloyd and Ratatosk met the front of the Fire Guardians and clashed their swords against the shields of the monsters. Marta and Sheena concentrated on taking out the flyers, which flew above Lloyd and Emil, letting flames fall on the two swordsmen, who had some minor burns on their arms and head. The tortoise served as a tanker against the remaining Fire Warrior while the sirens were clashing against the magical Fire Elements using water spells.

Upon seeing Lloyd receiving a nasty, burning cut from the sword of a Fire Warrior, which tried to proceed and shoot several fire projectiles on the swordsman, Raine quickly charged a spell and casted a barrier around Lloyd, which deflected all of the magical projectiles. The silver haired woman proceed to a cast a First Aid spell, which instantly closed the cut Lloyd had received and healed his earlier burns.

Lloyd looked to his healed wounds and to Raine, who was already charging a Sharpness spell to aid Ratatosk. The red clad swordsman thought:

_So, she's a healer._

"Raining Delude!" Ratatosk proclaimed, jumping and avoiding the swipe of a Fire Warrior's sword. The Lord of the Monsters then charged a stream of water on his blade and threw it at the feet of the monster, making a column of water rise, which covered the entire monster, releasing steam and putting out its sword. "Die! Phoenix Rush!" the Summon Spirit approached the Fire Warrior, jumped and spun his blade, drawing two moons in the air and releasing blades of wind in the process, slashing and killing the monster.

"Watch out!" he heard Marta said.

Ratatosk turned in time to see a Flame Lance and several fire balls coming to his direction. He was hit by the magic attacks before he could put up his defenses, having part of his clothes charred and his skin burnt.

Aqua then sent the Tortoise after the Fire Elements that attacked her lord. The turtle monster trampled them and the sirens finished the Elements off with Spread spells. Marta and Sheena eliminated two Fire Birds and Lloyd was taking care of the third. One Fire Warrior tried to go after Raine, but the half-elf dodged its attacks and charged a magic spell.

"Photon!" a sphere made of pure light appeared on the monster, releasing several explosions of light until the sphere itself exploded. The light burned the monster's aura and energy, killing it instantly. Lloyd and Sheena saw that and had their mouths hanging open. So Raine wasn't just healer, but also a light mage and a powerful one at that.

Ratatosk eliminated the last Fire Warrior and turned at the group, seeing they had already took out all of the monsters. The Summon Spirit then shrugged with his sword laying on his shoulder, saying:

"Huh, that was pretty pathetic. Efreet needs to put a better security."

Marta and the others were about to reunited with Ratatosk when suddenly a Fire Warrior landed behind the Lord of the Monsters. Marta only had time to warn Ratatosk before he turned and got bashed by the shield of the monster. The sword of the reincarnated spirit flew out of his hand, clattering on the floor as he fell on his back. The Fire Warrior then prepared to finish his opponent off.

It was then Raine's voice echoed in the hallway, chanting a new spell:

"Oh Eriantrus, sred en dhis…" that was all Lloyd and the others could decipher as Raine continued to chant in a strange language. Ratatosk even looked away of the monster as his other Centurions appeared, all thinking the same as their lord:

_This is… a demonic chant._

"Neran Liard!" Raine proclaimed.

A spectral, runic circle appeared over the head of the monster, which seemed to have gotten temporary paralyzed when it felt the energies Raine was reuniting. Even Sheena felt a shiver on her spine when she heard Raine chanting. From the runic circle came several, green-poison arrows of the size of swords, which rained upon the Fire Warrior, piercing his skin like it was paper. Then a great, green-poison sword fell from the rune, releasing waves of energy once it hit the ground and the Fire Warrior, cleaving it in two and incinerating the parts with the waves of energy.

Lloyd and the others now showed afraid expressions. They never saw a spell like that. Spells normally didn't have such a physical effect on their targets. They generally either attacked his energy and mana, or crippled them. For a spell to kill like that, it was necessary a great amount of spiritual energy and for the caster to possess a certain level of power.

The Centurions then rushed to stand between Lloyd, Sheena and Marta and Raine, as Ratatosk quickly got up and snatched his blade, going to the side of the three and pointing it to Raine, speaking in a demanding tone:

"Woman, who are you? How did you know a spell like that?"

"R-Ratatosk, what…?" Marta asked, forgetting to keep the identity of the Summon Spirit in secret in her shock.

"That was chaos magic. Are you a chaos user? Answer me!"

Lloyd and his friends could just look from Ratatosk to Raine, who now had what seemed to be a sad look on her face as her eyes didn't show any emotion. The half-elven woman spoke in an emotionless tone:

"Yes. I know how to manipulate chaos and use it… just like the demons do."

Lloyd and the others gasped at hearing that. But Raine… she couldn't be a Desian or a demon. If so, she wouldn't have saved Emil. However, Ratatosk didn't seem to be paying any heed to that as he said, his voice dripping with anger:

"So you're the same as those who gave themselves to the demons."

"No, I'm not. Contrary to what it may seem, I do not sympathize with the…" Raine tried to say, just to be interrupted.

"Shut up! People like you make me sick! You just use anything in your reach to get what you want, don't you? Even if it means to cause havoc to this world through the use of chaos, which is an element that should be kept untouched," Ratatosk then swung his sword, preparing to strike Raine. "You're going to regret to ever have come across this knowledge!"

Ratatosk then ran to Raine, who could just look at the crimson-eyed boy intending on taking her life. Marta screamed for Ratatosk to stop. The sound of metal colliding with something that wasn't flesh came. Lloyd and Marta were surprised at seeing Sheena near Raine; seal in hand and blocking Ratatosk's blade.

"What?" the Summon Spirit exclaimed, surprised.

"You certainly have some anger issues to attack before even getting to hear the other side," Sheena said with a serious look on her features.

"Get out of the way!" Ratatosk roared to Sheena, jumping back.

"No."

Marta begged for Ratatosk to stop, tears starting to come to her eyes. However, the violent spirit seemed deaf to everything but his anger. The Centurions only looked at the scene with stone expressions. Ratatosk then grabbed his blade with an inverse grip, energy starting to slowly gather on it.

"If you're not going to move, then you may as well…" before the crimson-eyed entity could complete the sentence, a blade was put on his throat, making him stop to charge his attack. "What the…?"

Marta and the Centurions gasped as they saw Lloyd with a hard expression and serious look on his eyes, his blade at Ratatosk's neck. The young man then spoke, his tone a steel one:

"You might be my friend, but I'm not letting you hurt Sheena or anybody innocent for that matter."

"You fool. Don't you realize that woman is…?"

"That's enough!" Raine's voice echoed in the ruined corridor.

All talks stopped as the silver haired woman walked passing Sheena, who could just look at older woman. Raine then stopped near Ratatosk and Lloyd, who seemed surprised at seeing her approaching the spirit when he gave clear signs he intended to kill her.

Raine then asked for Lloyd to hand his sword to her. The red clad swordsman was quite worried about that, but did it notwithstanding. To everybody's surprise, Raine opened her other hand and slid the blade's edge on her palm, her face twisting slightly in pain. Blood started to drip from the wound as Raine held her bleeding hand up, on Ratatosk's eye level.

"Before you decide, see my blood and judge if I am one of those who gave themselves to their desire for power or not," Raine said, her voice unwavering, even though she just wounded herself. "I'm sure it's pretty easy for a being like you to read the blood of one."

"What? Wait… does that mean?" Marta asked. Lloyd and Sheena gave a step back. Could Raine have guessed what Ratatosk exactly was?

"I've noticed there was something very different in Aster's aura and when he showed this 'other self', I just had to make an assumption. Of course, I wouldn't question you about it, since it makes part of our agreement," Raine said, looking to Marta. The half-elf then turned to Ratatosk again. "So, have you analyzed my blood?"

Ratatosk stayed silent, his blade lowered ever since Lloyd had handed his weapon to Raine. The violent spirit then sheathed his sword without muttering a single word, and gave the control back to Emil.

"I'll take that as an approbation gesture," Raine said, casting First Aid on her hand, healing the wound entirely.

"I'm… sorry for treating you like that, Miss Raine," Emil said as the others approached.

"Don't be. It's only natural that you all got worried upon the fact I'm a chaos user. In fact, I didn't even expect for you to defend me at all," Raine meant Lloyd and Sheena.

"You helped us back there and I can see you're not a bad person," Lloyd said.

"Same here. Though you're quite suspicious, I can tell you're not up to some kind of evil," Sheena reinforced.

Raine thanked them. The Centurions then approached her and also apologized for making assumptions about her character judged on her knowledge of how to use chaos. Raine forgave them and showed she had no hard feelings by asking if she could "study" them a little more. Ratatosk servants backed away at that.

"Just a minute," Marta said. "What was that you did with your hand? Why did you cut yourself?"

"Oh. That is called a 'blood test'," Raine answered.

"'Blood test'? " Lloyd asked.

"The blood of one person is a natural magical conductor, capable of absorbing the kind of power he uses the most and, together with it, the feelings he had while using that power, such has fear, hatred, greed or simply the urge to protect someone. Special beings are able to 'read' the power attached to someone's blood and, through it, see if the person has ill intentions or not. I thought that since you're friend houses some kind of being that clearly isn't anything near the mortal sphere, it could be somewhat versed on this ability," Raine lectured.

"You are incredibly well-informed about these things," Ventus commented. "I wonder where you learned about such things."

"That is a personal matter."

"Then how about explain to us how you know how to use chaos magic?" Tenebrae suggested in an inquiring tone.

"Oh, that. I simply made some experimentations myself once I found the theory behind it."

The Centurions and even Sheena got a devious look at that. The voluptuous woman then asked:

"Get serious. I was taught about magic and I know things aren't that easy even if you have the theory."

"Oh, but I am serious. If you doubt me, maybe another demonstration might…"

"I think that's enough for today," Marta said, putting her hand on her forehead. "Let's just… go on and grab that core before more trouble comes our way."

"Core?" Raine inquired.

"Um… I…" Marta let out, seeing she had spoken too much.

Sheena covered her face with her palm while the Tenebrae did the same with his tail and Ventus shook his head, sighing. Aqua turned to Emil and asked her reincarnated lord:

"No offense, Lord Emil, but are any of you able to keep our quest in secret?"

_"I kinda ask myself the same thing sometimes,"_ Ratatosk said, but Emil didn't transmit the thought.

"How about we tell her about it then?" Lloyd suggested. "I mean, since we already left it loose anyways."

Ventus decided that would be a good idea and flew to Raine's front, staying floating in the air and explaining her about their journey. Though there were times the group could swear they saw that glint Raine had in her eyes when she was in her "Ruin Mode", the female half-elf seemed to have used all of her willpower not to interrupted Ratatosk's servant as he explained their purpose in those ruins.

When Ventus ended, Raine had her hand over her chin, pondering about everything she heard so far. Lloyd and the others couldn't tell if she was thinking if all of that could be true or not. The silver haired woman finally spoke, getting out of her reflective pose:

"Very intriguing, I must say. The Summon Spirit of the Kharlan Tree…"

"That would be me," Ratatosk said, taking control of Emil's body.

"Might I ask what exactly you will do once you recover your powers?" Raine inquired.

"What do you think? I'll kick Nebilim and those demons back to Neflheim and retake my domain in the Ginnungagap," Ratatosk spoke in a tone of somebody who explained the most obvious thing in the world.

"And what do you plan to do about the humans and us? After all, aren't we the races who… how might I phrase it? Killed your tree?"

Ratatosk seemed to have shuddered at his place. The Centurions looked worried at that. Raine had touched Ratatosk's most painful scar. Sheena and the others stayed silent at that, just looking to the Lord of the Monsters. They always thought Ratatosk would drive the demons away of Aselia, after all, that would be his duty as a Summon Spirit, but they hadn't stop to think about what he would do next.

The crimson-eyed spirit had a small drop running in forehead as he tried to come up with something. Raine stayed quiet, though she noticed how the spirit seemed nervous. Ratatosk then let out an "hmph" sound and spoke:

"I'll figure that out along the way. For now we have to concentrate on what's the most important thing to do at the moment, which is to gather my Centurions for me to recover my powers. If that doesn't sound good enough for you, then you can stay behind studying your precious ruins."

"Oh no, I think I'll go along with you all. There's a chance I'll meet a certain ruin that I'm looking for if you all are going to travel through the world, collecting these cores of yours," Raine said, her tone always cool and decisive.

"Are you serious?" Sheena asked.

"Didn't I already prove I know how to take care of myself in a battle? Besides, your current healer is too young to know how to cure the most severe wounds, or about healing herbs and the different kinds of venom that exists, both from this world and demonic," the half-elven woman said, regarding Marta.

"I-I'm still on training! I will eventually learn it," Marta spoke. Her tone showed she clearly didn't want Raine to tag along.

"But she's right Marta," Emil said, taking the control of his body back. "Raine seems to be very skilled. Maybe you could learn something from her and…"

"Are you siding with her?" Marta asked, walking up to Emil in a blink of eyes and staying on the tip of her shoes. Her angry look made the blonde gulp.

"N-no. I'm just saying that this is the most logical thing to…"

"So, if you want her to come so much, then you can as well stay with her if that's what you really want!" Marta yelled at him.

The brunette fighter then stomped away. Emil tried to call her and went after the girl. Raine seemed amused and Sheena and Lloyd looked to the sides, deciding it would be wiser to stay out of that.

"Is that a common occurrence in this group?" Raine asked to Tenebrae, who was at her side.

"More than you can imagine," the dog-like Centurion commented.

"This is indeed going to be an interesting journey," Raine mused.

Lloyd, Sheena, Aqua, Lumen and Raine followed Marta and Emil deeper into the ruins…

- / - / - / -

Lloyd didn't know why, but ever since he entered the ruins something had been nagging him in the back of his mind, like there was something about those ruins to which he felt connected somehow. Still, the red clad swordsman didn't want to worry his friends and their new travel companion.

Sheena looked to her crush and noticed he had a thoughtful expression on his face. She tried to talk to him and asked what was worrying the dual swordsman, but Lloyd just kept saying:

"It's nothing to worry about."

The group eventually passed a great hall, which had lava on its bottom and found some kind of teleporter (they almost had to drag Raine away from the device, which she insisted on staying for some minutes to find out how it worked). They arrived in what seemed to be a new section of the ruins.

The room in which they were now seemed relatively new and better sculpted compared to the rest of the Triet Ruins. At the back of the room there was a narrow passage and a large altar. Ratatosk then spoke:

"This is Efreet's altar. Behind it is Ignis' altar, according to my memories."

"Efreet, the Summon Spirit of fire?" Raine asked.

"Do you know any other?" Ratatosk shot back in his usual harsh tone.

Lloyd walked ahead to the group and his eyes fixated on the altar. There was something… familiar about it, like he had been here before. He just couldn't remember…

"Lloyd, what are you doing?" Sheena's voice took the young man out of his thoughts and made him turn to her. "What's up anyway? And don't come telling me it's nothing, because it clearly isn't."

The entire group looked to the dual swordsman now, even Raine stopped gazing around the room at sensing there was something off with the red clad swordsman. Seeing there was no use in hiding it now, Lloyd sighed and spoke:

"It's just… I've been feeling strange ever since I entered these ruins. It's like I know the place, because I've already been here, but…"

"You have no memory of ever being in a place like this," Marta completed Lloyd's phrase. The young man nodded. The group now looked to the brunette fighter. "I felt the same thing when we were below the stone dais in Asgard."

"Well, Ignis' name also came to my head when we entered here."

Raine and Ventus got in a thoughtful pose at that while Sheena could just look from Marta to Lloyd. Could there be some reason why those two were heaving those sensations near the altars of the Centurions? Ventus then spoke, his wing reverting from its "hand mode" back to its normal state and regarding Lloyd and Marta:

"That is certainly the most curious… I've never heard of such cases, even when it came to half-elves."

"Still, that's not something we can pursue further, since neither Lloyd nor Marta seems to know the reason for these feelings themselves," Raine proposed.

"Then, shall we proceed?" Tenebrae inquired.

"I think that would be the most appropriated thing to do for now."

The group then settled at continuing their way through the ruins. After passing the spirit altar and the narrow passage behind it, they arrived in another room, as big as the one that had the teleporter to the spirit altar and with molten rock bubbling at its bottom as well.

After fighting their way through some stray monsters, which Ratatosk soon bound to him again, the group walked through a large bridge and arrived at another altar. On its top, was another spectral, flower-shaped vase with a drop-shaped core floating above it.

Before anybody else could move, Raine ran to the front of the altar with such speed the group could swore she had turned into an orange blur. As the half-elven researcher moaned in admiration, Lloyd and Marta noticed she was in her "Ruin Mode" once more.

"So this is Ignis' core. Such a wonderful relic!"

As Raine went on praising the core, the group sweat dropped and the Centurions looked between themselves. Sheena turned to them and spoke so just Lloyd and the other humans could hear:

"I wonder if she's really going to do that at every core she sees."

"Considering how… enthusiastic she is at the moment, it is possible," Tenebrae pointed out.

"It's kind of weird, don't you think?" Marta asked the others.

"Creepy, I would say," Aqua pointed.

"Well, it is strange, but…" Emil started.

"I'm not strange, weird, or creepy! I'm a researcher!" Raine screamed from her place in the altar. Emil and the others who spoke flinched. That woman sure had a good ear. "Now, can we take it?" Raine asked, her enthusiasm soon coming back at full force.

"Actually no. The Centurion's cores that are in a dormant state don't have control over their powers, letting it flow and attract nearby monsters. Humans can even go insane if they hold a core for too long, since they don't have any magical defense against it," Emil said, getting into his own "Aster Mode" and approaching the altar. "We came here to hatch the core."

"So, you mean it's going to take a corporeal form like the other Centurions?"

"Possibly."

Emil then passed Raine, who just observed he walking up the stairs to the altar and approach the floating core. The silver haired woman observed everything, not even blinking. The rest of the group approached to watch the hatching ritual.

With a pulse of his aura, Emil gave the control to Ratatosk and the Summon Spirit chanted the spell raising his hands to the core. The core started to release rays of red light as the grooves opened and revealed the ruby-red sphere inside it. The magma below started to get agitated and fire columns rose from the molten rock and the fires around the altar, all converging to the core, which absorbed the flames.

With a red flash, the core then transformed and in its place now stood what looked like a woman with pointed ears and tan skin. She was Emil's height, her hair was made of dancing flames and instead of hands and feet she had red, dragon claws. Parts of her shoulder and belly seemed to change between red scales and skin and (Lloyd had to look to the side when he saw it) she used just a short, black dress which barely reached her knees and with big slits to the sides and a simple black bra to cover her fair-sized breasts.

Raine had her eyes wide in wonderment and her hands extended to the impressive entity, like she wanted to take Ignis in her arms. Marta and Sheena wondered how come Ratatosk had made a Centurion so close to a human appearance since all the others resembled animals and monsters. Didn't the violent Spirit despise humans?

Ignis then stretched her arms up and yawned, showing two fang-like canines. She then opened her eyes and the group saw they were golden with vertical pupils. The Centurion of fire then looked to Emil, who still had Ratatosk controlling his body and greeted him with smile, saying:

"Hello my lord. You won't believe the dream I had. There were those demons, a guy who commanded them. He even took you down. Strange, isn't it?"

The group, save Ratatosk and the Centurions, looked between themselves with raised eyebrows. Ratatosk sighed, while Ventus flew forward, perching himself in the shoulder of their reincarnated lord and speaking to the newly awakened Centurion:

"Um, Ignis… that wasn't a dream."

"Really?" Ignis asked with a surprised expression on her face, which soon turned horrified as she put her dragon-hands on her mouth, exclaiming. "But… then that means…"

"Yup. Boss got his back handed to himself," Lumen said, also coming forward and lowering his head at the sad memory. Ratatosk didn't even bother to tell the Centurion to shut up. "But now that Hotflame-nis is back, boss, can recover his powers and pay back that mustard," Lumen said, his goofy smile returning in a blink of eyes.

"Ok… first: 'Hotflame-nis'? What the hell kind of nickname is that?" Sheena asked. "And second: didn't you mean 'bastard' instead of 'mustard'?"

"Why would I say that?" Lumen asked innocently.

"Actually, Lumen can't swear to save himself. Lord Ratatosk made sure of that," Tenebrae explained.

"You're kidding, right?" Marta asked with a giggle in her voice. "Ratatosk? Worried about people swearing?"

"Hey, what do you think I am? Some kind of dirty-mouthed, human sailor?" Ratatosk protested, coming to them at hearing that, Ignis floating behind him, her fiery hair fluttering in the air.

"Oh, sorry," Marta said, though she couldn't help, but giggle. "But that's actually kinda cute, cause Emil too can't swear even if he wanted to. I think that's a very nice trait to a boy."

Ratatosk seemed to widen his eyes a little at that, but soon looked to the side so it would seem he paid any mind to it. Aqua then took on to answer Sheena's first question:

"About Lumen's nickname for her; he already called her Flame-nis, obviously because she's the one of us who controls fire. As for the 'hot' part, I'm not certain where he picked that."

"Actually, he picked it when he heard Lord Ratatosk saying that," Tenebrae pointed out.

The entire group turned to the ancient Summon Spirit of the Kharlan Tree who started to sweat at having that piece of information revealed. So much he shouted at Tenebrae to keep his mouth shut. Marta had her eyes widen when she realized what Tenebrae just said meant.

_WHAT? Now I have to compete against one of Ratatosk's Centurion too? Man, things are getting way out of control._ the petite girl thought, distraught. She then looked from Ignis to Raine, feeling her hopes shrink. How was she going to compete against two gorgeous women? Marta then shook her head, remembering what Sheena once said to her. _I can't give up! I refuse to give up Emil!_

As the brunette strengthened her resolve, the group continued to look at Ratatosk, who now just mumbled something about "idiots" and tried to hide his blush, thought it wasn't possible at the moment. Lumen then pressed the subject on, not noticing how it was being embarrassing for his Lord:

"You know, that reminds me of that story about when boss was creating Ignis and making her appearance to give her as a present to…"

"Aqua!" Ratatosk called.

The Centurion of water nodded and pointed to Lumen, calling up a Leech, which jumped into Lumen's mouth, effectively blocking it with its body and leaving to Centurion with wide eyes as he could only mumble. Ratatosk sighed in relief. He didn't need them knowing about that. Raine was taking notes on all of that on what seemed to be some short of book, looking from the gagged Lumen to Aqua. Ignis suddenly spoke, a cheerful smile coming to her draconic-features:

"Wow. I'm sure that must be quite a story."

The Centurions and Ratatosk looked to her. Ventus then spoke:

"Ignis, you know of this tale. We told you when you first gained your sense of self-awareness."

"Oh… really? Then that shouldn't have been so interesting, since I can't remember any of it," Ignis thought aloud, putting one claw in her chin. She then looked to Raine and approached the half-elf. "What are you writing in it?" she pointed to the book.

"Just some notes. Mind if I examine you a little?"

"Of course not. I'm always glad to help," Ignis said with the most sincere of the smiles.

"As you all can see, Ignis can be quite… ditzy sometimes," Ratatosk spoke, looking while his Centurion let Raine touch the spots where her body alternated between scale and skin. "Not to mention that she has the attention span and memory of a squirrel for some things. Ventus, tell her the situation while we get out."

Ventus bowed his head to his lord and the group started to turn to go back, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary in the furnace that was the altar. Raine thanked Ignis for the cooperation, closing her book and following the group.

It was then the Centurion of fire looked to Lloyd and arched one red eyebrow. Floating to the dual swordsman, she stayed at his side, leaning her head close Lloyd. The swordsman felt that and turned to her, his cheeks started to burn as he realized Ignis seemed to be checking him out.

"Uh… y-yes?" Lloyd asked. Ignis approached a little more and Lloyd had to use all of his self-control not to let his eyes wander to her lower parts.

"Did we meet each other before? You seem so familiar," Ignis asked in an innocent tone that could easily rival Lumen's one.

"N-n-no. I-I don't think so," Lloyd said, looking to Sheena and Marta. Thankfully the two were so concentrated in getting out of the heat that they didn't even bother looking behind.

"Oh, really? Ok then. I hope we can be friends, just like you are my master's friend," Ignis said, showing her cheerful smile and putting her hand on Lloyd's cheek.

"Y-y-yeah. M-me too," Lloyd struggled to say.

Ignis smiled again and floated away. Lloyd sighed and took a look at her back, silently cursing his hormones and thanking the heavens Sheena wasn't as possessive as Marta or he would have dropped dead when his eyes disobeyed him and looked to Ignis' cleavage…

* * *

To those curious as to what was the first part of the enchant Raine spoke, the translation is "Oh Great Father, source of all...". The name of the spell is also in demonic, it means "Chaos Lance". There will be more of the demonic language as the fic progress.

And, guess what? We have a skit!

This is one is between Sheena, Lloyd, Lumen, Tenebrae, Ventus and Ratatosk

Ratatosk's Crush

Lloyd: So Lumen, you said there was some kind of story for Ignis to have that appearance right?

Lumen: Oh, yeah, there is. It's also very funny.

Sheena: Really? Then tell us.

Tenebrae: Lumen, you know you shouldn't spread Lord Ratatosk's secrets like…

Ventus: Originally, Ignis was meant to be a present of confession from our Lord to his… how do you youngsters put it? Crush.

Tenebrae: Ventus…

Sheena & Lloyd: Crush?

Lumen: Yeah. Boss' first girl; Luna.

Sheena: You mean the Summon Spirit of light?

Ventus: The very same. Lord Ratatosk always had a soft spot for her and she always knew how to appease our lord's temper.

Sheena: Appease? I thought there was no person able to do something like that.

Lumen: Oh, but she could. I remember boss always blushed when she was around.

Lloyd: Then how come Lumen is the Centurion of light?

Tenebrae: Very simple.

Sheena: Decided to give in, Tenebrae?

Tenebrae: Well, it's not like my protests will make you stop. Anyway, Luna's "brother", Aska, was always very protective of her and saw our lord as some short of "bad example".

Sheena: Hu, can't even wonder why.

Lumen: Yeah, I know. That's completely crazy. Boss is the best person in the whole word!

Lloyd: I can't tell if he's blind or just really likes Ratatosk…

Sheena: Then, what happened with them?

Ventus: When Lord Ratatosk was about to present Ignis to Luna, Aska found out and the two had a severe discussion, which culminated in a fight that destroyed an entire floor of the Mana Tower. Luna heard the commotion and put an end to it.

Lumen: I remember boss saying something about how scary she could be when she was angry.

Tenebrae: After that, our Lord got so embarrassed that he didn't have the courage to present Luna with Ignis, so he decided to simply reshape her as the Centurion of fire and make Lumen the Centurion of light instead.

Sheena: So, that's why Ratatosk made Lumen unable to swear.

Ventus: Precisely.

Ratatosk: Hey. I heard you speaking my name. What are you all talking… ? Uh… why are you looking at me with these faces?

Sheena: Hehe, so, Ratatosk… did you really have a crush on one of your Summon Spirit companions?

Ratatosk: W-WHAT? What the hell are you talking about?

Lloyd: Hey, look, he's even blushing! Was Luna really that special to you?

Sheena: Scratch that. What did she look like? I could never guess what your tastes are.

Ratatosk: LUMEN! TENEBRAE! VENTUS!

Ventus: Hum… what was it Aqua? I'm coming.

Tenebrae: Oh. I remembered I had an, uh… something to discuss with Ignis.

Lumen: Lumen! What is it Marta? I'm coming!

Ratatosk: YOU THREE ARE DEAD!

- / - / -

WARNING: Ratatosk is pissed! Please all personel and audience evacuate the building immediately, unless you want to take an Ain Shop Aur on your face. See you all next chapter, when he have calmed down.


	13. The Wielder of Victory's Flame

This chapter will now give you the true face of what the story is and the motive for the tittle. Like I don't want to commit spoilers, enjoy!

P.S.: Check the notes at the end of the chapter. Seriously.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**The Wielder of Victory's Flame**

As Lloyd and the others were leaving Ignis' altar, Ratatosk suddenly stopped in his place, his face twisting and teeth gritting in what seemed to be pain. Marta went to the reincarnated spirit's side once she noticed and called for his name to see if he was alright. Lloyd and the others noticed it too and called him one at time.

Ratatosk just grunted as an answer, feeling like his mind was straying away of the Triet Ruins and into another place…

- / - / - / -

_"So… what do you think?" Celsius asked him, her feet swaying back and forth as she was sitting on a rock._

_He didn't answer her, just kept staring at the manor below the slope they were from which was becoming smoke and flames. _

_"I don't exactly agree with his methods. But he got the right idea of what to do," he said. _

_"Yeah, but summoning demons…" Celsius protested._

_"It's not like he can recruit everybody's help…" he replied and there was a moment of silence._

_The person in that mansion, its owner was an elf, one of the people he and the other spirits tried to recruit to help them stop the war and revert the critical state of Aselia. However, that person… what was his name again? Either way, upon hearing what would happen to the world in case the war didn't stop, decided to take extreme measures, so much his own people turned against him and called for the help from the armies of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, explaining what could happen if he wasn't stopped._

_He had to agree though. If this one guy hadn't been dumb enough to try and summon demons, maybe he could have got the elves to help. Instead, the guy just earned a death sentence from all sides. If anything, the guy at least managed to get the two countries to stop fighting and make a truce to contain a more immediate threat. Even the humans didn't wish to have demons roaming Aselia._

_"Did you… feel that Ratatosk?" Celsius asked suddenly, her gaze hardening as she focused on the mansion._

_Ratatosk spoke nothing again, instead he called for his bond with the nearest monster with an acute hearing and used it to hear what was going on in the mansion. It was then he heard those words:_

If the war continues… should mana perish… should we, elves, leave this world with scars on our spirits… when the last of us draw his last breath… the wrath of mana… the sorrow, the pain and desperation of our race… will descend upon this world… and the form it takes… shall be one of… ultimate… and absolute… vengeance…

_There was silence after that. Even the air itself seemed to have staggered once the last words were uttered. However, it seemed just few of the soldiers in that building had conscience the gravity of what was said. Then everything went back to normal, like nothing had ever been said. _

_However, the Summons Spirits knew something had changed in that world. Those words would come back to haunt the denizens of that world latter._

_"Was that… a prophecy?" he asked, turning to Celsius._

_"Seems so. But to think he would have this gift," Celsius mused._

_The gift of prophecy was very rare. It wasn't possible to predict it, for it never appeared in the same being twice. It occurred almost on a whim, like something that would come, happen and then be gone, like it had never happened in the first place. But they were powerful, almost as much as Origin himself, capable of changing Destiny entirely, from one single life, to that of an entire world._

_"We better talk to Origin about that. I'm sure the others have already…" he was interrupted by the cry of his name and Celsius'. The two turned to see Gnome stumble to their way due to his big form._

_"Cel! Rata!" Gnome then arrived near them, panting, like he had actually run the entire way to them._

_The two would have made some kind of retort about the Summon Spirit of earth calling them by those nicknames, however, the expression of urgency on the hamster-like entity made them bit back any kind of comeback. Gnome then spoke:_

_"You have to come quickly! It's Verius! She's bad! Very bad!"_

_He felt his heart jump inside himself and with a brief look to Celsius, the two left…_

- / - / - / -

"Ratatosk! Ratatosk!" he woke to the calling of Marta.

"Wha…? What happened?" Ratatosk asked, holding his head with his hand, his notion of time and space severely shaken.

"You just spaced out there," Sheena said. "Are you ok?"

Ratatosk didn't answer for some time, still thinking on what he just saw. It was then a sudden thought came to him. The reincarnated spirit jolted his head up and exclaimed:

"Verius!"

The others looked to Ratatosk with confusion as the Summon Spirit showed an expression of fear and urgency they never saw on his face before. Marta was the first to speak:

"Who's Verius?"

"I have to go to her! She's…" Ratatosk said, in a frantic way, looking around. It was then Ventus spoke up:

"My lord. Calm down. We're not in the Kharlan War."

"What you…?" Ratatosk talked back, suddenly stopping. He then slowly looked around, his memory rushing back.

That's right. He was in the Triet Ruins, Efreet's temple, and they had come to get Ignis. Ratatosk hung his head low, putting his hand on his face as he tried to pull himself together. Memories about the other Summon Spirit were rushing back to him.

Verius... she was another of those he considered his family. She was a special one to him. She was…

"Gone…" Ratatosk suddenly said, still hanging his head low.

"What are you talking about? What's gone?" Lloyd asked.

"Celsius… Verius… they're all gone…" Ratatosk said in an emotionless tone. He then looked up and the group soon saw a look of pure anger and hatred in his eyes as he spoke. "And it's all your fault!"

The group stood mute at that. Raine raised her eyebrow at the scene. Marta tried to talk to Ratatosk, but he backed away. The brunette girl felt like someone had stabbed a dagger in her heart upon looking the angry expression in his face. However, what really made her heart ache was the pain that was inscribed in his eyes.

"I hate you! I HATE YOU ALL!" Ratatosk yelled, rushing out of the altar room.

"Ratatosk!" Marta called, going after her protector.

Sheena and the others soon followed her, the Centurions leading the group with Lloyd and Ignis right behind. The group could see Ratatosk taking the teleporter in Efreet's altar and go back to the entrance of the ruins. Marta soon followed him as did Sheena, Raine and the Centurions.

Lloyd was about to reach the mechanism when a voice sounded:

_… er…_

The red clad swordsman reduced his pace until he came to a complete stop. He was feeling… strange. Like something inside him was calling for his attention.

_… ear… me…_

The voice sounded again, getting clearer as it spoke. Ignis also stopped and turned. She looked around before looking to Lloyd:

"Did you sense that, Sir Lloyd?"

"I…" Lloyd was about to answer, but his voice was cut off as he heard it again, this time clearer:

_Can you hear me? Bearer of my soul…_

"I… I can hear you…" Lloyd said turning almost unconsciously, like some kind of force was taking control of his body. "But where are you?" the young man looked around.

"I think maybe that big ball of spectral flames can answer," Ignis pointed out in a rather innocent manner.

Lloyd looked to her before looking to where she was pointing. He lost his voice once he saw what was hovering above Efreet's altar. Ruby-red flames were dancing in the middle of the air, in their center something was shining like a little sun. Lloyd then heard that voice again, the flames above Efreet's altar ignited while the words echoed in the room:

_You, who bears my reincarnated soul… I am a part of the one you formerly knew as the Ruler of Hellfire, Efreet… _

"Efreet? But didn't he leave the world with the other Summon Spirits?" Lloyd asked, looking from the spectral flames to Ignis, who shrugged, looking as confused as he was.

_We did not "leave" this world… _the flame answered, as if it had heard Lloyd's question, which the swordsman suspected it did. _We merely were absent, making preparations… the fact that you, the new bearer of my soul, stands here today, is a proof of that._

"Bearer… of your soul?" Lloyd inquired, not really understanding what it meant with that.

Ignis took some time looking to the floating flames until those words sunk in and comprehension dawned on her. The Centurion of fire looked to Lloyd and exclaimed:

"So that is why you seemed so familiar. Your spirit is Efreet's."

"Wha-what does that mean?" Lloyd asked, struggling to understand all of that.

"It is the same as with my lord. You're Efreet reincarnated," Ignis said, her voice sounding with what seemed joy.

"I… I'm Efreet? No way!"

_I know it might be confusing for you to understand all of it right now, but once your soul is finally completed, with this fragment I left behind, everything will become clearer…_

"Oh, I remember now!" Ignis said, putting her closed fist on the palm of her clawed hand. "That was Origin's plan."

"Origin's plan?"

Ignis didn't have time to answer, for in that moment the flames on Efreet's altar started to grow huger and wild. Lloyd then stood on attention for anything that might happen. To his surprise, the flames started to take shape, erupting around the altar, making Lloyd narrow his eyes at the heat. When the fire died down there was some kind of beast in the altar.

It looked like a tiger, but its body seemed to be made of flames. Its eyes were completely black and there were navy-blue spikes protruding from its forehead. The beast roared at Lloyd as the young man drew his twin swords.

"That's a Ktugach, one of Efreet's personal guardians," Ignis stated.

"But why is it here?" Lloyd asked her.

"I think Efreet wants to test you, so he can see if you can wield his power."

Lloyd looked from Ignis to the Ktugach, which had small fires dancing around his jaw line. The red clad swordsman turned to the Centurion of fire again.

"I really would like to pass being devoured by this thing, thank you," he mumbled, but he knew that he probably didn't have a choice on the matter.

"Here it comes!" Ignis warned as the Ktugach lunged for Lloyd.

The swordsman jumped to the side, avoiding the sharp, ebony claws of the fire creature. Ktugach quickly brought its head up before turning it to Lloyd, breathing fire on the dual swordsman. Though surprised, Lloyd jumped behind and protected his face from the flames with his arms. Thankfully, the flames didn't have a long reach.

"Alright, if you want a fight, then bring it on! Demon Fang!" Lloyd launched a shockwave of energy through the ground. It traveled and hit the Ktugach's front leg, making the beast growl in pain.

Lloyd then ran to the creature and started his attack, seeing the monster didn't have how to defend from his swords. Ktugach tried to turn its body and hit Lloyd with its long tail, but the dual swordsman ducked and proceeded to hack at the body of the fire creature with his swords again.

Growing tired, Ktugach sat on his hinder paws and the flames around its body seemed to ignite as a spiral of flames rose around it, hitting Lloyd and lifting him from the ground. The creature then slashed at the swordsman with its claws, leaving cuts on Lloyd's jacket. It then lowered its head, firing the spikes on its forehead at Lloyd, who tried to defend with his swords while running around the monster.

Once Ktugach's head couldn't accompany Lloyd's movement, the creature stared at its prey. Lloyd had three cuts on his shirt and jacket and thin lines of blood were starting to run. His arms got scratched on its sides by the rain of spikes from the Ktugach, though he achieved to defend his face and most of his body from it.

_Damn. Those things are sharp. I have to avoid those spikes or else I'll be impaled, _Lloyd thought. He then looked to his chest and saw his injury and torn jacket. _What the? My favorite jacket! _He then looked at the Ktugach with anger.

"Ok, now you're in for it!" Lloyd yelled, launching more Demon Fangs at the creature, to distract it as he approached.

As Ktugach tried to avoid the Demon Fangs, it got hit on its legs again, not noticing the swordsman coming closer. Lloyd then unleashed a Sonic Thrust at the chest of the creature. However, only the tip of his blade achieved to pierce the flesh of the creature, which was more resistant than he had predicted. That mistake earned Lloyd a gash on his side as Ktugach's claws came down on him, shoving him back with the force of the attack.

The dual swordsman slid in the floor as he tried to steady himself, only to give time for the fire beast in front of him to sit and charge a spell. Barely a second passed as the creature howled and casted its spell, cracks appearing under Lloyd's feet and letting out a reddish light. The young man didn't have enough time to avoid the lava wave that came from the ground, throwing him in the air, just for two more waves to hit him on his back.

_It… hurts. _the swordsman thought. He had never burnt himself in his entire life, for him fire was as harmless as a puddle of water. But that had been before he tasted magical fire.

Lloyd fell on his back, his skin burned slightly, but enough for him to feel pain…

- / - / - / -

Sheena and Raine finally located the Centurions around one of the three passages in the central room of the ruins. The older women approached the servants of Ratatosk and asked what they were doing there. Ventus was the one to answer:

"Lady Marta managed to convince Lord Ratatosk to stop his frenetic run and is currently trying to appease his anger."

"But what made him snap like that all of a sudden?" Sheena asked. "And who is Verius? Another Summon Spirit?"

"Yes, but her existence is suppose to be as secretive as Lord Ratatosk's own, so we cannot divulge any details about it," Tenebrae said.

"I wonder what should be his exact relation with her for him to get in such an upset state," Raine mused. "But what truly surprises me is how he appears to be so, forgive me for the term, human to the point of letting his emotions carry him away."

"Well, we spirits aren't that different from you, mortals," Aqua said.

"I personally believe all living beings were made at the resemblance of our Lord and his brethren, their guardians. That would explain how you all have so many different personalities," Ventus stated.

"And some people around here probably gave the basis for them to be capable of being so annoying and obnoxious some times," Aqua commented, shooting a look to Tenebrae.

"Oh, is that so?" Tenebrae replied.

Raine and Sheena sighed as the two Centurions started their bickering. It was then Lumen looked around and noticed something:

"Hey, where's LYD and Hotflame-nis?"

Sheena and Raine eyed Lumen; the silver haired woman repeated the new nickname the cheetah-like Centurion seemed to have just come up to Lloyd. Tenebrae and Aqua stopped their discussion once they noticed Lumen was right. Sheena and Raine also let Lumen's demeanor slide and looked for Lloyd and Ignis.

"Strange. They were just behind us," Sheena said.

It was then a roar echoed in the room, seeming to come from above. Sheena, Raine and the Centurions stood in a more serious stance once they realized what it could mean. The group then rushed back to the teleporter. Once they were back to the room of Efreet's altar, they saw Lloyd on the ground and, walking near to him, a giant, tiger-like, fire monster.

"Hey! That's Efreet's doggy," Lumen pointed to the Ktugach, but Sheena and Raine weren't paying attention to him, since their eyes were locked on Lloyd, who seemed to be struggling to get up. The older women then saw he had a nasty burn in his back.

"Lloyd!" Sheena called, drawing her seal cards as Raine readied her staff. Lloyd looked to them upon hearing Sheena call his name.

However, before any of them could move, the Ktugach shot a simple look to the newcomers and a fire wall rose from the ground, keeping the Centurions and the two women around the teleporter. The Ktugach then turned its head to Lloyd again and found the young man was already on his feet, launching a Demon Fang at the monster. Ktugach jumped to the side to avoid the attack and shot its spikes at Lloyd.

Sheena could only watch with her heart in her hands as Lloyd tried to deflect the spikes, but got pierced by some. She turned to Raine and saw the Professor in a casting stance.

"Raine, hurry up and cure him!" Sheena urged.

"I'm trying, but something is blocking my concentration. I can't gather the energy to do it," Raine said.

Tenebrae, Lumen and Aqua were looking silently at the scene with serious looks. There was a familiar feeling in that fight, but they couldn't grasp what it was.

Lloyd tried to attack the fire monster again, but when he approached, Ktugach roared, making a spiral of flames rise around it once more, lifting Lloyd and burning him again. The dual swordsman fell on his back, yelling in pain.

He was now close to the Ktugach's head, looking at the beast's eyes as its mouth opened slightly, flames licking around it. Lloyd knew what the creature was going to do; it was going to burn him alive.

"LLOYD!" Raine and Sheena screamed as the Ktugach threw its head behind before letting out a jet of flames.

Time seemed to stop as Lloyd looked at the incoming inferno with fear and horror written in his face. He closed his eyes to brace for the unbearable pain. However, he heard a voice inside his head again. Efreet's voice:

_Let the flames in your heart lit and burn…_

Lloyd opened his eyes, his fearful expression now replaced by a sharp, determined one. The red clad swordsman threw his arms at the front of his body, crossing his swords, forming an "X" while holding the hilts sideways.

"Guardian!" Lloyd said, as the roar of the flames muffled his voice.

Sheena and Raine could only see Lloyd's body being covered by the fierce fires through the fire wall around them. Sheena fell to her knees with an expression of disbelief on her face, matching the one in Raine's face, who was frozen in her place.

The Ktugach stayed looking at the flames that were dancing on the ground where Lloyd had been. Thinking Lloyd hadn't survived, the fire monster howled and was about to turn and walk back to the altar when a red blur suddenly came out of the fires.

"Tempest!" Lloyd's voice sounded as he curled his own body with his swords outstretched and started spinning in the air.

The Ktugach was caught by surprise and did not have time to react before Lloyd cut off its head. The red clad swordsman landed on the ground with his hands stretched to the sides of his body, holding his swords, as Ktugach's body fell with a thud in the stone floor.

Raine and Sheena looked up to see Lloyd was alive and ran to him as the fires around them died down. Lloyd then fell to the ground in exhaustion as Sheena kneeled over him and held his head. Raine stopped near the two and started to chant a healing spell.

"Lloyd. Lloyd! Are you alright?" Sheena asked.

"Ugh... Sheena?" Lloyd mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"I swear if you weren't so hurt, I would kill you for almost dying like that!" Sheena spoke, though she had a smile of relief in her face.

"You surely know how to be courteous to a wounded person, Lady Sheena," Tenebrae piped in.

"Shut it, Tene-idiot."

Raine then casted Heal over Lloyd, healing most of his wounds. She said he would need some rest to heal the other wounds, since he took a heavy damage in the battle.

Spectral, red flames appeared upon the altar again, making the entire group look to them. Sheena got Lloyd on a sitting position and walked in front of him together with Raine, their weapons ready in the case it was some sort of attack. Lloyd said for them to wait as he got up and walked past them. The older women tried to call the dual swordsman back, but he just kept walking to the altar almost as if he was in trance.

_You, who posses my soul... I have seen your performance and acknowledge that you're ready._

Raine and Sheena looked around the room once they heard the voice. Ventus then pointed out that the voice was coming from the flames in the altar and instructed the two to watch. The two women looked at Lloyd again, who was just one meter away from the flames.

_You possess the fire in your heart that burns, not to destroy, but to protect and warm those near you... while I have seen many be consumed by this same flame, you seem to control yours rather well... I now bestow you the power to turn these flames into a raging inferno that shall aid you in your battles to come and help you shape the Equilibrium back to its original form..._

_However, you will have to awaken these flames and learn how to dominate them in your own accord... until you have turned strong enough to control my hellish, wild fires, you will not ascend to your rightful position as a guardian of this world..._

Though Lloyd didn'tunderstand most of those fire anecdotes, he felt his heart had caught each word of what the entity had spoken. The red clad swordsman nodded and extended his arms to the spectral flames.

_Then let us be reborn... together... as the Wielder of Victory's Flame..._

The flames then seemed to snake around Lloyd's arm and engulf his body. Raine and Sheena almost jumped at seeing that and were ready to go after him, but Ignis appeared and put her hand in front of them, signaling the two women to stay there. Sheena and Raine looked to her in disbelief, but the Centurion of fire merely smiled to them with a look that said "just observe".

Lloyd's body started to shine. Flames seemed to consume his clothes and alter them. His red jacket had changed and was now longer and had golden details on it, flapping amidst the wild fire around the young man. His pants changed from black to a dark blue with bell-mouths and his boots gained a dark-red coloration as metal arcs appeared around the foot and the ankle parts gained some kind of golden ornament. His belt also changed from brown to dark-red, the buckle assuming the form of a silver-colored rune.

The swords in Lloyd's hands morphed and seemed to have turned into fire before they started to solidify. The one in Lloyd's red hand had gained a blue coloration as the one in Lloyds left gained a reddish-yellow one. Both swords were now glowing and had symbols on their blades and different hilts, like they were an individual set, yet could be wielded together.

Ultimately, a symbol shone in Lloyd's back and from its sides seemed to sprout a pair of scarlet, spectral wings, which seemed to pass through Lloyd's clothes, not ripping them in the least. When it finally ended, the flames seemed to recede to inside Lloyd as the young man looked at what had just happened to him.

"What the…?" was all Lloyd could utter as he looked to himself from top to bottom. He then looked to his wings.

"How could this…?" Raine let out.

"Hey..." Lumen let out, with a look of understanding in his cheetah face. "So this must be Origin's plan."

"Origin's what?" Lloyd asked.

The red clad swordsman approached the Centurions together with Sheena and Raine, the latter possessing an inquisitive and devious look in her features. Ventus spoke:

"It is a plan that the King of the Summon Spirits formulated before the Second Invasion. It was a way to stop the Kharlan War directly and restore the Equilibrium."

"So Lloyd is part of the plan?" Sheena asked.

"More like _he_ _is_ the plan," Raine stated.

"Wait. What does all of this mean? What's going on?" Lloyd asked, getting confused by the second.

"I think it would be better for us to discuss this once we have exited the temple," Tenebrae offered.

That got Lloyd a little frustrated, but he was forced to agree with the others and nodded. Aqua then turned to the dual swordsman and asked:

"Can you turn back to your normal form?"

"Does he have to?" Sheena asked, sounding like a little girl asking for her favorite sweet.

Lloyd was about to ask why she was inquiring about that when he noticed something. Looking to himself, the red clad swordsman found out he didn't have anything on from his waist up besides the jacket, leaving his chest and torso revealed. That made Lloyd blush a red tone that matched his transformed jacket. Was this Efreet's idea of fashion style or what?

It was then the teleporter to the altar was activated again. This time, Ratatosk and Marta walked in. The brunette ran to Raine and Sheena, asking:

"Are you two alright? We heard a monster's howl and... Lloyd?" Marta asked, noticing for the first time the red clad swordsman.

"Um... hi," Lloyd said, scratching the back of his head.

"What... happened to you? You look so..." Marta did not complete her phrase. It was then she noticed that Lloyd's jacket was open and he did not have anything under it. Marta blushed and looked to the side. She didn't want to admit, but Lloyd's frame was stronger than Emil's.

Ratatosk had eyes wide while looking to the swordsman. His aura... its signature now was identical to...

"Hey, boss!" Lumen said, going to Ratatosk and sporting his goofy smile as always. "Guess what? LYD is Efreet's reincarnation!"

"What?" Ratatosk let out, looking to Lloyd again.

"Yes. Aren't you glad, my lord?" Ignis asked, floating near Ratatosk, showing a cheerful smile while her lord was still with his eyes fixated on Lloyd. "That means your brothers didn't leave you and..."

"Quiet," Ratatosk interrupted her. Ignis let out an "huh?" showing a confused expression. "He's not Efreet," Ratatosk said, his tone cold and emotionless. "What? Do you think just because you got a similar aura and his powers that you're my brother? Think again, idiot."

"Hey! I'm not trying to be anyone else!" Lloyd protested. "And what is wrong with you anyway? We're just trying to help you and all you do is snap at us the entire time. And where's Emil?"

"What? Worried about your little boyfriend?" Ratatosk said in that sharp tone he once used on Lloyd. This time however, the swordsman just looked at Ratatosk with a steel look. "If you want to know, his spirit is taking a nap."

"'Nap'? What do you mean?" Marta asked, first getting surprised like the other females in the group at hearing Ratatosk's tone and now worried at hearing about Emil. "What did happen to Emil?"

"I don't know, ok? I felt his spirit entering into a hibernation state ever since we hatched Ignis. Not that I care about that sappy weakling anyway."

"Don't talk about yourself like that! Emil and you are..."

"That's enough all of you!" Sheena called. "Here isn't the place to discuss it. Let's first get outside and..." it was then another roar echoed in the ruins. This time, seeming to have come from the entrance. "Oh, for the love of..."

The group rushed back to the teleporter. Ratatosk, Ventus, Ignis and Lloyd stayed behind. The rash Summon Spirit shot another look to Lloyd and said:

"Don't think you can ever replace Efreet. You're just a rag compared to him."

"I'm not trying to replace anyone! And I didn't even ask for this, ok?" Lloyd yelled. "Stop venting your anger on others!"

"Both of you stop it!" Ventus spoke. Lloyd and Ratatosk stopped at hearing the angry tone of the Centurion of wind. "Now, Lloyd, to deactivate this form, just concentrate on the power that courses inside of you," Lloyd nodded to the Centurion and closed his eyes. He found it was easier to concentrate now, like his senses had been enhanced. The newly named Wielder of Victory's Flame soon felt the power that was around him, like it were flames dancing around his body. "Now, concentrate on letting it flow out of you. Don't worry, it will replenish itself naturally."

Lloyd did as he was told and soon felt like something was being removed from him. His wings burnt out of sight and fire passed around his clothes, making them return to their normal state. The dual swordsman opened his eyes again and thanked Ventus, running back to the entrance of the ruins with Ignis right behind. Ratatosk let out an "hmph" and followed them along with Ventus.

- / - / - / -

When the group arrived at the entrance, they were met with a sight that made their jaws fall: Richter was there, avoiding the attacks of a ferocious, scarlet dragon, which stood on its four paws and seemed to cover good part of the space in the corridor. The half-demon had his teeth gritted as he tried to attack the monster, but his attacks were deflected by the creature's hard scales.

"Richter!" Marta called.

"Emil? Marta? Ugh!" Richter turned to the two, but that moment of distraction was enough for the dragon to hit Richter with its tail and send him to the wall.

"Watch out!" Lloyd warned and put his hand on his sword's hilts as he and Sheena prepared to enter in battle.

"Wait, I remember this monster," Ignis said, attracting the attention of the group. "Before going back to the Ginnungagap I've created it to protect the ruins. But it should only attack demons," Ignis said, showing a confused expression."

"Well, you could say it is fulfilling its duty," Tenebrae spoke up.

"What do you mean?"

"Forget it! We have to help Richter!" Marta said, taking her spinner and rushing to battle. Ratatosk tried to call her back, but the girl already started slashing at the dragon, just to have her spinner's blade deflected by the dragon's hard scales.

"Dammit!" Ratatosk swore, drawing his blade and going to Marta's aid just like the others.

Raine seemed a little reluctant at first, having sensed the chaos energies in Richter's aura, but upon seeing the others rushing to save the red head, she decided to help and started to charge a light spell. Lloyd and the others tried to attack the monster with their Artes, but all attacks seemed to bounce off the dragon's body. Ratatosk tried his Raining Delude Arte, but not even the magic water was able to affect the monster.

"Brilliant Shackles!" Raine called, finally casting her spell. Two, spectral seal lines appeared in the air and closed around the monster's body, seeming to immobilize it for a moment and attacking it with light, exploding on several brilliant dots right after. However, that didn't produce a visible result, as the dragon just roared and breathed fire on the group, who jumped back/did a back flip to avoid the attack. "No effect," Raine spoke in frustration.

"Ignis, how do we beat this guy?" Lloyd asked.

"Um, let me think..." the Centurion of fire put a finger on the side of her head, closing her eyes in a thoughtful pose. She then opened them with an expression of understanding. "You have to use fire."

There was a brief minute of silence between the group. Richter, who got up and walked to them asked:

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't fire the main attribute of this thing?"

"Whatever! Let's just try!" Ratatosk said, running to the dragon, which tried to hit the reincarnated spirit with its tail. The crimson-eyed entity jumped, avoiding the tail of the dragon and suddenly flames surrounded his body. "Now take this! Fiery Havoc!" Ratatosk extended his foot and descended, creating a mini-fire tornado around his foot.

The attack connected with the monster's head, spreading wild fires around it. However, when they died, the monster was unaffected and Ratatosk had landed on the ground near the monster. The dragon then looked at him and roared at the face of the violent spirit.

"Shit..." Ratatosk let out.

Huge claws swiped at Ratatosk. The Summon Spirit tried to defend himself, however, his sword was batted to the side and he got three superficial cuts on his torso. The dragon then prepared to breathe fire again. When the flames left the creature's mouth and were about to engulf Ratatosk, Sheena appeared in front of him and called for her Guardian Seal technique, shielding the two from the flames with a green barrier.

"Ignis, didn't you say fire would work on him?" Marta asked the Centurion.

"Oh, wait. It was Efreet's fire. Sorry," the draconic Centurion said, scratching the back of her head with a silly apologetic smile.

"You should have said it before!" Sheena called.

The beast then stopped breathing fire and roared again, running to Sheena and trying to ram at her. The guardian-user jumped above the monster's head, landing on its back and running on it, until she jumped again and ducked to avoid the creature's tail. Ratatosk also jumped out of the way.

"Hey, Richter!" Ratatosk called the red head, making he look to him. "Why don't you go demon on this guy?"

"Oh, so you don't mind fighting off the hordes of demons that might come here attracted by my aura?" Richter asked in a sarcastic tone. Ratatosk stood quiet at that and soon looked to the side, mumbling something.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was thinking on what Ignis had said. Efreet's flames could melt that dragon's defense… he still have his doubts about it, but Lloyd couldn't simply let his friends and Richter be killed by that monster. He then thought back at what Efreet's soul had told him:

_You posses the fire in your heart that burns, not to destroy, but to protect and warm those near you…_

Fire… did it mean his will to protect his friends? Lloyd heard another roar and saw the dragon coming at them again. The Centurions tried to summon some monsters to stop the fierce dragon's advance and Ignis tried to order it to stop, however, the beast seemed to be deaf to its creator's words and continued its advance, smashing and biting down at any monster that stood on its path, as well as taking Raine's spells like they were nothing.

"Nothing's working! Raine use your chaos magic!" Sheena spoke.

"If I do that, Richter might be forced into his demonic form and the precipitation of chaos energies will attract the attention of any demons outside. We will be surrounded before we get out of the ruins!" Raine answered.

Lloyd heard that and decided he had to try and use the power he just acquired, but how did he call for it anyway? He couldn't think clearly now, as he could before, when he had received Efreet's power. Silently swearing in frustration at not feeling anything that might indicate he was close to release that power, Lloyd saw the dragon preparing to breath fire on his friends again.

Raine and Sheena got in front of the group, activating their defensive Artes when the monster let its flames out of its mouth on them. The two women were having their magical power drained as they tried to defend from the creature's attack and their barriers started to shatter.

_Oh, to the hell with it! I have to save them! _Lloyd thought, running to Sheena and Raine.

It was then the dual swordsman felt something stir in his heart: an urge to protect his friends that seemed to burn inside of him. It felt like it was spreading through his whole body, filling him with energy and power. When he passed Raine and Sheena, Lloyd was enveloped by fire, his clothes changing and spectral, scarlet wings appearing on his back.

"Fire Shield!" Lloyds called for the Arte that came to his head. He crossed his swords just like when he used Guardian, but this time a shield of flames rose in front of him, absorbing the flames of the dragon's attack.

Lloyd's sword started to shine as they seemed to absorb the fire of the monster through the shield and Lloyd suddenly knew what to do with them. He lowered the shield and swung his two blades, launching blue and red fire blades in the air, which impacted with the monster and spread wild fire through its body. For the first time, the dragon roared in pain.

Lloyd then ran to it as the others just looked at him, Sheena had her mouth hanging open, just like Marta, while the others just seemed surprised. With his transformed blades, Lloyd attacked the monster, his new swords releasing fiery flames as he swung them. As the dragon tried to hit Lloyd with its claw, the young man jumped and stayed hovering in the air.

"Goodbye. Rising Phoenix!" flames surround Lloyd's body as he pointed his sword forward and started to descend, creating a whirlwind of fire around his blade. He flew over the monster's back, cutting it open with his blade and burning the insides, blood vaporizing before it could even leave the body of the creature.

When Lloyd landed, the dragon gave a last, painful roar and fell. The dual swordsman stood and walked back to his friends. Sheena and Marta were the first to get to him, with smiles on their faces.

"That was awesome, Lloyd!" Marta complimented with a smile.

"Yeah! You definitely showed that monster," Sheena said, also smiling.

"Thanks," Lloyd said, scratching behind his head as he admitted. "But to be honest, I didn't know half of the time what I was doing. I simply…"

"Followed your instincts?" Ventus offered, to which Lloyd nodded. "That was to be expected."

"Does that mean you know something about it?" Raine inquired the Centurion as the group gathered around Lloyd.

"Well…"

Before Ventus could answer, Raine, Sheena, Richter and even Lloyd felt a precipitation in Ratatosk's aura. The crimson-eyed entity brought a hand to his head before he looked up after a wave of energy that sounded like a heartbeat was released from him. He then looked to the group and everybody saw his eyes were back to their green color. Emil was back in control.

"Uh? What happened?" the blonde asked.

"Emil, you're back!" Marta said, hugging her crush.

"W-why? Did I go somewhere?" Emil asked, blushing at the contact.

"No, but Ratatosk said you were asleep or something," Sheena said.

"Asleep?" Emil tilted his head to the side as he asked.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Raine asked the boy.

"I remember all of us hatching Ignis' core… after that, I don't remember anything else," Emil said.

Richter crossed his arms with a stone expression on his face at hearing that. The former half-elf then spoke up, calling the group's attention:

"I think it would be best we discuss it outside the ruins," he then looked to Raine. "Then you can also explain to me why you have a chaos user with you."

"And maybe you can also explain how a half-demon like you is friends with a Summon Spirit," Raine talked back.

"Touché."

- / - / - / -

It was night in the desert as the group set camp outside the Triet Ruins. Marta explained to Richter and Emil everything that happened and told the half-demon about Raine, or at least what little they knew about her. Richter by his turn told them he was around the region when he had sensed some uncommon energy being released in the ruins and decided to investigate it.

"It was then I was assaulted by that guardian you all just saw," the red head concluded. "It seems the energy I felt was probably Lloyd."

At the other side of the camp, Sheena and Lloyd (who was back to normal) were cooking for the group. Raine had a book opened in her lap and was writing her notes on it with a concentrated expression. Lloyd looked to Emil, Richter and Marta. He then heard Ignis speak to him:

"So, how are you feeling, Lloyd?"

Lloyd turned to her and the other Centurions, which were around the camp, sitting and seeming to wait for the mortal members of the group.

"I'm fine, but… am I really Efreet? I mean, I don't feel like I'm… all that powerful or anything… I'm kinda confused," Lloyd spoke.

"I think you're you and that's what matters," Sheena said. "And if you're really a Summon Spirit, so what? Emil is Ratatosk, yet he acts like any normal teenager."

"Thanks, Sheena."

"No prob," she and Lloyd turned to see Emil and the others coming. "Right on time. Food is ready," the voluptuous woman said, serving their plates and handing it to them.

The group ate in silence, all thinking about the last events. The Centurions seemed to be reflecting, while Lumen chatted with Ignis. After everybody had eaten, Raine was the first to ask:

"Now, do you two care to introduce us your friend?" she meant Richter.

"Actually, Lloyd and Sheena already know him. But anyway…" Emil said. He then told the half-elf woman about Richter and about his capture and forced transformation. When he ended, Richter looked to Aqua with an inquisitive look. The Centurion of water returned it with a look of determination.

The red head then sighed and looked to the side. He felt the eyes of the group upon him and looked to them, asking:

"What?"

"Um…how's…things going for you?" Marta asked with a worried look on her face.

"How can I describe it? Maybe infernal would be the best term," Richter said, looking to the side in a mock reflection before looking back to the group. His curt demeanor never wavering.

"Richter…" Emil spoke up, making the red head turn to him. "I promise, I will find a way to release you from Nebilim's grip and return you to normal," the blonde's tone was one of determination the group rarely saw him use.

"I wouldn't waste my time worrying about myself if I were you, Emil. You already have too much on your hands," Richter said.

"But… I want to help you… you're my friend and…"

"And I'm your enemy; a half-demon," Richter cut the boy off, his tone turning harsher and more serious. "Didn't I teach not to show compassion towards your enemies?"

"Yes, but… you're my friend. My mentor," Emil said.

"Same here," Marta said, her tone as determined as Emil's. "You helped me see that not all half-elves are bad, so I want to help you."

"Huh, seems like you two haven't changed at all…" Richter said with a sigh. "If you hold me so high, then take this advice from me: don't drop your guard around me. You know what it means for somebody to be a half-demon, don't you? That means if Nebilim commands, I will strike you all down without a second thought."

"Oh really?" Sheena inquired, crossing her arms and shooting a devious look to Richter.

"What? Do you deny such an obvious fact?" Richter asked, turning to her.

"Maybe I do, but I will wait and see," Sheena said.

"Do what suits you better then."

The group stayed silent for some time. Raine looked from Sheena to Richter with a devious look that matched Sheena's, however, she chose to remain silent and see how things unfold. Richter then got up, saying he had to go. Emil and Marta also stood, asking for him to wait.

"Can't you stay with us? Aqua said you've been resisting Nebilim's control," Marta said.

"_Trying _to resist. It's impossible for you to successfully win against something that is etched into your very being," Richter said, looking to them without even turning. "Anyway, you already told me more than I should know. Better I go back now."

"Why? Nebilim is just going to force you to do his dirty work again," Emil said.

"And do you think my demon side cares about it?" Richter asked making Emil shut his mouth at that. "There are things you can't help, Emil, no matter how hard you try," Richter said, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "I learned it a long time ago. So it's better I go now and don't know what exactly is going on with you all than to know and later have Nebilim forcing this information out of me."

The red head then turned and started to walk again, until he heard Emil speak a line that made him stop:

"Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality. As long as you keep your courage to resist Nebilim, I won't give up on you, Richter. I will find a way to cure you."

Without anybody seeing, Richter gave a small smile and chuckle at that. Emil always spoke that mantra of his when things got rough. It kept him going on and worked for him until now. Sometimes, Richter had to remind Emil of that phrase himself and remind the swordsman that he was the one that once said it, long ago.

_But for somebody like me, it's going to be necessary to have something more than simply courage..._ Richter thought, starting to walk again and disappearing into the night.

A heavy mood downed the camp as Emil and Marta sat again, near each other for comfort at seeing their friend walk away, back to his rough life with the demons. They really wanted to save him, to turn him back into a half-elf so he wouldn't have to suffer with his demon side forcing him to follow the demons' order. Lloyd decided to break the heavy atmosphere by changing the subject:

"What about me? We still haven't figured about this spirit thing."

"Maybe we should ask the Centurions," Raine suggested, looking to them.

The servants of Ratatosk looked between themselves, before turning back to the group. Tenebrae was the first to start speaking:

"Sir Lloyd, did you ever feel some short of connection with the element fire?"

"What do you mean? I never felt anything like that," Lloyd spoke, but then remembered. "Well, except that since I was a child I never got burnt, even if I put my hand in a candle fire or stood under the sun, I wouldn't get a burn."

"That's more than enough to indicate that you do have Efreet's soul in you. This is all according to Origin's plan."

"Plan? What plan?" Ratatosk asked, taking control of Emil's body. "I remembered something about a plan, but I didn't get anything concrete out of it."

"I fear you wouldn't know even if you had all of your memories, my Lord," Ventus said. "You were... distracted at the time. Anyway, since the power of the Summon Spirits was waning due to the burnt of mana, they would need to pass through a phase of adaptation to find a new power source between the remaining energies in this world. However, there wasn't enough time."

Lloyd and the others stayed silent, listening to the Centurion. Raine could be seen writing in her book as Ventus spoke, looking from it to the bird-like Centurion. Raine and Sheena felt a precipitation in Emil's aura, signalizing Ratatosk gave the control back to him. The dual swordsman also felt that, but couldn't identify what it was yet.

Ventus then continued:

"Also, there was the fact some spirits had already lost their power and reverted to their essences. For these ones to adapt, it would take centuries. So Origin decided that the fastest way for them to adapt to the world and preserve their power would be through reincarnation."

"Wait, you mean like they are born again as someone?" Marta asked.

"Exactly," Aqua said. "The first one was Undine, since she had already reverted to her essence form. Origin wanted to see if it was possible for his plan to succeed so he chose her vessel carefully."

"Do you have any idea who it was?" Sheena asked.

"No. Origin kept the details in secret from everybody; he just spoke it when he had already successfully placed Undine's soul in her vessel. We just came to learn about it near the final days of the war, when the Giant Kharlan Tree..." Aqua paused, looking in Emil's direction.

"Anyway..." Tenebrae continued. "With his theory proven, Origin said he would make arrangements so the others would be inserted in the flow of souls that would reincarnate in the following years."

"Why couldn't they come all together?" Marta asked.

"Because if they did and somebody discovered a Summon Spirit had reincarnated as a mortal, the people in which they reincarnated would be persecuted, captured and most likely used as living weapons. Well, at least in case they were born during the war.

"Also, for them not to raise any suspicions, the Summon Spirits would reincarnate just like normal mortals do, with no memory of their past lives."

"That way they wouldn't be conflicted during their adaptation by the knowledge they had from the past, is that right?" Raine asked, looking up from her book.

"Correct," Ventus said. "As an extra measure, Lord Origin cleaved their souls and his own into two; one part containing their consciousness and thus their essence, which would be the one to reincarnate, and the other containing their power. As you all saw with Sir Lloyd, Lord Origin planned to have the part which contained their conscious to adapt to the new state of the world and develop a power of its own so it could later be reunited with its other halve, which would grant the new spirit a portion of his former powers and allow him to take the first step towards becoming the new guardian of this world."

"Efreet's soul said something about Lloyd not ascending to his position until he learned to dominate his power, does that mean his adaptation is not complete?" Raine asked.

"Though Origin's plan considerably hastened it, his powers have to come back on their own accord as he learns how to control the new energy that now sustains this world."

"This energy, what is it?" Lloyd asked. Emil was the one to answer.

"There's not a name for it, but scholars believe it is the very life source of all beings, including our own world. Ever since mana ceased to exist, this energy should have taken its place and sustained the world, but..."

"The demons came before it could happen. Yeah, I got that part."

"Right. According to studies, there would be some natural disasters as a consequence of the world itself adapting to the change, but when the demons came and spread the chaos energy, everything was thrown out of the tracks and the world is now in the state we see and live in today."

Lloyd and the others thought about that for a moment. Though the dual swordsman did not understand some of the terms Emil used, he did understand that there would still be some problems due to what the humans did to the world during the war.

_Either way, we would have to face the consequences of what we did. _Lloyd concluded.

"But with everything that's happened, shouldn't Origin have come up with a plan to deal with the demons?" Sheena asked.

"Lord Origin's own power was also waning. Though he was already sustained by the very life force of creation itself, most of his power was still based on mana, so, before the Second Invasion happened, Lord Origin had already cleaved his soul and inserted it into the flow of souls," Ventus said, adding in a sad tone. "He never imagined something like this would occur and as a result, the flow of souls was disturbed by the Second Invasion, causing the Summon Spirits to reincarnate in different times and not in the way Origin envisioned."

"So, is it possible that one of the new spirits have been killed?" Lloyd asked.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"We just hope that it hasn't happened, because if it did, we don't know when their soul will reborn again," Aqua said in a sad tone.

"But for our luck, LYD is Efreet. Which means at least one of boss' brothers survived and is now gaining his powers back," Lumen said, trying to point the good side of the things as always.

Ratatosk took control of Emil and shot a venous look to Lloyd, which clearly said "you're not my brother". Lloyd noticed it, but chose to ignore. He wasn't trying to be anybody's substitute. He just wanted to be himself. With that thought in mind, he asked the Centurions:

"So, what's going to happen to me?"

"You're going to become a complete Summon Spirit and guard this world," Tenebrae said, soon adding. "I thought that part would already be quite obvious..."

"Tenebrae, can't you see this isn't easy on Lloyd?" Marta said.

"That's right," Sheena spoke. "He just found out about it not too long ago. Give him some time to breath."

"My apologies."

"But, what if I... don't want to be a Summon Spirit?" Lloyd asked, slightly lowering his head so his hair casted a shadow over his eyes.

"Why wouldn't you?" Ventus asked.

"Summon Spirits live forever, right?"

"Yes, they are eternal, just like a normal soul."

"But... what if I am the only one that survived until now? I would live forever and be alone for eternity," Lloyd said in a heavy tone.

"Try to stay positive, Lloyd. I doubt the others would be killed that easily," Ignis said, trying to cheer Lloyd up. "If anything, you will have us," she meant the Centurions.

Lloyd looked to the Centurion of fire and to the others, who nodded. The red clad swordsman had to admit he appreciated their thoughts.

"And if you're still worried, you will still have boss, who is just like you," Lumen pointed out, with his goofy smile on.

Lloyd had to use all of his willpower to hold back a retort that came to his mind. He certainly could sympathize with Emil, but he could barely stand Ratatosk' attitude most of time. He shuddered at the thought of having to pass an eternity dealing with the dirty-mouthed, violent, temperamental spirit.

"So what are we gonna do about it?" Emil asked. "I... don't think I can simply go on, acting like I don't know about it," the group looked to him, which made the boy quite nervous. "It's just... I mean... they're just like me... in a way."

"Emil's right. We can't ignore it," Marta said. "Plus, these reincarnated Summon Spirits might help us."

"So, you're suggesting we go and search for them? What about the cores and Lord Ratatosk?" Tenebrae asked.

"It's not like we won't collect them, but you have to agree that extra help won't hurt," Sheena said.

"Sheena's right. They can even help Lord Ratatosk when the time to battle Nebilim comes," Aqua said.

"That sounds more like backtracking to me," Tenebrae complained.

"Nobody cares about you, so shut up!"

"But if you plan to search for these people, you need to have some short of plan in mind," Raine said, finally closing her book and looking to the group, maintaining her analytical and cool look the entire time. "Otherwise, the demons might find out that the Summon Spirits didn't leave this world. We already took a great risk just by letting Richter go."

"Hey, don't talk about Richter like that!" Marta protested.

"Yes. He would never betray us," Emil spoke up.

"You do know that he doesn't have an option should Nebilim interrogate him, don't you?" Raine shot back.

"Master Richter will find a way. He always does," Aqua said. "I would be more worried about you, since we don't know anything about you, anyway."

Raine stayed quiet at that and thought for a moment. She then decided to leave it at that. They did have a point after all. Sheena just stayed looking at the half-elf to see what she would say, but Raine decided to change back to their previous subject:

"Anyway, let's then concentrate on how to identify the Summon Spirits. Ventus, would there be any kind of special features that might differ them from the rest of people? Some kind of peculiarity in their aura?"

"No. Lord Origin cleaved their souls from their powers so their aura would appear to be normal to mortals. After all, the objective is for them to remain hidden until they are ready to take their powers back. As for any features, I wouldn't know."

"What about a scar or a birth mark?" Lloyd suddenly asked, making everybody turn to him at the tone in his voice.

"That could be possible. Why do you ask?"

"Because I have this one..." Lloyd said, taking his red jacket off and lifting his shirt underneath it, giving his back to the group.

They then saw on Lloyd's back something very similar to a birthmark, just like Ratatosk's crest on Emil's chest. However, it was so intricate that it looked like somebody had drawn it on his skin. Raine and Sheena remembered they had seen that mark before; when Lloyd regained Efreet's power that mark had shone and from it sprouted his wings. The Centurions gasped at seeing that and Tenebrae let out:

"That's the Mark of Flames. Efreet's crest."

"And you have that ever since you were born?" Ventus asked to which Lloyd nodded as he lowered his shirt.

The girls seemed strangely quiet when they looked at that, staying in a thoughtful pose. Emil and Lloyd didn't notice it and the blonde spoke:

"So that's it! We just have to look for somebody who has marks like this one."

"If that's the case, you can already mark another one in your list," Marta said in a strangely neutral tone. Emil and Lloyd looked to her with confused looks. The brunette didn't say anything as she just lowered her detached right sleeve and showed, to Emil's surprise, a symbol that, just like Lloyd, was so intricate it seemed to have been drawn on her arm.

"This is the Emblem of the Gale," Ventus said in a surprised tone. "So that's why you looked familiar. Lady Marta, you are Sylph."

"Marta... why did you never show this to me?" Emil asked in a hurt tone.

"Well... let's just say I..." Marta tried to speak, but couldn't end her sentence.

"Got worried Emil would think of it as something not attractable?" Raine asked. The girl nodded to her. "That's understandable. But, since you pointed it out, I also have one,"

"You too, Raine?" Lloyd asked. "Where?"

"In my right thigh," Raine said with such neutrality it made Emil and Lloyd blush beet red.

"Could we see it?" Lumen asked in his blunt manner, not carrying any malice at all.

"Lumen! That's not something you could ask to a woman about!" Aqua spoke.

"Oh sorry. Do you mind showing your mark to us, Professor Water? Please?" Lumen asked again in a more formal tone.

"Lumen!" Aqua yelled.

"What? I even asked please."

"Actually, I don't feel bothered at all. Here, I'll show you," Raine said, lowering the right side of her pants.

Emil and Lloyd screamed her name and looked to the sides, their faces three different shades of red. Sheena just laughed at the boys' faces while Marta just widened her eyes, not being able to speak anything at all.

Though part of her underwear was exposed, the Centurions saw the mark could be clearly seen over Raine's skin. She adjusted her pants back as Aqua proclaimed:

"You have the Symbol of Water. Undine's mark."

"Undine? You mean the Summon Spirit of... water?" Raine asked and for the first time since the group met her, she sounded worried.

That made Lloyd and the others look back to Raine, with their eyebrows raised. There was a moment of silence, which was broken when Sheena asked:

"Um... any problems Raine?"

"What? N-no... not at all," Raine said, still nervous and trying to compose herself, however, the stutter was enough to give her away.

"Raine... are you afraid of water or something?" Lloyd asked.

"Don't be ridiculous Lloyd. Why would I be afraid of something like that?" Raine shot back with more ferocity than she intended.

"Unbelievable," Marta mumbled. "You don't mind showing your underwear, yet you are afraid of water."

"I. Am. Not! Besides, I just did that for research purposes."

"And what kind of research involves you lowering your pants?" Sheena asked, with a smirk on her face that showed she was trying to hold back her laugh.

"If I really am a Summon Spirit, that would mean I have knowledge of the past locked inside of me," Raine said, with the familiar glint in her eyes of when she was in Ruin Mode. "If that's true, then this entire time, my own memories are the key to secrets long lost in time."

The group had sweatdrops running behind their foreheads as Raine went on, muttering about the probability of her being a source of knowledge in the ancient times herself. She really didn't let anything stand in the path of her curiosity.

"Well..." Tenebrae said. "I think we can say that we have two Summon Spirits in our group who need to have their powers awakened."

"Make it three," Sheena said, making the group turn to her. "I also have a mark just like you all."

"Really? Where's yours at, Sheena?" Lumen asked.

"Well, let's say that I could show you..." Sheena said, giving an intentional pause for suspense as she looked at Lloyd and Emil with a smirk. "But the place it is on would probably make Emil pass out."

The two boys blushed as their minds produced several images of where Sheena's birthmark could be as the rest of the group stayed silent, catching the meaning in Sheena's words. That is, everybody except Lumen.

"Why? Where is it?" Lumen asked with a clueless look on his cheetah face.

"Ah... someday I might tell you," Sheena simply said. "But it looks something like this," she took out one of her seals and started to draw in the ground with it.

The group got closer to look at what Sheena's mark looked like. When the violet haired woman ended, Lumen was the one to recognize it first:

"Hey, this is the Radiant Emblem. Luna's mark!"

"That means you're the Summon Spirit of light, Sheena," Marta pointed out.

"Well, I do have some control over this element," Sheena admitted. "I used it to fry demons back home. It's very efficient to burn through their chaos energies."

"Just like Luna used it during the War of the Young Aselia," Ventus thought aloud. "It must be fate that our paths crossed."

"But do you know what this means?" Marta asked, now in a happier tone. "That means Lloyd isn't going to be alone anymore. He will have all of us with him."

Lloyd realized she was right. Thinking about it now, he didn't feel uneasy anymore with the idea of turning into a Summon Spirit if all of his new friends and his crush were going to be there with him. The thought made the red clad swordsman smile.

Marta then turned to Emil, who still had a surprised look at realizing most of his friends were reincarnated Summon Spirits. He was called back to reality when Marta spoke, grabbing his arm:

"Oh Emil. That means we can be together forever. It would be like a literal happy after ever," she said, closing her eyes and staying with the expression she often got when daydreaming. "Don't you think? That means even after we wake up the other Centurions and you become a Summon Spirit yourself we can still be together."

"Yeah..." Emil said, lowering his head.

"W-what? Y-you don't want to?" Marta asked, sounding worried.

"Oh... no. It's just... Um..." that attracted the attention of the other members of the group, who looked to the shy boy. Seeing everybody was watching him, Emil spoke. "I... just need... sometime to think about all of this. It's just that. Um... excuse me."

Ratatosk's incarnation then got up and left the campsite. Marta had a distraught look on her face, thinking she might have said something wrong. Had she forced herself on him without noticing? Or did he simply not like the idea of being together with her like that? Those thoughts made Marta's heart ache with doubt and worry.

However, the entire group's attention was diverted once Lumen spoke up:

"I got it!"

"What?" Raine asked.

"Shee-luni!" the entire group let out an "huh?" when Lumen said that. "I've been trying to come with a nickname for Sheena ever since she joined us, but couldn't think of anything. But now that we know she's Luna, I finally found one; Shee-luni."

A heavy silence befell the campsite. Sweatdrops ran at the back of the heads of the group as they processed the fact that Lumen had been thinking on a nickname for Sheena that entire time. Ignis was the only that seemed unaffected by it. In fact, she looked confused more than anything. Aqua then spoke, having recovered from the awkward moment:

"Seriously, Lumen. You should think about a career as a comedian."

* * *

Before anybody decide to flame me here's some explanations about the gang being Summon Spirits and other things:

1 - In this story, Lloyd and the others are fighting against high-level demons and the gang doesn't have any Exphere or Cruxis Crystal to help them. Meaning, they can't remain this underpowered through the story if they are to survive and beat the demons. Also the problems here are on a extreme level, like the wrost case scenarios of the two games combined, so even if they had their power level from the games, it might still not be enough. As the story progresses, you will see.

2 - Brilliant Shackles is actually the Photon spell from ToS1, in case you haven't noticed the similarity in the description.

Now on a more important note: The side-fic of Everlasting Hope is released! To those who want to check it out, the name is Sage Formula. Take a look at it.

And finally (phew) a Skit to close this chapter. This is one is actually a serious one and shows what occurs as Emil let the group to be by himself in the end of this chapter. I had to put it like this, because I didn't find a place for it in the next chapter. It's between him and Ratatosk.

Emil's Doubts

Emil: To think all of them are actually Summon Spirits… even Marta…

Ratatosk: Hey. What's wrong?

Emil: Oh, Ratatosk. I'm just… thinking…

Ratatosk: Don't tell me discovering all of them are Summon Spirits made you change your mind?

Emil: N-no… it's just…

Ratatosk: If I remember well; you were the one that said you didn't wish for this. Right?

Emil: Um… y-yes…

Ratatosk: Well, I don't like it as much as you, but what so if they are the replacements of my brothers and sisters? In the end, it won't matter.

Emil: But Lloyd and the others aren't replacements to somebody. They're themselves and…

Ratatosk: Look, I'm not asking for your opinion on the matter. I know they're their own person. Didn't I just say they're not my brothers and sisters?

Emil: Yes, but you…

Ratatosk: Look. It doesn't matter. I'm going to recover my powers and once I do, we're done with this deal.

Emil: But… what about Marta?

Ratatosk: 'What about her'?

Emil: She's a Summon Spirit too and I…

Ratatosk: What? You want to stay with her? Don't be ridiculous. I'm the Summon Spirit here, not you. You're my vessel at the best.

Emil: I… I'm not just a…

Ratatosk: If she's going to turn into a Summon Spirit, then she's not going to belong to this world anymore and, who knows, she might even forget you.

Emil: Marta would never… !

Ratatosk: Look, I'm not in the mood for this talk, ok? Just do your part of the deal and then you figure out what to do with your love problems.

Emil: O… Ok…

Ratatosk: … ugh… why do things have to get so complicated? … Marta…a Summon Spirit… if just that wimp had the guts to take her, I wouldn't have to feel like this.


	14. The Hell Knight

Merry Christmas my readers!

I know this chapter isn't exactly somehtign you could consider as a Christmas present, considering the amount of **violence **and some **gore **on it, but it's part of the fic, so...

Here we will have a load of action and the appearance of a new member of the villains cast (if you already didn't guess that by the title). Yep, it's the Hell Knight! That guy you face in the Niflheim's Book in ToS 1 who is a bitch to defeat. Unfortunately (depending on the angle), for him to better fit in the story I had to give him a Mystic Arte. So, now he's a badass, demonic bitch.

But enough of my ramblings. Read and you'll know what I'm talking about.

NOTE: Didn't have time to put the translations of the enchantments in demonic language last time, but here are they:

Jeoriv – rejuvenate

xarent - extract

Teh kas en liss, Eriantrus. Feresh ryu sessence sint… – I ask of thee, Great Father. Breathe your essence into…

Neish lis irath tun heset fiant… Khist Tresay - Shine thy light upon these unfaithful ones… Blinding Destroyer

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**The Hell Knight**

After much deliberation that morning, Lloyd, Emil and the others decided to go back to the Asgard Continent for Sheena and Marta to find their spirit's halves in the Tower of Mana and the Balacruf Mausoleum, the last known locations where the Summon Spirits of light and wind resided.

However, when they suggested to go to the Thoda Island, where Aqua's altar was located and, consequently, Undine's temple, Raine quickly declined the idea saying that considering the season they were in, the sea was high, so part of the Thoda Island would be submerse and that would be difficult travel to the island. Her tone was a rushed one and her face was almost paled when she heard the idea, but the group decided not to comment on that, knowing the half-elven Professor would just deny it.

"I still think that this is sidetracking," Tenebrae complained for what seemed to be the fifth time. He was like that ever since the idea was proposed, but the other Centurions didn't seem to share his point of view.

"Nobody cares what you think. Face it, Tenebonehead," Aqua said with some glee on her voice. It seemed she was enjoying the fact everybody was ignoring the Centurion of Darkness' complaints.

"I am just saying we are putting everybody at risk by going back to a region so close to a Desian Human Ranch."

"Oh, c'mon. You didn't complain when we went to fetch Lumen in the Tower of Mana," Lloyd pointed out.

"That's…"

"If you want to go and find the Centurion's cores alone, then go. One less annoyance would make things so much more peaceful," Sheena commented.

Tenebrae stood quiet at that. He then lowered his dog head and mumbled to himself. Meanwhile, Raine was eying Lloyd intensively ever since they left camp. The red clad swordsman noticed, but tried not to pay attention to it. However, his face was getting redder as time passed until he couldn't stand it anymore and asked:

"Do you need something, Raine?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking," Raine said with a dismissive gesture of her hand.

"On what?" Lloyd asked.

"Could you maybe enter your spirit form?" she asked in a nice tone, though the gleam in her eyes put all of Lloyd's instincts in alert.

"I-I don't think so… I mean, I didn't even fully grasp how it works…" Lloyd said, starting to sweat.

"Why don't you try?" Raine encouraged.

Luckily, Sheena came to Lloyd's rescue and talked to Raine:

"Hey, you better not be thinking on turning Lloyd into some kind of experiment of yours," Lloyd sighed and was about to thank Sheena when the violet haired woman added, with a smirk. "I'm the one who wants to study his spirit form first," Lloyd's head fell to the side, with a sweatdrop running behind it.

"Oh, sure. Although, yours obviously would lead to nothing, but your personal pleasure," Raine replied in a dry tone. "What I do is for the sake of science and purely scholar matters."

"Really? Are you sure it isn't just to look at his abs?" Sheena asked, her eyes narrowed and with a devious tone on her voice.

"How dare you … ?"

"My ladies, please let's calm down," Ventus said, making Sheena and Raine look at him. "Can't you act about this subject with more maturity? You don't see Lady Marta acting like this over Lloyd's spirit form. Right, Lady Marta?"

The group then looked and saw Marta was with Emil now, who was beet red as the girl spoke to him:

"…I bet your spirit form will look just as cool as Lloyd's, if not even more handsome. Oh! I shouldn't have spoke that out loud," Marta said with a daydream expression on her face as she apparently assumed a shy pose, her cheeks gaining a pink tone.

Ventus sighed and decided to drop the subject.

The two adult women were about to go back to their bickering when they felt something. Lloyd, Emil and the Centurions also felt it and the group looked to the road behind them.

"What is this… feeling?" Lloyd asked, confused as to why his senses were all in alert since he couldn't see any threat around.

"You've probably got sensitive to spiritual and chaos energies thanks to your soul being completed," Ventus explained. "And what you are feeling now is a powerful demonic aura approaching."

"I don't like it. It's kinda scary," Lumen said.

Before the group could think about that more, a figure appeared in the horizon, coming to them at a fast pace. As it got closer, the group could finally distinguish its features and what they saw worried them to no end.

It was someone wearing a demonic-looking, purple armor, with a horned helmet that had the shape of a demon's face, with fangs and empty black spots where the eyes should be. He was mounted on a monster that looked like a Velocidragon, however, it was covered by a purple and grey set of armor very similar to the one its knight had. Sheena and Raine could smell the scent of decaying flesh and blood coming from the dragon, indicating it was an undead being.

Knowing trying to outrun the mounted knight was out of question, the group waited for it with their weapons drawn. The demonic knight then came to a halt in front of them, its dragon growling like it was eager to rip the flesh of the people standing in front of it.

"Identify yourselves, humans," the knight said in a raspy voice, which didn't seem to be an effect produced by him wearing an helmet.

"Give us your name and we will give you ours," Lloyd replied. Though Sheena and Raine didn't think it was such a good idea to taunt a being that exhaled so much chaos energy, they weren't really willingly to let the demon know their names.

The demonic knight ignored Lloyd's reply and looked to Emil, who had assumed a firm stance, shy demeanor gone. The knight then addressed to him:

"What is your name, human?"

"Aster," Emil said, not faltering.

"Aster, huh…" the knight repeated. A chuckle seemed to escape him, though the group couldn't see anything indicating the demon had a mouth beneath its helmet. Either he was a living armor or a spirit inhabiting one. "Good try… Ratatosk."

The group tensed and gripped their weapons tighter. The demon probably knew who they were ever since it came after them. Sheena was the one to speak up:

"What's up with you, then? Are you here to fight us?"

The demonic knight looked to her and lifted one hand while holding the reigns of his dragon-mount. Purple energy started to gather at his palm, which Sheena and Raine identified as being the element darkness. The demon then closed his hand and a long, purple, ethereal, glowing sword made out of darkness and chaos energy was formed. It was at the least the same length as the mount of the demon and had jagged points in all of its extension.

"I'm Gerash'Läh," the demon said, lowering his sword and pointing it to them.

"Hell Knight," Raine muttered, translating the name.

"Oh, so one of you actually speak our language. Interesting…" the Hell Knight said. "but irrelevant. Hand over Ratatosk and I promise a quick, painless death to all of you."

"In your dreams, freak!" Sheena said.

"Very well, then…" the demon said, his mount inclining its head back and sucking the air around, fire starting to form inside its mouth. "Have it your way!"

The undead dragon breathed a ball of concentrated fire as Lloyd and the others jumped to the side. The flaming projectile exploded when it hit the ground. The group then entered into the battle; Raine charging supportive spells as Lloyd and the others took the front. If the Hell Knight had a face, it would probably show a smirk.

The mounted demon repelled them all with long range slashes from his sword as his dragon attacked them with its sharp fangs and powerful fire balls. Lloyd and Emil couldn't reach the demon thanks to his long sword's swings, but Sheena and Marta, being faster and nimbler than the boys, managed to dodge the ample swings of the sword and got close to the Hell Knight. However, when they were almost at striking range, the dragon mount of the demon inclined its head in a strange angle and bit Sheena's right leg. The guardian user winced and was soon flung to the side by the powerful jaw of the undead dragon.

Marta tried to attack, but the Hell Knight's sword suddenly disappeared and in its place, on the back of the demon's hand, appeared a purple, ethereal shield, made of the same energy which the Hell Knight used to make his sword. Marta's attacks were all blocked and even when the boys got close enough and Raine casted Sharpness to enhance their attacks, the Hell Knight formed another shield in his other hand and defended from their attacks. When the group landed, they had to jump back to avoid being hit by the demon's mount bites and tail when the dragon spun on its place.

Sheena tried to throw her seals from a safe distance, but the Hell Knight noticed that and dismissed his shields, reforming his sword and swinging it, effectively cutting Sheena's paper seals in half, which brunt exhaling chaos energies and darkness.

Raine also sensed that and decided the situation called for a light spell, as the others continued to try and get close to the demon at the same time. The Hell Knight's mount spun again, the two performing a continuous spin attack. Lloyd and the others had to stop and put up their defenses, however, the ethereal sword's range was so big they were hit multiple times by strong slashes, eventually having their defenses broken and gaining cuts before being pushed away by the incredible strength of the attack.

When the Hell Knight stopped spinning he eyed his adversaries and sneered as he said:

"Is that the best the all-powerful Ratatosk and his companions can do? You didn't even touch me."

"Then how about this!" Raine proclaimed. The demon turned his head to her in time to see the silver haired woman casting Photon on him.

A concentrated sphere of light released explosions over the demon and its mount, giving the group time to run and try to attack him, however, they soon discovered most of their attacks did little damage to the high-level demon. Even Raine's Photon, though it achieved to immobilize and burnt some of demon's aura and darkness, wasn't enough to actually do some significant damage.

The Hell Knight then crossed his arms, reuniting chaos and darkness around him and releasing them in a wave that knocked Lloyd and the others away of him. Ratatosk then took the control of Emil's body and recovered in midair, charging against the demon. The Hell Knight tried to swing his long sword at the reincarnated spirit, but Ratatosk avoided it, using an almost inhuman speed to get close to the demon and unleashed an Arte:

"Savage Brilliance!" he used an upward slash, creating a column of light which immobilized the Hell Knight and thrust forward, piercing the armor of the demon's mount and pushing him.

The undead dragon retaliated by breathing fire on Ratatosk, who defended with his sword, however, the fireball pushed him back, pressing against his sword and leaving a trail of fire behind, trying to break the spirit's defense before dissipating. Ratatosk then saw the Hell Knight coming for him at great speed, brandishing his ethereal sword. The crimson-eyed spirit barely managed to avoid the attack.

Marta and Sheena went to the aid of the reincarnated spirit as Lloyd was trying to think on a strategy. Raine was charging another light spell, since it seemed to be the only thing that affected the high-level demon. Lloyd decided that the only way for them to win would be if he used his power, but before he could think on releasing it, he heard:

"Enough!" the Hell Knight spun again, his sword slashing at the group around him once more. When the demon stopped spinning, he dismissed his sword once more and in its place an ethereal bow appeared. The demon pulled an invisible string and an arrow materialized.

"Sheena!" Lloyd shouted for the guardian user, who was in the aim of the demon as she was recovering. She wouldn't avoid it in time.

The arrow was let loose as Lloyd ran to defend his crush at the same time. Sheena could only look at the ethereal projectile flying to her, aiming for her heart. It was then a burst of flames came around Lloyd and the young man threw himself in Sheena's front, taking the arrow in the back of his left shoulder. The others gasped at that.

Sheena was in a state of shock as Lloyd suddenly reverted back to his normal form and fell to the ground, trying to clutch his wound.

"Lloyd!" Sheena called for him, going for the swordsman. She was about to reach the arrow and take it out from his body when it suddenly started dissolving. To her horror, she felt the energy of the arrow entering Lloyd's body through the wound. "Lloyd!"

Lloyd started to whimper and sweat, like he was in a fever. The Hell Knight hadn't noticed the transformation of the dual swordsman for it had been too fast. The demon then dismissed the bow and in its place he created a lance, preparing to throw it at the distracted Sheena. Raine saw that and decided to defend her friends.

"Light! Ray!"

A bright sphere of light appeared over the Hell Knight's head, shooting several beams of light on him and his mouth, which roared at the burning light. The demon then looked at the white mage that had attacked him and decided to switch targets. He threw his lance at Raine, just like the half-elf predicted. She ran to the side as the lance stick the ground, suddenly reuniting the chaos energy around and exploding, Raine barely escaping the explosion.

Marta gritted her teeth and attacked, spinning in her place and sending wind blades against the Hell Knight, who simply called for his shield again, seeming to chuckle at their attempts to attack him. The demon then spoke:

"Don't think I'm some weak, low-level demon. I am a high-order member of the Hunter Clan. You, mortal worms, don't stand the slightest chance against me!"

Meanwhile, Raine ran to Lloyd and kneeled near him as Sheena looked over her crush, seeming completely desperate. His breath was now ragged and lines were started to form around his eyes, like he was sick. Raine examined the wound and felt the energies in it, cursing as she said:

"He was hit by a poisoned arrow. We _have_ to get out of here!" she then turned to Ratatosk and Marta, who were still trying to fight off the demon. "Ratatosk! Marta! Let's retreat!"

"I don't think so," the hunter demon said, his mount preparing to breathe another concentrated fireball.

Ratatosk noticed that and jumped, using Raining Delude, throwing a water sphere which created a geyser once it hit the head of the undead dragon, making it turn its head blindly and miss the attack.

The Centurions then appeared as the group started to gather to flee. Raine charged and casted her Radiant Shackles spell, bidding the Hell Knight. She stayed concentrated on the spell to make it last until the group left.

Ignis summoned a Hell Hound monster for them to mount as Tenebrae summoned a dark, demonic looking monster with wings sprouting from its back and jagged blades coming out of his arms. The Centurion of darkness referred to the creature as a Dark Wing and asked it to carry Lloyd. The monster picked the incapacitated swordsman with surprisingly care.

"Get on, Shee-luni!" Lumen said, stopping near Sheena, offering his back for her to ride. She complied as Marta took the back of the Hell Hound and Ratatosk got on Tenebrae's back.

The group soon took off at great speed, the winged demon carrying Lloyd right behind them. Raine saw that and Ventus called her attention, summoning two Ravens. The Professor guarded her staff and quickly grabbed the talons of the monsters, taking off by the air.

The Hell Knight saw his preys escaping and struggled against the light seals bidding him, bending them until he completely broke them off, dispelling the light completely. The hunter demon looked to where his preys had taken off to.

"Huh. They won't get away…"

- / - / - / -

Raine and the others just stopped when they found shelter in a cave. Marta and Ratatosk, together with the Centurions were mounting guard in the entrance in case the Hell Knight came after them. Raine and Sheena were tending to Lloyd, who was sweating in streaks and gave out long breaths.

Sheena was biting her lower lip as she saw the painful expression on Lloyd's face. They had to take the young man's shirt and jacket off to clean the wound on the back of his left shoulder, however, Lloyd's fever wasn't wearing down and he seemed to be getting worst.

"What kind of poison is this?" Marta asked, looking to Lloyd with great concern in her eyes.

"Demonic poison," Ventus explained. "And it was his luck he was able to transform in his spirit form before being hit by that arrow. If he was a normal person, he would be dead by now."

"But I thought when he entered in spirit form he gained the protection of a Summon Spirit," Sheena said. "Aren't Summon Spirit's immune to these things?"

"You are forgetting that Lloyd isn't a complete Summon Spirit. Not yet, that is," Tenebrae said.

"Origin said the spirit form would be able to absorb damage and protect the mortal side of the reincarnated spirit using the protection the power of the Summon Spirit concedes to them, but it could be dispelled if the person took enough damage," Aqua spoke.

"And since Lloyd hasn't had the time to learn the proper workings of this form, his protection is akin to one of a normal half-elf," Raine resumed.

"Can you save him, Raine?" Sheena asked.

"It won't be easy. Demonic poison is nothing like the ones that exist in this world. They can't be dispelled by normal magic."

"Then use your chaos magic," Ratatosk simply said, without turning to them. "If I remember well, the only way to dispel demonic venom is by using their magic."

"I know of a spell that could work… but…" Raine said, musing and looking to the ground.

"Then do it!" Sheena and Marta said at the same time.

Raine sighed and looked to Lloyd. The young man's breath was getting weaker now. If she didn't work fast, he would die soon. The silver haired woman then grabbed her staff and gave Sheena a clean rag, saying for her to put it in Lloyd's mouth once she began. Sheena asked why and the answer Raine gave made the violet haired woman shiver:

"I'm going to extract the venom from his body. It's going to be very painful, probably not like anything he ever experienced in his entire life, but it's the only way to save him."

"What do you mean by 'extract'?" Marta asked the question Sheena didn't want to ask.

"This magic searches through the person's entire system utilizing chaos energies to extract the venom from his body by making it travel all the way to some orifice it can exit. That's why I didn't close his wound," Sheena and Marta gulped at hearing that, but nodded notwithstanding. This was the only way to save Lloyd. "While I'm at it, I can't be interrupted. One mistake and the chaos energy might disperse inside his body, corroding it."

The group stayed silent at that, giving their confirmation to Raine. Marta went back to the entrance with Ratatosk. Raine then started gather chaos energy around her, her hair fluttering like it was being picked by a gentle breeze. Sheena felt a shiver in her spine as she heard Raine chant words in what she presumed was the demonic language:

"Teh kas en liss, Eriantrus. Feresh ryu sessence sint…" the group didn't catch the rest of the enchantment, for their attention was drawn to a small sphere of green-poison energy that formed above Lloyd's wound. "Xarent!" threads of energy slowly grew from the sphere and went to Lloyd's body, entering through his open wound.

The swordsman's eyes fluttered open as he felt like his insides were being burnt by acid. He was about to let out a bloodcurdling scream, before Sheena noticed it and stuffed his mouth with the clean rag Raine gave her. Lloyd then bit down the rag with all force he could to keep himself from screaming as he felt his insides being searched and something being pulled out of him.

Sheena had to use all of the force of her will not to scream at Raine to stop. She just hoped it wouldn't take too long to extract the venom from Lloyd's body. Ratatosk and Marta observed the procedure from the entrance of the cave, the former commenting:

"Honestly, that woman gives me the creeps every time she does that."

"But Raine's helping us and you seemed to know about this spell too, didn't you?" Marta asked.

"You can't fight against something you don't have any idea of what is it, can you?" he replied. "Besides, that doesn't mean I ever used any chaos magic."

"At least Professor Water is on our side," Lumen said.

It was then Ratatosk, Sheena and the Centurions felt a being emanating strong, chaos energies approaching. Marta saw the look on the reincarnated spirit's face and immediately guessed; the Hell Knight had found them.

"What? Already?" the brunette girl said.

"That doesn't surprise me. The members of the Hunter Clan are known to be expert trackers," Tenebrae said. "And considering he is mounted, it wouldn't take long for him to find us."

_"We have to help Lloyd!"_ Emil said to Ratatosk.

_And how do you expect us to do that? _the Summon Spirit replied to his human personality.

_"Let's go out there and buy them some time."_

_Are you crazy? You saw his power, didn't you? He's practically at the level of a demon general._

_"We don't need to fight him, just get him away of here. He's after us, after all."_

Ratatosk gritted his teeth, looking to Lloyd, who was still biting at the rag with all his strength as his screams were muffled by the cloth on his mouth. The Summon Spirit cussed. Sometimes, he thought Emil was just too soft for his own good.

"Stay here. I'll drive that guy away from here," Ratatosk said to the group, turning to the entrance.

"I'll go with you then," Marta said.

"No. You stay here and protect them. Besides, that thing only wants me. It won't see a reason for coming after you."

"But, he's too powerful!" Marta protested, but was interrupted by Ratatosk.

"Don't you think I know that? But if I don't do this, he'll come here and then Lloyd will be as good as dead!"

Marta stopped talking at that. She knew it was true, but she couldn't just let the spirit walk to battle alone like that, even more against a high-level demon like that. However, before she could insist again, Ratatosk ran out of the cave and jumped to the slope bellow.

The brunette girl called out for him, but either he was already too far to hear or he simply ignored her…

- / - / - / -

The Hell Knight slowly approached the hill in which the cave was located, having followed Ratatosk here. His mount growled impatiently, yearning to tear apart the flesh of the reincarnated spirit. As the demon was approaching the entrance of a cave on the mountainside, he saw something near there, coming to him.

The hunter demon smirked (though it wasn't visible) at seeing his prey come to him. Ratatosk had his sword on his shoulder, an emotionless look on his face as he approached his demonic adversary. The Hell Knight's mount roared at the crimson-eyed entity as its knight said:

"You have much courage coming alone to face me."

"I don't need anybody else to beat your sorry ass from here to Niflheim," Ratatosk retorted, lowering his sword.

"I see your attitude didn't change even after this many millenniums."

"Say: how did you get to find me so fast?"

"Your aura is quite a giveaway. I could sense you from across this continent since the last night."

"Really? Then who sent you? Nebilim?"

"Huh, not really," the Hell Knight replied, not bothered to have a small talk with his prey before he annihilated it.

"Then it was…"

"Yes. The Great One. He got tired of you wandering around this world, which is now ours, and since Lord Nebilim had other duties to attend to, he requested our clan to send its best hunter to track down and eliminate you."

"Really? And where is your best member?" Ratatosk taunted.

"I was talking about me!"

"You don't look all that great. I've seen uglier things more powerful than you!" the Summon Spirit then assumed a battle stance.

"In that case… DIE!"

The Hell Knight's mount breathed a fireball at Ratatosk, who ran to avoid it as the demon's mount breathed a barrage at him. The Summon Spirit ran through the stone slopes of the mountain side as fire exploded right behind him, leaving holes in the rock.

When he saw an opening in the barrage, Ratatosk used Raining Delude, throwing a sphere of water at the demon, which simply cleaved it with his ethereal sword, the water dissipating in the air. The Hell Knight then saw Ratatosk running to the forest and gave chase.

At the caves, Marta was watching the fight with an expression of worry and fear in her face. Her heart beating at an accelerated pace as she saw Ratatosk avoiding the attacks from the powerful demon. She knew there was no way the Lord of the Monsters could win against such adversary. She then looked to Sheena and Raine, who were still concentrated on Lloyd.

There was now a small sphere of liquid floating above the swordsman's body. It was roughly the size of a water droplet and was growing as the rest of the venom was being extracted. Sheena knew better than to touch the floating venom. She had heard demonic poison was absorbed by the human body faster than the eye could catch.

Ignis and Ventus were also looking over the dual swordsman, who was still biting down at the rag Sheena had given him, his screams muffled. It was then the guardian user heard the sound of footsteps and stones being dislocated from their position. She looked back and saw Marta was gone. The violet haired woman cursed:

"That blockhead! She's going to get herself killed."

"Wait, Lady Sheena!" Ventus called, stopping Sheena from going after Marta. "If you go out then there will be no one to watch over Sir Lloyd. Wait for him to recover and then go after Lady Marta and Lord Ratatosk."

Sheena looked from the entrance to the eagle-like Centurion, sighing. She knew he was right, but if Raine didn't end the process and Lloyd didn't recover soon, Marta and Ratatosk would surely be dead by the time they went to help the couple…

- / - / - / -

Ratatosk was on a wild run as the Hell Knight came right after him, opening his path by the woods by cutting down the trees around him. The crimson-eyed entity smiled at that. The mounted demon's speed certainly couldn't be matched at the plains, but that was useless in the middle of a forest, where he had to avoid and open paths through the trees for his mount to pass.

However, the Summon Spirit of the Kharlan Tree soon saw the demon had other means of attacking him, for the Hell Knight once against transformed his sword in another weapon, this time an ax. The Hell Knight brought his hand back and threw the ethereal weapon, which spun in the air as it flew right after Ratatosk, cutting down anything on its path.

Ratatosk widened his eyes at the sight and cursed. He had to turn around and put his sword in front of him to block the flying weapon. The ax pressed against the Summon Spirit's defense, creating sparks as it spun against Emil's blade. With a grunt, Ratatosk used all of his might and pushed the weapon away, just for it to go right back to the Hell Knight's hand, who, as soon as he caught the weapon, transformed it in a bow and started shooting arrows at Ratatosk.

The Summon Spirit restarted his run, avoiding the arrows full with demon poison, which once hit the trees, made them wither and die in a matter of seconds. Ratatosk knew with his current power he wouldn't stand a chance should he got hit by one of those arrows.

As the two resumed the chase, Ratatosk eventually arrived at an open section of the forest and had to stop abruptly. There was a cliff in front of him and the only exit was the forest he had passed through, however, the Hell Knight soon emerged from the trees. Ratatosk was now cornered.

"End of the chase, Ratatosk," the Hell Knight said. "I must admit: you're quite the cunning prey. However, the demon hunters never let their prey escape," Ratatosk just grumbled in answer as the Hell Knight pulled at the invisible string on his ethereal bow, another arrow appearing at his hand as he took aim. "Say hello to your brethren for me."

Before the Hell Knight could let loose his poisoned projectile, a wind blade impacted with his hand, pushing it to the side and making him miss the shot. As the demon let out an "what?", Marta jumped out of the woods spinning in the air, her spinner ready and slashing at the Hell Knight's armor three times, startling his mount, which reared back its head.

Marta took a step back and charged her spin with the power of wind, making the spinning blade extend and slashing it at the neck of the demon's mount, finally achieving to break some of the weaker parts of its armor and cut some decayed scales.

The brunette fighter had to jump back once the undead dragon recovered and tried to bite down at her with its sharp fangs. Marta also dodged the tail swipe of the enraged mount and reunited with Ratatosk, who exclaimed:

"Marta! What the hell? Didn't I tell you to stay hidden?"

"You can thank me later for saving you," Marta said, not even bothering to pay attention to the Lord of the Monsters' rant. "No way I'm letting you die at the hands of some demon. At least, not alone," she added.

Ratatosk felt something stir inside of him at hearing Marta speak that way, but he dismissed it. It was nor the time or the place to have such thoughts. The Hell Knight turned to them at seeing he now had another prey to be dealt with. The demon seemed to snicker at that as the young couple prepared to face off against the high-level demon.

"Well, well, seems like I've got a new bounty…" the Hell Knight mused. "If you're so willingly to die together with Ratatosk, then I'll see to it that your wish comes true!"

The Hell Knight's mount inclined its head up and shot another fireball. Ratatosk and Marta observed the flaming projectile ascend to the skies and explode, releasing several other fireballs, it turning into a rain of fire.

"Damn!" Ratatosk cursed, jumping and rolling to dodge the explosive fireballs. Marta used all of her agility and acrobatic skills to avoid the explosions too.

Ratatosk managed to approach the Hell Knight enough and jumped, gripping his blade high above his head, charging it with light, ready to bring it down over the high-level demon's head. The Hell Knight only chuckled as he brought his hand behind, forming an ethereal hammer, ready to smash the reincarnated spirit with it. Ratatosk saw that and brought his blade down at the same time the Hell Knight swung his hammer, the two weapons colliding against each other and letting sparks fly from the shock between the opposite, elemental energies.

Marta dodged the last fire ball and looked to see Ratatosk in a deadlock with the hunter demon. She saw his mount inclining its head to Ratatosk, flames forming around its mouth, intent on breathing fire on the crimson-eyed entity.

_Oh no. No way. _Marta thought, harnessing wind on her spinner and starting to spin her body, launching wind blades at the demon's mount.

The brunette fighter had to use all of her control over her element to make the blades fly right at the mouth of the undead dragon. She smiled at seeing the blades hit home and the fire in the undead creature's mouth got unstable as its mouth was cut by the consecutive wind blades.

The dragon let out a roar of pain, breathing fire erratically and staggered at its place, throwing the Hell Knight out of balance and making him break the deadlock with Ratatosk as the demon muttered another "what?". The Lord of the Monsters smiled at seeing his chance. He used his Phoenix Rush and, when landed, used Savage Brilliance on the Hell Knight, both Artes destroying more of the demon mount's armor and damaging the knight.

"Try this!" Ratatosk exclaimed, jumping again and slashing several times at the hunter demon, creating blades of light, which hovered in the air. "Now! Light Spiral!" Ratatosk then dived at the point where the blades connected with each other, his sword pointing forward. When the blade pierced through the blades of light, a spiral of the element was created around Ratatosk blade's, burning the energies of the Hell Knight as the reincarnated spirit passed near him and cut the back of the of the demon's mount's neck, which roared in pain.

Marta cheered and reunited more wind on her spinner. When her spinner was shinning with a green glow, Marta swung her weapon and a transparent, green disk made of wind shot forward. The disk divided into several more, impacting on the Hell Knight's armor with consecutive hits.

Finally getting fed up of the couple's attempts to harm him, the Hell Knight transformed his hammer into a lance and threw it at Ratatosk, creating other lances and throwing them. Meanwhile, the demon's mount shot fireballs against Marta, who jumped back to avoid the explosions. Ratatosk just grinned at his adversary's attempts to hit him.

The Hell Knight then transformed his weapon into an ax again. However, the demon changed its target in the last moment, aiming and throwing the ax at Marta. Ratatosk's eyes widened as he called for the girl. However, Marta had been lured to the edge of the cliff by the attacks of the Hell Knight's dragon. She had nowhere to run.

Ratatosk felt his heart pounding against his chest as only one thought crossed his mind as he tried to run to the flying ax: protect Marta. He could also feel Emil urging him to do it and the combined desire of the two personalities made something stir in the Summon Spirit. He felt like the distance between him and the brunette fighter was diminishing in the blink of an eye, like time had slowed down for him to arrive in front of the girl to defend her.

To Marta, it was like Ratatosk had suddenly appeared in front of her, raising his sword above his head and gripping it with two hands as he charged an abhorrent amount of his own spiritual energy on the blade. He then brought down the sword, calling:

"Destroyer's Song!" when the blade hit the ground, the spiritual energy accumulated on it was conducted to the earth and soon a great column of multicolored flames rose, engulfing the ax of the Hell Knight and disintegrating it completely.

The Hell Knight, to say the least, was surprised. The great column of Ratatosk's spiritual energy hid the couple completely behind it and the power that both the demon and Marta felt in that single attack was tremendous. When the column of spiritual flames lowered, Ratatosk went back to his normal stance. The Hell Knight spoke:

"You've recovered another one of your Artes…" the hunter demon then noticed Ratatosk was breathing deeply, almost panting. "but, it seems you still not have enough power to properly use it, do you?" the demon stated, smiling inwardly at that. He still had a chance to kill the Summon Spirit.

"I don't need all of my power to dispose of trash like you," the crimson-eyed entity replied, inversing the grip in his sword and charging his spiritual energy on it again, as multicolored flames ignited on the blade. The Hell Knight tensed at seeing that, he remembered that Arte. "Try this! Ain Soph Aur!"

Ratatosk then swung his sword and threw the great sphere of his own spiritual energy at the demon. When the attack connected and multicolored flames exploded around the Hell Knight and a yell could be heard.

Marta had her mouth agape at seeing the power of that Arte had increased since the last time she saw Ratatosk use it. The Summon Spirit was grinning while looking at the multicolored flames that were consuming the demon. Then the mass of spiritual energy began to dissipate and Marta and Ratatosk's jaws fell.

The Hell Knight was still there, his hands bearing two, ethereal shields protecting his front and his mount was curled in a defensive position.

"What the… ?" Ratatosk let out. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"It seems I overestimated you," the Hell Knight spoke, his mount resuming to its normal stance as he took the shields to the sides. "The Ain Soph Aur… your signature Mystic Arte... in the War of the Young Aselia, this Arte had the power to decimate an entire legion of our troops in a single shot, such was its power," Ratatosk and Marta tensed, assuming battle stances again. "However, this was nothing, but a flicker of its former power!"

The Summon Spirit felt energy gathering around the Hell Knight. He was probably preparing for another attack. The hunter demon's aura was vibrating strongly now with chaos energies and darkness. The demon then regarded the Lord of the Monsters, its voice now assuming a low, piercing and dangerous tone:

"So, should I show you the true power of a Mystic Arte?"

Marta decided to rush in before the Hell Knight had time to make his threat true. Ratatosk called her, but the girl was already jumping, her spinner's blade harnessing the wind to extend the blade's reach. The crimson-eyed entity went after the girl.

When Marta was about to slash at the Hell Knight, the demon jumped from his mount, which simply took off and tried to ram into Ratatosk. Marta landed, surprised at the evasive maneuver. Ratatosk had to roll to the side to not be run over by the undead dragon. However, he heard somebody landing near him and looked up to see the Hell Knight.

The demon then raised his hand high in the air with its palm to the skies. A cyclone of darkness and chaos energy surrounded the high level demon, hitting Ratatosk and paralyzing the Summon Spirit. What came next was a dreadful sight as the long, ethereal sword of the Hell Knight materialized and he prepared.

"Sword!" the Hell Knight swung his weapon in a downward diagonal slash. "Ax!" the sword then transformed in the mentioned weapon and the demon performed a vertical slash at Ratatosk's chest. "Lance!" the ethereal weapon transformed again as the demon thrust it, impaling Ratatosk's side and forcing the Lord of the Monsters some inches behind. "Arrow!" the ethereal weapon transformed once more while the Hell Knight still had his arm stretched. The demon then fired a rain of five arrows at same time at Ratatosk. Luckily, the power required to perform that Mystic Arte didn't allow the Hell Knight to infuse the arrows with poison. "Hammer!" another transformation and the Hell Knight hit the ground with his weapon while giving a step forward. Waves of chaos energy propagated from the impact and launched Ratatosk up. "Now it ends for you!" the ethereal weapon disappeared from the demon's hands, which started to glow with purple energy. He then brought his hands up and pointed them forward, creating a giant energy sphere which engulfed Ratatosk when the Summon Spirit was about to hit the ground. The consecutive hits were charged with darkness and chaos energies. "Chaotic Armistice!" the sphere then exploded on several purple and green-poison dots.

Marta could only watch with her mouth agape, while Ratatosk was thrown backwards by the incredible force of the Mystic Arte, his sword flying out of his grip. The brunette fighter's heart was beating so fast it hurt while seeing the gashes and wounds along the body of her protector. Ratatosk then hit the floor with a thud, his sword also falling and embedding itself on the ground. Marta finally found her voice:

"RATATOSK!"

The Hell Knight stood still, his long sword reforming itself on his hand. He started to walk to the fallen spirit until he had to sidestep a wind blade launched behind him. The demon turned his head to look at Marta, who had in her eyes tears of hatred at seeing what that demon had done to her protector.

"Get away of him!" Marta shouted to the demon, harnessing more wind around her spinner to attack. The Hell Knight simply scoffed and raised his free hand to the level of his face, snapping his finger. Marta just had time to look to her left at hearing a roar coming from behind her. The next thing she felt was an unbearable pain and the sensation that her bones were breaking apart as the fangs of the Hell Knight's dragon mount sunk into her left shoulder. "AAAAHHHHGGGG!"

"MARTA!" Ratatosk screamed at seeing the girl being attacked by the undead dragon.

Marta gritted her teeth, trying to fight off the pain and brought her spinner to the head of the undead dragon, yelling:

"GET AWAY OF ME!" the spinner's blade grinded against the beast's head protection, until it destroyed it and started to saw the skin of the creature. The dragon roared in pain and let go of Marta's shoulder.

The brunette girl fell to her knees, panting and holding her bloodied, left shoulder. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't concentrate on a healing spell due to the pain. She could feel her gloved hand getting wet with her own blood and could just look up from her position as the Hell Knight walked to Ratatosk, who was trying to get up without success.

The hunter demon then stomped on Ratatosk's chest with its armored foot, pressing the reincarnated spirit against the ground and earning another painful yell from him. The Hell Knight then placed his blade near Ratatosk's neck, shortening it to not get stuck in the earth. The demon chuckled at his prey as he spoke:

"Such fragile and pitiful creatures these humans are. Don't you agree, Ratatosk?" the only answer the demon got was a grunt from the Summon Spirit. The Hell Knight casted a look to Marta, who couldn't even get up due to the searing pain in her left shoulder. "They brag about being a superior species, however it takes just one serious wound to make them unable to fight. Pathetic," the hunter demon then looked back to Ratatosk. "It's because of it that you enhanced your human vessel, right? Of course, you can only do so much with the little power you have now…" the demon then raised his blade. "The contract stated I should take your head back to Lord Nebilim. Surely the Great One will promote me to Lord with your death. Be honored."

The Hell knight was about to swing his sword, however, he was stopped by a cry of "Brilliant Shackles" as the seals appeared over the air and bound the demon right before exploding and sending him staggering back. The Hell Knight looked to the direction the voice had come and saw Raine standing there.

"Stay away of them," the half-elf commanded, pointing her staff at the high-level demon.

The Hell Knight chuckled and called his mount with a snap of his fingers again. He jumped and landed on the back of his undead dragon with ease. Raine saw that as a sign the demon intended to attack her and started to chant another spell as the Hell Knight charged at her:

"Neish lis irath tun heset fiant…"

"That enchantment…" the Hell Knight mumbled in surprise.

"Khist Tresay!" a runic portal appeared in front of the Hell Knight, a brilliant light emanating from it and making the demon stop as he felt his aura burning with the light. He tried to avoid it, but two other portals opened at his sides and shot out brilliant lights too. A final one opened behind the demon, trapping it as he tried to protect himself against the blinding light which burned his darkness. The light emanating from the portals soon concentrated into beams, which shot from the portals, hitting the Hell Knight and making his entire body and his mount's glow with a golden brilliance until this glow released an explosion over the demon, who screamed in pain.

The Hell Knight was now panting, all the fighting and attacks seeming to finally have taken a toll on him. The demon then looked to Raine, who was standing before him, not phased at all.

"You… you know our magic…" the hunter demon said. "Why aren't you in the Desian division of our troops?"

"Because I have no interest in allying with those bent on destroying this world," Raine replied.

"You little…" the Hell Knight was cut off when a storm of seal cards appeared around him, cutting his armor and his mount's flesh. "Damn! What now?" the demon cursed, trying to cut the seals while his mount breathed fire on some. They achieved to burnt and destroy some of the cards, but it was already too late.

"Typhoon Purge!" Sheena's voice came as the seals attached to the cuts made on the two foul creatures, shone and exploded. "Now begone from this world!"

As the Hell Knight was pushed back by the explosions of the seals, Sheena appeared near Raine, more cards ready. The demon then spoke, his voice dripping with anger, seeming to have finally got tired of all those interruptions:

"Do you think that's enough to destroy me? I'm a demon general! The power granted to me by that sole position is something you, miserable worms, could never touch!"

"Oh, we weren't trying to destroy you…" Sheena said, slyly.

"Just to prepare you for the payback," Raine completed.

The Hell Knight was about to reply, but suddenly he felt a powerful aura emerging from the forest nearby. A very familiar and powerful aura. The demon was turning its head and saw a red blur coming, which proclaimed:

"Flaring Tempest!" Lloyd curled and spun in the air, his transformed swords spreading flames in the air. The young man then slashed at the base of the Hell Knight mount's neck, almost decapitating it, and at the chest of the demon. The cuts ignited in a roar of flames, as the demon let out another scream of pain and his mount roared, right before falling to the side with its knight.

The high level demon stood on his knee as he looked to the one that attacked him, taking in the changes in his appearance and… was that wings coming out of his back? But that was impossible. And how in Niflheim did that human achieved to wound him using fire. It was one of the elements he was resistant against. It was then the hunter demon felt the aura of the brunette again and recognized it:

"Efreet!"

"Not really," Lloyd said, gripping his blades again. "But I sure am going to incinerate you until nothing is left for hurting my friends!"

The Hell Knight then accessed the situation again: Lloyd and Sheena were ready to attack him; his mount was down, appearing to have been killed while the smell of burnt flesh rose from it; and Raine was already healing Marta. The demon stood and touched his unconscious mount, a runic circle appearing bellow them.

"It seems I was misinformed about you…" the demon said as he and the undead dragon started to glow and their figures convert to two, bright purple spheres, right before he said. "We will meet again…"

With that, the two spheres released a purple flash and disappeared. Lloyd went back to his normal form and looked at Marta and Ratatosk, seeing the damage the demon had made to them. The brunette girl, as soon as she was cured, got up and went to her protector, who was grunting as he tried to stand, but couldn't due to all of his wounds.

"Wait. I'm going to cure you," Marta said, kneeling near her crush and quickly chanting a Heal spell, ignoring the dizziness she felt due to the blood loss. However, the magic didn't have any effect. Marta tried again, but the spell simply seemed to slip on his body. "W-why isn't it working?"

"He was probably wounded by chaos energies," Raine said, approaching the two. "Wounds inflicted by that kind of energy can't be healed by normal spells and even advanced ones have little effect."

"So, do you happen to know some kind of healing, chaos spell?" Sheena asked as she and Lloyd also reunited with the group.

"Yes," Raine simply said, holding her staff in the vertical and murmuring a chant in the demonic language once more. "Jeoriv," as she proclaimed the name of the spell, a runic circle appeared beneath Ratatosk and chaos energy seemed to propagate around its borders like teeth. The energy then closed around Emil's body in a gentle manner, like a mantle was being thrown over him.

However, as his wounds were closing, Ratatosk let out a yell of pain, startling the others. Steam also seemed to come out of his wounds, like something was burning them. The runic circle then disappeared together with the chaos energies. The wounds in Emil's body hadn't closed completely, but they didn't seem as serious as before.

"What happened?" Lloyd asked Raine, who got up with a thoughtful expression as she put her hand under her chin.

"Just as I suspected," she mused before turning to Lloyd and Sheena and explain. "Chaos magic is known by having an effect on the caster's soul and its target. But since Emil is Ratatosk, a Summon Spirit, his spirit naturally rejects chaos energies. I can only do this much for him."

"At least he doesn't look worse than he was before," Sheen commented, as Lloyd helped Ratatosk to get up, by passing an arm around the reincarnated spirit's shoulder.

"Yes. I suppose we can trust you are able to recover on your own from now."

"Huh… you still doubt that, woman?" Ratatosk replied with his typical sneer.

- / - / - / -

The party set up their camp near the bridge that connected the Iselia region to the Asgard Continent. Raine had bandaged Emil's wounds, who was currently shirtless, his torso completely wrapped in the bandages, while Marta served him some steak Lloyd had prepared. The girl also had some bandages and was wearing a spare, orange coat Raine had, since her normal clothes would need to be sewed.

After ending their meal, Sheena, Raine and Lloyd were discussing the recent happenings with the Centurions Aqua, Tenebrae and Ventus. Lloyd asked them about what Raine had mentioned about a demon clan.

"The demon society is divided into several groups…" Tenebrae started to explain. "Some of these groups are the clans, composed by members of the three, main, demon species; the demon beasts, the spiritual demons and the high-demons. The Hunter Clan, for example, is composed of demons who are excelled in tracking and taking down preys, mortal and demonic alike."

"Sounds like they're tough," Lloyd commented.

"They are," Ventus said. "The Hell Knight you just saw is their best agent. To top it off, he seems to be a demon of General ranking."

"That would explain the power he had and why we merely managed to repel him," Raine concluded.

Lloyd and Sheena stayed quiet at that. Truly, that demon had shown a power they had seen just in the Desian Grand Cardinal Rodyle. Could that mean the Desian Grand Cardinals were demon generals too? That also brought another worry to them. What if the Hell Knight came back for them? He certainly wouldn't leave things like that, not when he almost had Ratatosk at his mercy.

Emil and Marta finished eating and approached Raine and the others, the brunette helping her crush to walk, since he was still feeling pain from the gashes he had received in his waist and legs. The young couple sat down near their friends as Emil asked:

"What was that Arte that demon used? I never saw something that powerful."

"It's called a Mystic Arte," Ventus said. "They're unique, powerful Artes that few beings can master, for it's necessary for them to have a certain level of power."

"I thought you would know since Ratatosk seems to have one of his own," Raine said.

Before Emil could argue, Ratatosk took the control and spoke up:

"I do have. However, my Ain Soph Aur's power is just a shadow of what it used to be, back when I had all of my power," Emil retook the control right after Ratatosk finished. "You mean, it can get more powerful than it already is?" the blond swordsman asked, surprised. He thought that Arte was already quite powerful the way it was. Ratatosk manifested again. "You call that powerful? We couldn't even destroy that bastard! If I had my full power, he wouldn't even stand a chance," the shy blonde resumed his control once more. "Oh, right… sorry."

"Somebody else is getting dizzy when they start changing like that?" Lloyd asked the group. Sheena, Ignis, Aqua and Lumen nodded to the dual swordsman.

"Whatever," Ratatosk muttered. "Anyway, we have to do something. That demon tracked us down by sensing my aura."

"I feared this would happen…" Ventus spoke. "As your powers grow each time we hatch a Centurion, so does the vibrations in your aura, making it more noticeable. And now that they know Sir Lloyd is Efreet reincarnated, they will also search for your aura, which might grow more noticeable as you grow stronger."

The Centurion of wind then looked to his brethren and they all nodded. Tenebrae then called Lloyd and Emil's attention (while Ratatosk gave him back the control):

"I think it is already time for you two to start your training."

"Training?" Lloyd and Emil asked at the same time.

"Yes. As the events of today show, we cannot delay it any longer, otherwise, your auras will be a beacon to any demons that seek your death."

"You mean you're going to train them to hide their auras?" Marta asked.

"Not just that, Lady Marta. Lord Emil also has to grow stronger to balance the power of the two halves of his soul, otherwise both will stay struck in their development."

"Just like in a symbiosis, you mean?" Raine asked, to which Tenebrae nodded.

"Symbio-whatnow?" Lloyd asked.

"It's a relationship established between two beings in which one offers the other its abilities in exchange of providing sustenance to the other being, but, due to its nature, if one being dies or becomes ill, the other will also die or become incapacitated."

Lloyd and Marta seemed even more lost with that explanation, but decided to stay quiet about it. Sheena then spoke up:

"In that case, let me help. I know about aura manipulation and magic too, so I might be useful. Besides…" she casted a quick glance and winked at Lloyd while saying. "I might know of a way to keep Lloyd… interested in the lessons," needless to say, Lloyd blushed at that and looked away.


	15. The Radiant Maiden

Hello again my readers and welcome to another chapter!

I don't have much to say, except there is a skit here. So let's get on with the show!

This skit is between Raine and Ratatosk, though Lumen appears in the end.

Raine and Ratatosk

Ratatosk: Ok… why are you following me, woman?

Raine: Oh, nothing. I just wanted to ask you some questions if you don't mind.

Ratatosk: Really? Then let me end your hopes right away: I don't remember anything about my previous existence, save by some memories here and there.

Raine: Is that so? I heard Lloyd say you have retained your knowledge over the demons.

Ratatosk: … he did?

Raine: Yes.

Ratatosk: … he's dead.

Raine: Why do I have the impression you and the Centurions consider my presence a little… unwelcoming.

Ratatosk: It's not the fact of you being there. It's more like the look that you give them each time they reveal something that you mortals didn't know about.

Raine: That's just pure, academic curiosity. Nothing more.

Ratatosk: I would say more like obsession. You creep me out even more with that Ruin Mode of yours.

Raine: Creep… you out?

Ratatosk: Yeah. Not even demons give me the chills that I feel when I see that crazed gleam in your eyes and…ouch! H-hey, what are you? OW! OUCH! CUT IT O… oh my… GAAAHHHHH!

Raine: Humph. You have no manners whatsoever. You should work on your language a little.

Lumen: Hum… why is boss lying on the floor, bleeding and with a blackboard on his head?

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**The Radiant Maiden**

The travel to the city of Hima occurred without anymore mishaps and problems. During breaks, the group stopped for Tenebrae and the others to train Lloyd and Emil in the use of their powers. The young man was getting the hang of entering his spirit form and discovered new Artes to use while in either forms. Emil showed the same dedication, mainly because he didn't want to be a hinder to the others or his "other self".

Sheena was helping both boys to sense and manipulate their auras. The two were having difficulty in it, since the skill demanded a great amount of concentration, which tempted Lloyd to enter in his spirit form. Sheena revealed to be a good teacher in that area, which surprised even Raine.

Lloyd and Emil were sparring when the group stopped in a crossroads near Hima. Both had been sparring to master their new skills and Artes. Lloyd still had some problems with his, like incinerating parts of the area or setting the ground on fire unintentionally.

After the sparring, the boys decided to take a break and drink some water from their canteens. Lloyd commented with Emil:

"Man, this training sure isn't easy."

"I agree, but we can't give up. If we want to become strong enough to face the demons, we need to learn how to control our auras and powers," Emil said in an encouraging tone.

"You sound really sure about this."

"Um… well… Marta says it's good to keep a positive attitude," Emil admitted.

Lloyd chuckled while shaking his head. Marta was training as fiercely as the two of them, even though she didn't have the other half of her soul yet. The red clad swordsman knew it was to impress Emil more than anything and also to win the non-existent rivalry between her and Raine (the Professor and Emil traded information regarding their research on something or another some nights as a way to pass the time. In those occasions you could see Marta sitting in a corner and fiercely biting down any food that she would get her hands on). Lloyd thanked the goddess that at least Sheena was able to hold the girl back from taking extreme measures to ensure "her" Emil wouldn't be stolen.

"What kind of city is Hima?" Lumen asked that night as they were camping a certain distance away from the Hima mountains.

"It's a city that was built to serve as a rest place for adventurers that passed around the Hima region," Emil said. "It originally stood on the mountain path, however, when the Second Invasion happened, it seemed that some demons took residence on the mountain tops and started chasing the humans living in the city."

"And since it didn't have any decent defenses, Hima moved to the foot of the mountain and pledged their allegiance to Cruxis for protection," Marta said. "The city's pretty big today. You practically can't compare how it is now with what it was before. It still serves as a checkpoint for travelers and its businesses had expanded very quickly with Cruxis' protection."

"And we'll stop there before we go to the Tower of Mana," Lloyd said. "Good thing too. I couldn't sleep ever since we've met that Hell Knight."

"You shouldn't get so comfortable that the city can safely shelter you," Raine said calling the group's attention. "And we cannot call too much attention to ourselves while we're staying there. It'll certainly be suspicious for the people there to see you walking around with me."

"Why's that?" Emil asked.

"Because I'm a half-elf."

"So what?" Lloyd asked.

"'So what'? Did you forget how half-elves are viewed?"

"Does it look like we care? You're our friend and if anybody has a problem with it, they'll have to answer to me."

Again, Raine found herself flattered by that young man's resolve, who didn't view her as someone of another race, but as a person. She hid it though, trying to keep her composure as always. But she soon found herself blushing when Tenebrae commented:

"You sure know how to use words to charm a lady, don't you, Sir Lloyd?"

"S-Shut it, Tenebrae!" Lloyd said, standing in on the defensive. "I-I just said that because she's my friend. Th-That's all!"

"Oh. Then I suppose you would say the same to Lady Sheena should she be the one discriminated."

"Of course Sir Lloyd would," Ignis said before Lloyd could answer. The Centurion of fire had apparently been protective of him lately, taking subjects like these into her hands. "If somebody ever threatened Lady Sheena he would be like: Hey! You! Stay away of her or I'll burn you with the fiery flames of Hellfire!"

There was a moment of silence. Then sweatdrops ran through the forehead of the group collectively. Lloyd was the first to recover his voice and say:

"That doesn't even sound like me."

"Well, I think I wouldn't mind you defending me, Lloyd, but I can take care of myself. But thanks anyways," Sheena said.

"Oh," Ignis said, again taking it to herself to answer for Lloyd like she was some kind of representative to the dual swordsman. "In that case, Sir Lloyd will only have to worry about passing his night by the side of Lady Sheena."

Again there was a collective sweatdrop, only this time; Lloyd blushed furiously while Sheena just stayed looking to Ignis and trying not to fantasize about what the Centurion was suggesting. Emil then whispered to Aqua, who was nearer to him:

"Is she really ditzy, or does she really mean something by all that?"

"Believe me, my Lord, Ignis is dense enough to not even think twice before saying something... and I suppose she was referring to it in a romantic way," Aqua answered.

"And why is she answering for Lloyd?"

"Centurions don't serve just you, my Lord. We also served the Summon Spirits to know where there was an imbalance in the mana and to better regulate it, since Summon Spirits were those who distributed it and us the ones who regulated its levels."

"Of course, Lord Ratatosk's order is still being of higher importance to us, since he is our creator," Tenebrae said.

"Ugh! Of course! That's obvious! And who called you in to talk, Tenebonehead?"

Emil sighed as the two Centurions started bickering again…

- / - / - / -

It was just like Emil and Marta had said. Hima was a city with a blooming economy and the size of Palmacosta. Lloyd and Sheena found it quite hard to believe this city was originally a small settlement on the mountain path.

The city had many people circulating its streets, most of them travelers stopping to rest and to restock their provisions. The houses were well built and there were several stores here and there, not to mention about a good number of Inns around the street corners.

Raine was impressed as they entered the city, taking in the radical changes from the scenery to the houses and several Inns spread throughout the city. That made her remember exactly how many years had it been ever since the war ended and the demons took over.

Emil noticed the sudden change in the Professor's mood and the heavy expression on her face, like she was remembering something painful. The young researcher called her name and asked if she was alright. Raine, upon being called and noticing the expression she had, immediately changed to her normal posture and said it was nothing. Emil didn't buy that, but decided not to press Raine any further.

When the group arrived at the entrance of central plaza, they decided to split up. Sheena and Marta would buy provisions for their travel to the Luin region, Lloyd would make a reservation for them in the local Inn and Raine and Emil were going to search the city with the Centurions for anybody with a peculiar aura in hopes they might find another reincarnated Summon Spirit.

The group nodded and separated. However, before Lloyd went to one of the Inns, he noticed something in the middle of the plaza in the center of the city where they were, near the Obelisk of Mana. He immediately recognized the white clothing with blue lining and the blonde hair that reminded him of Emil. Approaching, Lloyd confirmed his suspicions when the boy he saw in Izoold turned and faced him, looking surprised at finding Lloyd there.

"Hey there," Lloyd said, putting up his friendly expression once more.

"You're… Lloyd wasn't it?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Lloyd said, glad to see that he hadn't imagined the boy when he was in Izoold. He then approached the blonde. "So, what are you doing all the way out here?"

The boy just stared at Lloyd, seeming to consider if he should answer or not. Lloyd saw that and started to feel uncomfortable as the boy's blue eyes seemed to analyze him. Though the boy was clearly younger than him, Lloyd had to admit that the intensity of that piercing glare was quite intimidating.

"Uh… you don't have to answer if you don't want to," Lloyd said, forcing himself to keep looking to the boy's face. He was always taught to look at people's face while speaking to them.

"Mithos," the boy said it so suddenly, Lloyd let out an "huh?" not catching the words. "My name. It's Mithos. You asked it before in Izoold. Remember?"

"Oh. Y-yeah, I did…. I think," Lloyd said, remembering after sometime that he indeed had asked for the boy's name, but never got the answer.

"You're quite slow you know that, Mister Lloyd?" Mithos said, though his tone didn't sound insulting.

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that," Lloyd said, scratching the back of his head.

Mithos suddenly gave off a smile, a weak one, but still a smile. Lloyd was glad he had been able to break off the icy and serious expression the boy always wore, since it made him look so much older than he appeared to be. The red clad swordsman then turned to the Obelisk of Mana as Mithos did. After some time of silence, Lloyd asked:

"Say, why were you looking at this like you have been in Izoold?" the red clad swordsman referred to the Obelisk.

"Just… thinking about something," Mithos replied in a vague manner. "What about you, Mister Lloyd, why are you traveling from city to city like this, when most people won't dare venture at great distances?"

"Ok, first; drop off the mister thing, ok? That makes me really uncomfortable."

"Whatever you say, Mister Lloyd," Mithos said in a humored tone. Now Lloyd could definitely see the younger boy was picking on him, but he discovered he preferred that than to have Mithos staring at him like he was the suspect of some crime.

"Ok… anyway, I'm traveling with my friends."

"Friends…" Mithos said in a thoughtful tone, lowering his head.

Something in his voice made Lloyd's senses click in. It was possible Mithos didn't have many friends if he was traveling alone. Looking around, Lloyd didn't even sense or see any other half-elves around, though his perception of people's auras still needed some work. Maybe Mithos didn't even have a family with him.

"Say…" Mithos said again so suddenly that Lloyd was almost caught in surprise once more. "Why did you come to talk with me again? Don't you realize I'm a half-elf?"

"Yeah, I do," Lloyd said.

"So…"

"Look, I don't have anything against half-elves," Lloyd said, using his most sincere tone. "Actually, one of my friends is a half-elf."

"A human friends with a half-elf? You're lying," Mithos said with a snicker and a tone of disdain, showing he didn't believe Lloyd.

"Why not? What's the problem in it?"

Mithos didn't answer immediately, but turned to the Obelisk of Mana again as Lloyd was still looking at him. Everybody was so picky about that thing between their races. Lloyd understood most of what happened was because of the Desians, but what about before them? Surely the half-elves weren't evil by nature, so why everybody picked on them so much. Mithos then started to speak:

"We are different. Half-elves, humans and even the late elves… we're all different from each other in a way. Humans were the ones that caused the Kharlan War. They dragged the half-elves into it, thinking we could be used. Then they killed the elves by burning the mana and blamed the half-elves for everything that went wrong, just because they thought we were scum. We, in retaliation, joined the demons to exact our revenge on them.

"Do you really think it's easy to overlook something like that and simply 'befriend' a half-elf?" Mithos now turned to Lloyd, who found himself cornered by that argument, just able to mumble incoherent words. "Just as I thought… you don't even have any idea, do you? The ties of hatred between our species are stronger than those of friendship. That's why the Desians exist in the first place."

"But that doesn't mean you can't try. If you are willingly to give it a try, maybe something could change. Things don't have to be like this," Lloyd said.

"'Change'? Huh…" Mithos gave a low chuckle, shaking his head with his eyes closed and turning to the Obelisk again. "You sound just like I was…" he whispered.

"Huh?"

"Lloyd, what are you doing?" Raine's voice sounded and Lloyd turned to see her coming from the other side of the plaza.

He was about to answer, when he turned to Mithos, however, the young blonde was gone once more. Lloyd looked for some sign of him, but couldn't find any trace of the half-elf's presence and he was still not very good at detecting the traces of one's aura.

"Lloyd, did you get our rooms at the Inn?" Raine asked, stopping near Lloyd with Emil right behind.

"Uhhh, not yet," Lloyd admitted turning to her.

Raine sighed and made motion for Lloyd to follow her. Though the young man could hear her saying something about him slacking in his assignment, Lloyd's mind was still in what Mithos had said and how the blonde had mysteriously disappeared. The dual swordsman guessed Mithos was probably distrusting of other people, considering how he talked.

_You don't have any idea, do you?_ _The ties of hatred between our species are stronger than those of friendship. _Lloyd was forced to recognize that what Mithos said was true; hatred was the main reason why everything was that way in the world. He knew those words would be always lingering in his mind…

_-_ / - / - / -

After two days of travel, Emil and his group had arrived at the Tower of Mana. The local area brought some memories back to Lloyd, including the ones that were the main reason why Emil and Marta said to Raine they wouldn't be able to rest at Luin after exiting the tower. Though the Professor didn't show it, she sympathized with Lloyd's situation.

Using another fast monster to lure the demon watchers out of their post, Ratatosk and the others quickly undid the spirit seal and entered the tower. On the way inside, Lloyd commented:

"You would think that those guys have learned something from the last time we used a monster like that."

"Like I said; demons were never known fore their brilliant minds," Tenebrae spoke.

"FANTASTIC!" the group turned when they heard Raine shout and found out the Professor with her eyes wide in excitement and with the all-familiar gleam of her Ruin Mode. "Look at all these books! I heard the Tower of Mana was used as a library by the elves in the past, but I never dreamed it was actually true!" she started to run from one bookshelf to another, browsing between the titles at incredible speed.

"Um… do you think Professor Water would like to stay here reading?" Lumen asked the group.

"I'm almost starting to wish she does," Ratatosk said with a sweatdrop running down his forehead.

Lloyd then noticed Sheena had wandered to the center of the entrance room and had a distant look, like she was in a trance. The red clad swordsman approached her and touched her shoulder, Sheena almost jumped, seeming to have broken out of her state.

"Are you alright?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah… just…" she didn't complete her phrase, instead just brought her hand to her forehead and gave a low chuckle. "I think now I know how you felt back in the Triet Ruins."

Lloyd also smiled to her to help lighten the mood. Behind them, the group was still seeing Raine go from one shelve to the other, sometimes picking up a book, flipping through it and returning it to its place before going for the next one. Sheena and Lloyd saw that and the voluptuous woman commented:

"She seems to be having fun."

Lloyd agreed and the two decided to investigate the rest of the place. There was a strange circle inscribed on the floor, with three adjacent circles around it, and most of its surfaces made of a material that looked the same as the one of the teleporters back in the Triet Ruins.

Sheena and Lloyd then examined the door at the end of the chamber and saw nothing that could indicate how to open it. The reincarnation of Luna went back to the strange circle-apparatus in the middle of the room and asked aloud:

"What kind of technology could make something like this?"

Emil and Raine heard that, the latter returning to normal and approaching, Emil examining the piece of work that he hadn't analyzed the last time he, Marta and Lloyd had came to the tower. He then voiced his conclusion:

"Maybe it is some kind of primitive magitechnology. To be honest, there's little to no information about how these temples were built."

"Do you think the spirits had something to do with it?" Marta suggested.

"Probably," Raine answered. "I never found any books that contain this information either," she then turned to the Centurions. "How about you? Could you shed some light on the subject?"

"Sorry, but we are not allowed to inform others about specific matters that concerns the other Summon Spirits," Ventus said.

Raine sighed in disappointment, but said she understood. She then went to the door Lloyd and Sheena had been analyzing and took a look at it, putting a hand on her chin in a thoughtful pose. She then passed her hand over the stone, sweeping some dust from it and finding a text in an ancient language:

"'_When three converge as one, the path to the enlighten ones shall be revealed…_' could it be… ?" she then turned back to the circle, analyzing it once more. Lloyd and the others couldn't even begin to wonder what the Professor was thinking on. "Lloyd, Marta, Emil, please stand on each of the adjacent circles."

The three nodded and assumed their positions. After they were set in their places, the circles seemed to activate and the middle one glowed, the strange gears below the glassy material started to work. The door behind them opened, revealing a tunnel with a great spiral staircase leading to the upper levels of the tower.

"Wow! It opened!" Marta said, getting out of her place in her excitement to see the path open. As soon as she did that, the door started to close and before anybody had the chance to move, it had slammed shut.

"It seems it could only stay active while there are people standing on the pods…" Raine mused, while turning to the others. "That means most of us will have to stay behind. Sheena, who are you going to…?"

"Lloyd," the guardian user said, before the silver haired woman even had the chance to end her sentence.

"I should have expected that much…" Raine commented. Sheena smiled and looked to Lloyd, winking at him. The young man blushed and looked away. "Anyway, Lumen, you go with them," Sheena's smile immediately disappeared.

"What the… ? Lumen? Why have him tag along with us?"

"Because he's the Centurion of light and since you're going to collect the other half of your spirit, he might be of some help."

"Really? Yay! We're going to be a team, Shee-luni!" Lumen said.

"Please, tell me you're kidding," Lloyd said in an almost pleading tone. He didn't want to admit it, but part of him was looking forward to the chance of being alone with Sheena.

"No, I am not. Besides, I think it's not entirely safe to leave the two of you alone," Raine said.

"Why?" Ignis asked.

"Let's just say they might 'deviate' from their objective to do something… moved by their hormones."

"Hey. I'm a grown woman, in case you have forgotten," Sheena protested.

"Sorry dear, but from elven perspective, you are still just a child."

Sheena was ready to retort back, but Lloyd decided that it would take them nowhere and simply grabbed Sheena's arm. She looked to him and saw him urging for them to simply go. Huffing, Sheena moved his arm away from her and approached the door with Lloyd. The half-elven Professor, Emil and Marta took their places on the apparatus that opened the door.

When the access to the stairs was open again, Lloyd, Sheena and Lumen entered the door, leaving Raine, the Centurions and the others behind. Emil then moved from his spot and the door closed again. The swordsman then approached Ventus and the other Centurions and asked:

"What do you think Raine meant when she said Lloyd and Sheena might deviate from the objective?"

The Centurions looked between each other. The incarnation of their lord could be a genius in the scholar field, but he sometimes lacked knowledge about some facts of life. Aqua floated forward and answered that one:

"Let's just say, she would do something very, very close to what Lady Marta would like to do to you if you two were alone, my Lord."

"I-I wouldn't!" Marta, who was right behind Emil and at hearing range, protested, though the scarlet tone in her cheeks indicated the contrary. Emil blushed beet-red at that. Raine just observed and wondered:

_Youngsters these days…_

- / - / - / -

Lloyd and Sheena climbed the stairs of the tower with Lumen right by their side. The two looked between themselves and then to the Centurion. Did Raine send him with them on purpose? Well, Lumen might help when the time came to face Sheena's soul half, just like Ignis did with Lloyd.

"You know…" Sheena started a conversation to take their minds off the monotonous climbing; there weren't even monsters on this part of the tower to distract them. "This is the first time we got to go somewhere... just the two of us."

"What about me?" Lumen asked.

"Uh… I was referring to the fact that both me and Lloyd are mortals," Sheena said.

"Oh. Good, then go on," the cheetah-like Centurion said with his goofy smile on.

Sheena had a sweatdrop running behind her head at that. If one didn't take into consideration to the fact of which Summon Spirit's power they were going to collect, choosing Lumen to go with them to keep the two from touching 'deeper' subjects was a very good tactic on Raine's part. Lloyd decided to continue the talk:

"Yeah. Our group is getting quite big too. First it was just Emil and Marta. Then I came along, then you and now Raine. And the other Centurions too," Lloyd added when he saw Lumen was about to interrupt. The Centurion of light simply smiled again at him. "Now we also have these reincarnated Summon Spirits to find. I wonder how they are doing."

Sheena nodded to him and silence befell the trio once more. They arrived at a new part of the tower; a great room with several platforms in different heights. The trio went to a door at the end of the level they were in and were faced by more stairs. While ascending this new staircase, Sheena spoke:

"Lloyd, do you remember what you said near Izoold?" the red clad swordsman looked to her. "About you thinking you weren't good enough for me because you're a newbie on relationships," Lloyd blushed at the memory, but nodded notwithstanding. "I just wanted you to know, I don't expect you to do anything extraordinary or declare your love for me in a cheesy way. To be honest, I didn't even expect you to like me at all."

"How so?" Lloyd asked.

"Well… people tend to have these ideas about me, with the way I dress and all…" she left the rest hang in the air, but upon looking to Lloyd she saw he had a confused look. She explained, concentrating on the crucial points. "You know… like, I know a lot about relationships and had thousands of boyfriends and whatnot."

"And haven't you?" the guardian user threw him a look with her eyebrow raised. Lloyd quickly corrected himself. "I-I mean, not like that! I-it's just … I thought you did have a boyfriend when I saw you at Asuka's and… well, I thought you should be experienced like your mother," he scratched behind his head while trying to choose the right words, not being able to look at Sheena during the entire speech and sure he was failing miserably at voicing his thoughts.

"Huh. Yeah, most people would think that, but truth is, ever since a certain… incident happened, I've never had much interest in having a boyfriend. Most guys that I've met were either pigs, perverts, or idiots. Or sometimes a mixture of it all," Lloyd gulped, knowing sometimes he didn't act like the smartest person in Aselia. "Though mother kept telling me the right guy for me was still out there, I stopped believing in it."

"I think I know what you're talking about…" Lloyd whispered to himself, remembering his visits to Asuka's and how Sheena treated him in the beginning.

"But… after knowing you," Lloyd looked to her and saw Sheena was a looking to him. "I started to think that, maybe, there was still a chance for me."

There was silence after that. Lloyd reflected about everything Sheena told him and, though he wanted to reveal he knew what "incident" she was talking about, he decided to save that for another occasion. He also blushed wildly as he thought on what she said about thinking that he might be the one person whom Asuka spoke to Sheena about. The voluptuous woman then asked him what he thought about relationships and the dual swordsman answered:

"To be honest, like you know, I never had any dates or anything. Most of the time I passed training with my dad or being scolded by people for messing with the Desians."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard that story," Sheena said, nodding to him with her eyes closed. Her expression and smile turned sly once she talked again. "But you _did_ think about it once, didn't you? It's virtually impossible for a guy not to have thought about that."

"Well…" Lloyd said, blushing beet-red now. He didn't feel much comfortable talking about these things, more so because he never had anyone to talk about it other than his father and they scarcely did it. "Um… it's… hey Lumen!" Lloyd called the servant of Ratatosk. "What about you? Do Centurions have relationships?"

Sheena narrowed her eyes angrily at that. Lumen then made a thoughtful face at the question and said:

"I don't know. But maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Lloyd asked, still desperately trying to keep that talk out of his thoughts on relationships.

"Maybe T-dark and Aqua-girl have a relationship."

Even Sheena stopped at hearing that. Lloyd and she were near a door that led to a grey, rectangular room. The violet haired woman then asked:

"Tenebrae and Aqua? Are you serious?"

"I heard boss say once that they fight like an old married couple," Lumen explained.

"That they do," Lloyd commented. "Do you think they broke up?" he asked Sheena, who shrugged.

"Nah, they don't seem to have any cracks on them," Lumen answered in his usual tone. Lloyd and Sheena looked to him again.

"Um… Lumen, 'broke up' means they were on a relationship once, but aren't anymore."

"Oh. Then no," Lumen said, putting his smile on again.

"Then how come they fight like that?"

"They're always this way since boss created them."

"Wait. Didn't you just say they were in a relationship?" Sheena asked, confused. Lumen nodded to her. "So are they or are they not?"

"Well, Aqua-girl always said that she and Tene-man have a 'relationship of mutual hatred' for each other."

There was more silence after that. Sheena and Lloyd each had a sweatdrop running behind their foreheads. Sheena shook her head and decided they had had enough of that talk:

"Ok. Lumen, shut up. Lloyd…" she then pointed to the swordsman. "We're not done talking about this yet," with that, she turned and started walking again. Lloyd sighed, knowing in a near future he would have to answer to those questions.

The three arrived at one of the higher platforms in the giant room they had been to before. In front of them, separated by a gap, was another platform at the opposite end of the room with what seemed to be a teleporter in it.

Lloyd, Sheena and Lumen approached the gap between the platforms that gave to the lower level of the room. Lumen then asked:

"So, how are we going to reach the other side?" before any of the two humans could speak something, a spectral bridge, seemingly made out of light, appeared as something between Sheena's chests seemed to glow weakly, though neither Lumen or Lloyd noticed anything. "Alright. This should do," the Centurion said with his goofy smile, not minding the mysterious circumstance of the appearance of the bridge.

Sheena and Lloyd looked between themselves and shrugged. Giving some tentative steps, they discovered the bridge was solid. The trio then walked to the other side of the room and arrived at the teleporter.

Lloyd, Lumen and Sheena appeared in which seemed to be the top of the tower, standing in one of the many minor towers. The place was open, so one could see the skies and the mountains all around. Lloyd was mesmerized by the scenery and was even more surprised when seeing there was a bridge in front of them made of what looked like floating, metal bars, which were sustained in the air by some invisible force.

"So this is where Luna's altar is?" Lloyd asked Lumen.

"Yup. It's open so Aska could come and land after flying around to inspect the situation of the mana around."

"Aska? Oh, yeah. That reminds me. Shee…" Lloyd stopped once he saw Sheena was already walking the magically suspended bridge and had arrived at the top of the central tower.

The red clad swordsman abandoned his unasked question and followed Sheena together with Lumen. When the two catch up with her, Lloyd saw that she had a distant look again, fixated on the altar. It was just like him when he had heard Efreet's voice and was near his altar.

"Sheena?" Lloyd asked, but she didn't answer, continuing to walk until she left them behind and stopped at the altar. Lloyd and Lumen stayed observing her as she looked up.

It was then the two heard the sound of what looked like a great bird's cry and wings flapping. Lloyd looked around for the source of the sound, but Lumen just pointed with his head for him to look up. The dual swordsman did so and almost jumped behind from surprise.

A great, shinning, golden bird descended from the skies. The feathers on its wings were colored orange, though most of its body was of a golden yellow, and there were ethereal, lance points extending from them. His tail was a mix between sky blue and purple. The bird had two heads, one with gentle, blue eyes and the other with fierce, red ones. Just from the powerful aura that the creature emanated, Lloyd could guess it was a Summon Spirit.

Aska looked to Sheena and spoke in a single voice:

"Luna, you've come. I was worried that you would have trouble with the demons roaming Aselia."

"Um… sorry, but I'm not exactly Luna. My name's Sheena," the guardian user said, looking from one head of the bird to the other.

"Oh… yes. I forgot that Origin warned us that our memories of our past selves would be lost in the reincarnation process."

"Wait, you're really Aska, the other Summon Spirit of the light?" Lloyd asked the bird-like entity, approaching.

"Ah, Efreet. I see you have already recovered the other half of your soul. That's good to know," Aska said, before answering his question. "Yes, I am Aska, the second Summon Spirit of the light."

"Hi there, As!" Lumen said, approaching to the altar, just like Lloyd.

"Lumen… I see you're still around…" Aska said in a tone that suggested he wasn't very content with the presence of the Centurion. However, Lumen, being as dense as he was, didn't notice and wagged his tail, his goofy smile on, thinking the brother of his lord's first crush was happy to see him. "But if you're here… that means Ratatosk is still in this world as well?"

Lloyd and Sheena nodded. Aska's two bird heads seemed to have surprised expressions as they both turned to Sheena and Lumen, asking in his single voice:

"What happened to Ratatosk? I've tried to contact him, but after the invasion began that became impossible."

"Boss retreated to the Ginnungagap and stayed there until the invasion happened. After that I don't remember, because we fused back with him," Lumen said.

"I see…"

"By the way…" Lloyd spoke up. "Where have you been? Why didn't you do anything to stop the demons?"

Aska looked to Lloyd and closed the blue eyes of his right head as the red ones of his left head focused on the reincarnation of Efreet. The golden bird said:

"I could not do anything to stop it not just because the scale of the invasion was far too great to be contained by one spirit alone, but because I had to wait for Luna to reincarnate."

"What do you mean?" Sheena asked.

"I am the other half of your soul," Aska said, looking to Sheena with his four eyes. The violet haired woman showed a surprised expression. Lloyd asked what Aska meant with that. "Though Luna and I are different entities, we both share the same role in this world and, as so, our spirits and powers are intertwined. One is part of the other."

"Then that means, when Luna was sent to reincarnate…"

"I stood as the part that corresponds to our power and thus, I must merge with your spirit, so we can become one again and you can also regain your powers as a Summon Spirit."

Sheena looked down. She didn't know what to think of that. On one side, she knew she needed the power of the Summon Spirit she once was back if she wanted to help Emil and the others, but she also knew very well what it meant if Aska were to merge with her. The guardian user remembered Emil and Ratatosk and, shaking her head, asked:

"Isn't there a way for you to give me the power of Luna and continue to exist?"

Aska stood silent at that. Lloyd and Lumen looked from Sheena to the other Summon Spirit of the light. The two-headed entity said:

"I made this choice the moment Origin proposed his plan. It is my will to become one with you, Luna… or rather, Sheena Fujibayashi."

"But…" Sheena tried to speak in a saddened tone.

"Do not worry. For us, spirits, death is impossible and change is a constant. We never remain the same, no matter our position or roles in the world. We are eternal," those words seemed to have an effect on Sheena as she looked up to Aska. "Never forget that. It is our duty to change to better protect this world and change we will. But, for now, let's concentrate on what you must do first."

Sheena then nodded to him. Lloyd felt that it was time for him to give space for Sheena, something inside him telling she would be tested by Aska. Maybe it was Efreet's soul. He wished good luck to her and Sheena turned to him to give a smile.

Aska saw that she had took her battle position and prepared too.

"Now. Let us begin!"

The bird-like spirit started the fight, taking flight and attacking Sheena, who jumped out of the way, with a dash. She saw Aska making a close turn to go for her again. Putting one hand on the floor, Sheena used all the strength of her arm and the flexibility of her body to shoot herself up in the air even higher when Aska came for another aerial dash.

The guardian user twirled in the air before landing and looked to her opponent, who was now flying out of her reach around the tower. Aska flapped his wings, the lance-like points that seemed to extend from his wings shooting light spheres that homed on Sheena. She jumped and dodged, some spheres hitting the floor and exploding with light as others still followed her.

_Now how can I win against Aska? _Sheena thought as she made a fan with her seal cards and threw some on the spheres, which exploded once being hit by the cards. _Using my light-based attacks is out of question. In that case... _she watched as Aska stopped circling the tower and flew back to the platform, aiming for her once more. _Time to make use of all you taught me, Grandpa._

Lloyd couldn't contain himself and called for Sheena when he saw she wasn't moving out of Aska's way. Sheena was too concentrated on the battle, so she ignored Lloyd's calling, knowing he was obviously worried with her seemingly lack of reaction.

The guardian user waited and in the last minute shot her hand forward while jumping. She achieved to grab Aska's left head, pushing it down as she used the Summon Spirit as leverage to jump higher. Aska lost balance when Sheena put her weight against him and feel on the tower's floor, skidding on it.

Seeing her chance, Sheena ran to Aska while he was getting up and took out her seal cards, throwing three of them, which landed on the spirit's body. She was about to charge them with her magical energy when Aska's right head pointed to her and opened its mouth, shooting a light beam. Sheena was hit on the shoulder, feeling the light burnt slightly her skin and her energy. That moment of distraction was enough for Aska to reunite the light around and release it in a pulse, which destroyed the seals on his body.

The glowing bird quickly walked to Sheena, who stood on a defensive stance and dodge as Aska tried to pierce her with the beaks of his two heads. The guardian user jumped back, but Aska extended his wings forward, pointing them to her and using the ethereal, lance points to hit the violet haired woman, cutting her sides. The light contained in those lances once more seemed to burn part of Sheena's energy as the impact of the blow pushed her back.

Aska went in for another attack, but this time, Sheena countered by ducking and kicking one of the Summon Spirit's legs with enough strength to force him to kneel. She then kicked one of Aska's heads with great strength and applied a series of punches on his chest.

_Good thing his body doesn't have any kind of armored skin, otherwise this would hurt. _Sheena thought as she jumped to avoid the counter attack of one of Aska's heads and had to incline her body backwards once the Summon Spirit tried to hit her with his wings again. _If I can keep this up, I might win._

However, Sheena soon learned that fighting against a Summon Spirit wasn't that simple. Aska quickly charged a spell and used Radiant Shackles on her. The guardian user was bound for enough time for Aska to approach and use a sidekick with his talons when the seals exploded with light, the attacks sending her to the ground. Approaching again, Aska tried to pierce her with his beaks once more; Sheena rolled in the ground and watched as the beaks created holes and cracks in the concrete. If she was caught in that attack, she would have a nasty injury.

Aska again charged a spell and casted Ray. Sheena looked to the brilliant sphere above her and suddenly felt some kind of sensation pass through her whole body; the sensation that she knew how the light would behave in that attack. Dodging and sidestepping, Sheena managed to avoid all of the light beams that came in her way. Aska observed that and said:

"I see you are already advanced on your control over the light. Surely, with me, your powers will increase greatly."

"But first I have to beat you into submission for that to happen," Sheena stated.

"True enough."

The fight then restarted as the two ran to each other, Sheena was ready to apply another sequence of kicks and punches, when Aska suddenly took flight and hovered in the air. He gently extended his wings forward and a giant sphere of light was created between him and Sheena, who was hit by the attack that blinded her and seemed to burn her energy more effectively than the previous ones. Aska flapped his wings and the sphere exploded, sending the reincarnated Luna backwards.

As Sheena stood once more, Aska quickly got to her and raised his wings upwards to soon lower them in a way to use the ethereal, lance points to slash Sheena across her shoulders, sending her away once more. The guardian user was impressed at how sharp those things were and at how strong Aska was.

Lloyd had his eyes wide at seeing Sheena was now definitely bleeding. He hadn't been too worried at the attacks charged with light from Aska, thinking Sheena could resist them since she was Luna, but cuts like those could be a problem.

Sheena scolded herself at her carelessness as she kneeled, feeling her shoulders weight. Aska prepared to cast another spell. In that moment, Sheena decided to try one Arte she had been working on. Pressing her palm against the floor and sending energy through it, she concentrated on making it travel to Aska's talons. The Summon Spirit was then propelled from the floor, interrupting his cast as ethereal, seal cards flew around him like angry bees, forming a sphere.

"Cyclone Seal!" Sheena then made the sphere of cards explode with her magical energy as she got up and ran to Aska while the bird-like entity was falling to the ground.

Sheena jumped in Aska's direction and used the speed to apply a powerful kick on his chest, sending the spirit to the ground. She ran to him again in top speed and tackled the spirit as he was getting up. Sitting on his chest, Sheena quickly placed some seals along his body and applied her magical energy on them, utilizing Power Seal Absolute, lowering Summon Spirit's defenses.

Aska quickly united the light all around him again, before Sheena could react, and released it in a pulse wave, forcing Sheena away of him and attacking her magical energies again. Getting up, the spirit hurried to her while she was trying to recover and shot his right head forward. This time, the guardian user couldn't avoid it and felt the sharp beak pierced her belly.

Lloyd gasped as he saw Sheena's expression of pain, but to his surprise, she gritted her teeth and grabbed Aska's head when it was retracting for the other head to attack, pulling her with it. The movement almost threw her back, but Sheena clung to the Summon Spirit of light's neck for her dear life and managed to hold on, putting her feet on Aska's back, near the base of his long neck. She then applied a headlock to the blue-eyed head and pulled it backwards, trying to immobilize it.

Aska fought and tried to get his head free, but Sheena used all of her remaining strength to hold the head in its place. She knew if she let it go, she would lose this battle. She would not be able to continue with her belly and shoulders bleeding, since she was already fighting against the pain the headlock was applying on her shoulder, which was screaming for her to let go.

The bird-like spirit seemed to have enough of it and poised his other head to strike. Sheena saw that and an idea quickly formed in her head, making she smile. The red-eyed head's beak shot forward at the exact moment Sheena shoved the blue-eyed head on its route, making the two collide, the attacking head hitting the other on its forehead.

Aska finally let out a painful chirp and fell to the ground, Sheena together with it. Lloyd finally had enough and ran to help his crush to stand up, seeing she is in no condition to continue. Sheena didn't object when Lloyd helped her, for she was too exhausted. The light base attacks burnt most of her magical energy and her stamina was leaving her with those cuts she had.

The Summon Spirit of light grumbled as he stood up, shaking his heads. Lumen approached him and smiled to the bird-like entity. The cheetah-like Centurion sat near the Summon Spirit, who looked to him, and asked in his well-humored tone:

"So, do you say she passed?"

Lloyd stood apprehensive as he passed Sheena's arm around his and helped her to stand. Was Aska going to reprove her because of him coming in when the two were down? And what happened when one failed in those tests? Did they get another chance? However, all his worries proved to be pointless, for after some seconds of silence Aska said:

"I would say she did."

Lloyd smiled in relief as did Sheena. Aska then instructed him to help bring her to the altar. Lloyd did as he was told and Sheena stood up, leaning against the altar's borders. The reincarnation of Efreet stood behind as Aska took his place in the center. Sheena finally managed to stand still as Aska approached his red-eyed head to her, speaking:

"Sheena… you showed true mastery over my and Luna's blinding light, standing against me using your magical energy and your intelligence in this fight. Surely, someone like you is more than able to become our successor."

"Successor…" Sheena whispered as the word rolled on her tongue.

"Now, we must merge for you to earn your powers as the Summon Spirit of the light back and, with them, restore the Equilibrium to this world."

Aska took one step towards Sheena, but was stopped when she said for him to wait. The bird-like entity just looked to her with a curious look on his two avian heads as the guardian user asked:

"Is there really no other way other than for you to cease to exist? Your knowledge about these demons and about the world could help us so much."

There was one moment of silence where no one seemed to even dare to breathe. Lloyd stayed quiet and even Lumen knew better than to interrupt that which he considered Aska's farewell. The Summon Spirit then spoke again, his voice full of determination as he said:

"My time of existing as Aska has come to an end and my knowledge over this world has become outdated with all the changes that occurred. If I stayed like this, I would become nothing more than a mere ghost of what I once was; unable to truly exist here due to the absence of mana. My time here was just prolonged for I utilized Luna's power, but now I can't do it anymore.

"If I were to continue existing, I would just be a remembrance of a past that is already gone. Something that wasn't able to go on and is forever doomed to remain the same, useless for this world. That would be true torment for a Summon Spirit, for we were created and came to protect this world. This is part of who we are."

Sheena stood silent at that declaration. She realized Aska was right and that she couldn't force him to continue to exist if it was just going to bring him pain. Sheena then nodded, replacing her sadness with determination to fulfill her role in this world as its guardian. It was the least she could do for Aska.

"Good…" the Summon Spirit said in soft voice. He approached and lowered his heads to her as she embraced them in the kind of comforting embrace brothers shared. The two started to shine and a golden glow enveloped Sheena. "Let's become one… my sister… the Radiant Maiden…" wind started to blow around them as the glow in Sheena intensified until Lloyd was forced to cover his eyes from the blinding radiance.

Just like with Lloyd, Sheena's clothes transformed and her wounds healed as a layer of light passed over them. Her purple jacket was replaced by two, simple, purple straps that crossed above her chest, covering a good part of her breasts, but leaving most of her front and almost all of her back exposed. Her hair came down, the bun undoing itself and letting her shoulder length, violet hair fall down. Her pants and skirt were replaced by a long, dark skirt with green lines, which reached until the floor and had a great slit on it that stopped near her tights. Under it she was using dark, mini shorts.

Her half-gloves gained a dark green coloration, Luna and Aska's golden, Radiant Emblem appearing in the back of them. Glowing rings made of ethereal images of her seal cards appeared around her wrists, floating at some distance from them. Paintings and symbols appeared over Sheena's arms, middle and down her back and sides. Her boots remained almost unchanged, though they now looked more like shoes and had wing ornaments on the heels.

Finally, yellow, ethereal wings sprouted from her bare back. When the transformation was complete, the light finally faded and Sheena opened her eyes, looking to herself and her new attire. The first thing she did was to raise an eyebrow and think:

_Great... mental note: never walk in public in my spirit form. Otherwise I'll be force to kill half of the masculine population of the locals to keep the other half from trying to do anything funny with me. _

"Wow!" Lumen said as he approached, looking really surprised at seeing Sheena's new form. "Shee-luni, you're almost like boss' first girl, but a little more dressed," those words made Sheena wonder what were exactly Luna's tastes for clothes. "Don't 'cha think, LYD…? LYD?"

Sheena looked to Lloyd and saw he was, for the lack of a better word, dumbfounded at her appearance. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were glued to her. Sheena could say he was taking in every detail of her appearance and her curves. Though that made her a little embarrassed, she grinned while approaching him and asked in a seductive tone:

"So, liking what you see, Lloyd?"

"I… I… I… I… I…" was everything Lloyd managed to mumble.

"I think that means 'yes'," Lumen said.

"That was a rhetorical question, Lumen," Sheena said.

"Retro-what?" Lumen asked, cocking his head to the side with a look of confusion on his cheetah face.

"Forget it. So… Lloyd?" the red clad swordsman seemed to shake on his place at hearing his name. "Do you have something to say about how I look like?"

"Um… well… that's… you…. I mean…" he mumbled again.

_He's so skillful with words… _Sheena thought, rolling her eyes. It probably would take some time until his shock wore down and she got a concrete answer from him. _If I didn't know him any better, I would say he's spending way too much time around Emil._


	16. Fire, Light and Thunder

Hey people, I'm back from my vacations! *screams of horror are heard* Which means you all are going to have a new chapter!

Now, before starting here goes some translations for the words and therms in demonic used on this chapter:

Lefah Ghare – Flame Cage

Loterah Uris - Violent Thunder

Leonit vehr, areh na lais... Cillier Phyone – Violent wind, hear my call... Slicing Typhoon

Any other words that aren't translated here will be later, as the fic progress.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Fire, Light and Thunder**

Lloyd, Sheena and Lumen made their way out to the tower's entrance while the female guardian user practiced entering and exiting her spirit form, which she discovered that she could do with much ease. Lloyd felt a little jealous at that and looked to the side. It was obvious Sheena's training and skills with magical energy made it easy for her to grasp the initial concepts of using a Summon Spirit's power.

When Sheena deactivated her spirit form again, she noticed the look on Lloyd's face. She asked him what it was, but the young man said that it was nothing.

"Lloyd, you should know that you're a really bad liar," Sheena said. Lloyd scratched the back of his head at those words before she spoke up again. "Does this have to do with the fact that I can manipulate my spirit form better than you?"

Lloyd's eyes widened at those words right as he looked to her. Was he that easy for her to read? He finally gave up as he mumbled:

"I-It's not that I'm not glad for you to know how to do it… it's just that…"

"Let me guess; man's pride?" Lloyd looked to her again, his cheeks gaining a red tint. "I was raised in a night club, Lloyd. I know when a man's pride is hurt, but don't worry. I bet in no time you will be as good as me at using your spirit form."

Lloyd smiled at Sheena for understanding his feelings and decided he wouldn't dwell on those thoughts anymore. Lumen then said, in his normal cheerful tone:

"Yep, no need to stay like that double-L. It doesn't matter if Shee-luni killed much more demons than you when she was your age. That doesn't mean that you're weak," the two looked to Lumen strangely at that.

"Uh, thanks, I think..."

The group stayed all silent as they approached the stone door that lead to the reading room of the library near the entrance. Sheena and Lloyd beat at it and soon the door started to open as the others heard the sound coming from the other side and each positioned themselves on the circle-apparatus.

Emil and Marta were both near the door to meet with their friends while Raine had gone back to the bookshelves, reading another book written in elven with a dreamy expression on her face. Marta smiled at her two friends and asked if everything went alright.

"Yeah, no big deal," Sheena said. "And look," with a moment of concentration, light passed over Sheena, altering her clothing and making the spectral yellow wings sprout from her back.

Marta had her mouth agape at seeing Sheena's spirit form while Emil looked even more dumbstruck. When his mind registered at what she was wearing, he felt a thin line of blood coming out of his nose and covered it, taking some steps behind without being noticed.

Raine noticed the change and agitation in Sheena's aura and looked just in time to see the guardian user activating her new spirit form. The silver haired half-elf approached, her hand under her chin, analyzing Sheena's new looks and the brightness in her aura.

"So? What do you think?" Sheena asked the two girls while Lloyd went to Emil and asked why he was holding his nose like that.

"Hm…your attire certainly looks like the ones which artists and summoners depict Luna with. Though…" Raine said as she approached Sheena more, a small gleam in her eyes that they're all very familiar with. The older female then reached for the straps around her young companion's breasts and grabbed one, passing her finger onto it. What embarrassed Sheena even more was what Raine said next. "It seems a bit bigger than the ones that appear in the pictures of Luna, but I can't be sure. It probably adjusts to the body. And the material…" she then reached for Sheena's skirt, who tried to step away from the researcher, but Raine's hand proved to be much faster as she gripped the edge, kneeling as she examined it. "It feels like silk, but I don't see any signs of sewing and this sensation… could it be what the element of light feels like?"

Sheena snatched her skirt from Raine's hand. The boys turned in time to see Raine "studying" her companion's body and couldn't help, but stare in an awkward silence. The voluptuous woman then said:

"Okay, now you officially freak me out. I think I would rather have you be attracted to me than you interested in studying me," Raine looked like she was about to say something, but Sheena cut her off as she turned to Marta and asked with a smile. "So, how do I look?"

"You… look… great…" Marta said in a somewhat shy tone. "But… Sheena… are you planning on wearing this thing often?"

"Are you kidding? Though I have to admit that does it feel comfortable, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like this around other guys, at least not ones that I can kill without feeling guilty later…or be arrested."

"Oh… ok then," Marta said, sounding a little more relieved but the guardian user caught onto that.

"Look, if this is about Emil again, don't worry. Didn't I already tell you I'm not interested in him?"

"Th-That doesn't have anything to do with it!" Sheena sighed as Marta denied the obvious emotion again.

Ventus called to their attention, saying they had already wasted too much time and needed to leave immediately. The group nodded and went towards the entrance to make their exit. Lloyd called for Raine to come with them and saw her taking some books from the library. The silver haired researcher noticed Lloyd's arched eyebrow and said:

"It's just for research, Lloyd. I'll return it."

"Raine… ugh, forget it. At least you're going to take care of it."

Before Raine could counter back with words of her own, Lloyd was already leaving. The half-elven woman then accompanied him as they both rejoined the group. Outside the tower, they saw no sign of the demon watchers. Ratatosk closed the door and reactivated the seal, but once he turned, his face twisted in a frown. His Centurions also seemed to be on guard.

"What's the problem?" Marta asked, noticing the tension.

"It's too quiet," Ratatosk replied.

"Yeah. I feel it too. There's something hiding," Ignis said.

"I don't feel anything," Lloyd said.

"If we depended on your senses, we would all be dead long ago," Ratatosk commented.

"Excuse me?"

Marta was about to tell the two to stop arguing when she saw Sheena frown. The brunette then asked her what it was and Sheena answered:

"I hear the sound of… a bow's strings being pulled… Everybody! Get down!"

The group immediately complied and moments later the sounds of arrows flying was heard as they buried onto the pavement steps of the Tower of Mana. Lloyd and the others saw groups of Desians and demons appearing around the woods near the tower, some perched on the trees' branches.

These demons were mostly a dark-brown, had humanoid forms and wore skull-like masks that hid their faces, save by their red, gleaming eyes. However, their most noticeable trait was the presence of bows which were seemingly connected to the demons' wrists. The white color and the appearance of the bows made it seem like they were actually made of the bones of the demons' arm. Lloyd could also see the point of an arrow sticking out of the wrist in the other hand of the demons.

"Bone Archers," Ratatosk muttered.

The group heard the sound of heavy steps and two figures came into view. The first one was at least twice the size of an adult man and had red fur. It looked like a humanoid lion, with yellow golden eyes and a white mane, which was neatly combed into spikes and some locks which had colorful beads and other few adornments hanging on them. He carried a long halberd proportional to his size and wore midnight blue armor leaving just his strong arms and feline legs exposed.

The second figure had silver-blond hair, golden shoulder guards, pointy ears and squinted eyes, though the group could see black and red inside of them when they forced their eyes to get a better look. The second figure's appearance made Lloyd's eyes widen, his surprise being soon replaced with anger and hatred.

"Well, well. Looks like your soldiers weren't wrong. We did have some pests around here," Kvar said to the demon while eying the humans and Centurions in front of them.

"I had suspected something was off when they reported a monster attack the other week," the great, lion demon said in a strong, masculine voice, more to himself than to Kvar.

"Kvar…" Lloyd mumbled under his breath, his shoulders shaking.

"Oh? Looks like one of you inferior beings know me," the Desian Grand Cardinal chuckled. "Now… if I'm not mistaken, you must be Ratatosk's group. Oh, how convenient."

Marta and Sheena tensed. The Centurions got ready to act at their Lord's command. Raine walked forth, her staff always in hand while she spoke:

"So, you're the new Desian Grand Cardinal I heard that has been terrorizing this region."

"And what is a fellow half-elf such as yourself doing with a bunch of humans and spirits?" Kvar replied.

"'Fellow half elf?' You speak as though we're the same."

"What's Raine doing?" Marta whispered to the group.

"Gaining time," Sheena answered simply.

The group started to access their situation: they were cornered by the archers on the ground and in the trees, but if they could create a diversion, it would be possible for them to escape. However, none of them seem to notice Lloyd, who was still on his place, shoulders shaking with anger and hatred towards the Desian that he remembered as the monster who killed his mother.

As the Centurions and the others thought on how they could escape, the demon besides Kvar said:

"So, I heard you had a reincarnated Summon Spirit with you. Where is he?"

"And you would be?" Raine asked.

"Beast General Merahwdir. In your language it means…"

"'Fire paws.'" Raine answered for the demon.

"You know our language, yet you're not of our ranks. Who are you, woman?"

"Merely a researcher."

"Hahahaha! A researcher you say," Kvar laughed. "Don't play me for a fool, woman. I can smell the chaos energy cursing through your body from here. Maybe I'll have you as a test subject after we kill Ratatosk."

"Lord Nebilim demanded the death of all Ratatosk's companions, Kvar," the demon general said.

"Oh, I'm sure that he won't mind another test subject for my little project."

"Even so, it's…"

"And what would you know? Your work is to merely follow orders and…"

It was then Ratatosk ordered the Centurions to act. Ventus summoned several birds to attack the archers while Ignis and Tenebrae summoned beasts from the woods to take the archers in the ground. Before Kvar and Merahwdir could realize what was happening, Lloyd and the others had sprinted. The dual swordsman wanted nothing more than to face Kvar and impale him with a flaming sword, but he knew it would have to wait.

Kvar raised his staff and it released several electrical charges on the monsters around, electrocuting and killing the beasts instantly. The Desian Grand Cardinal ordered the troops to go after the fleeing group and soon teleported out of there in a shower of sparks as Merahwdir started to run by the field.

Emil and the others had a good advantage over their pursuers, but the Bone Archers were quickly gaining on them, jumping from branch to branch. Some even started shooting their bows at them. Marta harnessed the wind in her spinner and quickly made a turn, unleashing a wind disk, which split into several others and slashed at the demons and the branches they were staying, making them fall. The girl did another turn and started to run again.

Sheena was staying behind the group to help Raine, who had the lowest physical strength. The guardian user looked behind and saw the lion-like demon approaching at great speed. Sheena then pushed Raine forward and stopped, drawing her seal cards and standing in position to fight.

Raine saw the violet haired woman's intentions and called her name, but Sheena only said:

"I'll distract him. You and the others get out of here!" without waiting for Raine to answer, Sheena ran to Merahwdir and jumped, trying to deliver a strong kick to the demon's chest.

As the demon general blocked the attack of the reincarnated spirit with his arm, Sheena sprinted to the other side, Merahwdir hot on her pursuit, seemingly ignoring the others.

Lloyd, Emil and Marta noticed Raine had stayed behind and came back for her, asking if she was alright. Lloyd then noticed there was one person missing and asked:

"Where's Sheena?"

"She managed to attract that demon general, Merahwdir, and took off in that direction," the half-elf said pointing to a path that lead to the nearby river, the silouette of the lion demon disappearing fast.

"I'm going after her!" Lloyd immediately said, but Raine put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"She did that so we could get away from the demons. If you go, then what she did for us would lose its purpose."

"Lumen," Emil called for the Centurion of light, giving him a meaningful look.

"Ok, boss. I'll get her back once she kicks that guy's rear!" the Centurion of light said taking off to the direction Raine had pointed.

As Lloyd and the others continued with their run, the red clad swordsman couldn't help but wonder if Sheena could defeat that demon general. They already had a bad time with the Hell Knight alone a while back and Sheena had just gained her powers as a Summon Spirit. Plus, he even could feel the huge amount of power emanating from that lion demon.

Lloyd's thoughts were interrupted as he and the group came to an abrupt halt when a vortex of electrical sparks appeared in front of them and Kvar materialized from it, grinning mockingly at the surprised expressions of the group.

"I cannot allow you and your ragtag band of misfits to get away, Ratatosk," Kvar said. "You see, Lord Nebilim will give to any one that eliminates you the post of leader of the five Grand Cardinals."

"I'm not letting you hurt me or any of my friends," Emil said.

"Oh. And what exactly do you plan to do to stop me?" as Kvar spoke, the Desians all caught up with the group and more came from behind Kvar, showing he had prepared a backup in case they managed to escape from the Tower of Mana. "As you can see, you are at my mercy. Try to run and all of you will die a very painful death, just like the bunch of pathetic inferior beings that you are."

That phrase brought a memory to Lloyd's mind. He suddenly saw himself in a similar situation, except he was much younger and at his back was a cliff's edge. It was a rainy night and his father was in front of him with his mother, trying to keep the Desians at bay with Noishe, the family's loyal dog (as Lloyd called it), by his side. He remembered when Kvar stepped forth and demanded, in that same tone he used when talking with somebody he considered inferior:

_Now, give us back that host body with the Exsphere. Otherwise, you will all die a very painful death, just like the bunch of pathetic inferior beings that you are…_

That was enough to make the blood in Lloyd's entire body boil. He stood in front of Emil and pointed one of his swords to Kvar, speaking:

"You are not going to lay a hand on any of my friends!"

"Really? And what makes you think that you are in any position to make such demands?" Kvar said, seemingly not amused, with a snicker under his voice.

"Shut up!"

Lloyd then called forth his power within and in a wave of flames he activated his spirit form. Kvar seemed a little surprised at seeing that, but soon recovered his mocking smirk and spoke:

"So, you're the reincarnated Summon Spirit that the Hell Knight has been talking about. Interesting… what's your name, human?"

"The name's Lloyd, and you'd better remember it because I'm going to send you back straight to hell!"

Marta, Raine and the Centurions all casted a quick glance to Lloyd. They never saw the young man that furious before. Did he know Kvar? And if that was so, what exactly did that Desian do to him? Emil also looked with his mouth agape.

"So you want to kill me? Ha ha ha! Now that is amusing. You might be a reincarnated Summon Spirit, but in the end you are nothing more than a relic of a dead past," Kvar gloated.

"Shut up you bastard!"

Ignoring any calls from any of his friends or even the signal Kvar that made for the Desian troops to attack, Lloyd charged at the Desian Grand Cardinal, ruthlessly killing and setting aflame any Desian that stood between him and the half-demon known as the Deadly Thunder, who just smirked as the Wielder of Victory's Flame approached…

- / - / - / -

Sheena and Merahwdir arrived near the river that shaped the land where the Tower of Mana stood in a peninsula. The voluptuous woman came to a halt as she saw that she was far enough for the others to escape. Merahwdir also came to a stop.

Several Bone Archers arrived behind the demon general and produced arrows from their wrists, putting it in their bone bows. However, Merahwdir held his hand up, making signal for them to stop. He spoke something in demonic to his troops, which nodded, dispersing and going back to the forest.

Sheena raised her eyebrow at that. She felt the presence of the demons getting away. Looking to Merahwdir, Sheena saw the demon general had a neutral expression on his face. Something told her he was waiting for her to get ready to the battle. The guardian user then asked:

"So, what's the trick?"

"Trick? There is no trick, Lena'aret," the demon general said, a smile gracing his leonine features. For some reason, that smile made Sheena feel more at ease. "I merely wanted no interruptions while we're having our duel."

"Duel?"

"Wasn't it your intention to duel with me so that your companions could all get away?" the demon asked back, still wearing that smile.

"If you realized that then why didn't you go after them?" Sheena asked.

"Because a noble warrior never refuses a challenge to a duel when presented with it."

"'Noble warrior?' Ha! Don't make me laugh."

Merahwdir shook his head at hearing that, the smile now gone. He then looked to Sheena with a serious expression, saying:

"Not all of us make use of trickery and deception to reach our goals. There are different kinds of demons just as there are different kinds of humans. I, for instance, consider myself an honorable person. But, of course, that also means I have to carry out any orders that are given to me," Merahwdir stood on a battle stance, his halberd slightly pointing to the ground in the diagonal. "One on One. Just skill and Artes and nothing more. Defeat me and I will abandon the chase against your companions, I give you my word of honor as a beast demon general."

Sheena thought about it for a moment, holding back a scornful response. It wasn't like she had much of an option on the matter anyway, but something told her that Merahwdir was being serious.

_He feels different from any of the other demons we've fought so far. _Sheena thought.

"Alright. If you say so…" she decided that now would be a good opportunity to test her spirit form. Activating it, Sheena observed as Merahwdir showed a surprised expression at the transformation.

"This aura… so you're Luna," the beast demon said the last part with a smile.

"Surprised?" Sheena asked with a smirk.

"I would say it's more befitting than surprising," he said with a chuckle.

The two fighters then stood on battle stances, before charging towards one another. Due to his longer reach, Merahwdir was the first to attack. Sheena jumped and hovered in the air to avoid the blow, though she had to fight to keep her balance while flying. She then thought about how to attack and extended her hand forward, concentrating on her magical energy. However, she soon discovered that it was harder to do now; she had so much magical energy that she could barely unite and bend it over to her will. She managed to gather as much as she could and managed to produce a powerful attack when a light beam suddenly shot from her extended palm.

Merahwdir defended himself using the cable of his halberd, dividing the beam into several others, which didn't hit the demon general, all the while, he was smiling. He countered with another ample swing of his large weapon, which Sheena barely avoided.

The reincarnated Luna tried to fly closer to the lion demon and unleash a barrage of light-charged punches and kicks. However, the energy in her attacks was gathered in a sloppy way, resulting in some blows packing little power and others too much, in ways that it made possible for Merahwdir to dodge.

Sheena mentally cursed herself. She thought with all her training in magic it would be easy for her to use her Summon Spirit powers. Lloyd found out how to use his powers mostly by instinct, so he started with the power that his emotions called forth. The guardian user already had a good idea of how to manipulate magical energy, so it seemed she had a bigger amount unlocked for her, so much she didn't even know how to control it without suffering a backslash or causing imbalances in her attacks.

She saw Merahwdir gathering demonic flames around the lance point near the ax edge of his halberd and suddenly the violet haired woman felt like the world turned into a confusion of vibrant colors and glows. She could see brilliant streams of yellow color that she suspected was the element of light. Plants and small animals were colorful dots and Merahwdir, in front of her, was a great mass that mixed, poison-green with scarlet red, his aura agitated and wild like a raging flame which reminded her of Lloyd's aura.

Sheena shook her head and her extra-sensory vision was deactivated just in time for her to see the halberd being thrust at her direction. Sheena barely had time to avoid the attack and the lance point grazed her side, not drawing blood thanks to her spirit form, but she could feel her body burn where the wound was.

"Already done playing?" Merahwdir asked, swinging his halberd while it was still extended, hitting Sheena with the edgeless side of the weapon.

The violet haired woman was thrown against the trees and hit one with such force that she broke it, making the superior half of the trunk fall behind with her. As Sheena was getting around the tree, Merahwdir come running, fire surrounding the ax edge of his halberd as he poised it to cleave Sheena in two. She jumped to the side right as he proclaimed:

"Raging Force!" when the weapon's edge hit the ground, it erupted in a wave of heat, forming red cracks on the floor and further harming Sheena's body.

Merahwdir prepared his weapon to strike again and performed an upward slash. Sheena crossed her arms in defense and the spectral seal lines around her wrists enlarged and deflected the blade. The guardian user was impressed by that, but didn't have time to think about it as Merahwdir prepared another attack, thrusting his halberd's lance point in the ground, channeling fire to it as he proclaimed:

"Lava Surge!" Sheena felt energy gathering around where she was standing, but was too late to avoid a great geyser of lava that erupted beneath her feet, throwing her up and burning through most of her defense.

_Damn! I'm getting my ass handed to myself and I can't even fight back properly because I don't know how this damn form works! _Sheena thought in frustration.

She felt another agitation in the magical energy around and her extra-sensory vision was activated without her command again. She could see Merahwdir's aura agitating as he charged another spell. Quickly canceling her vision again while adjusting herself to float in the air, Sheena heard the demon chant in his mother language.

"Lefah Ghare!" five rings of flames appeared around Sheena, binding her in a cage of roaring flames, and fire tongues were launched against her. The rings then closed around her and the entire cage exploded in flames.

Sheena fell to the floor with a thud. Her entire body hurt and she could now feel the chaos energy like it was some kind of poison to her aura, making it a mess. Thankfully, she had so much energy that it barely made any difference.

"Do you want me to believe that that's the best a reincarnated Summon Spirit can do? You didn't even graze me yet," Merahwdir said in a scolding tone. Sheena gritted her teeth. That was all she needed; being scolded by a demon. "If that's how you're going to fight then I'm done with you."

The demon general's aura seemed to agitate even more, as if he was gathering power. Sheena could already tell he was going to pull something powerful and stood in a defensive stance. Merahwdir suddenly threw his halberd to the sky, the giant weapon spinning in the air. Sheena followed its movement with her eyes, which proved to be a mistake as the lion demon charged otherworldly, scarlet flames on his wrists and legs and approached her in one jump.

Merahwdir then kicked the reincarnated spirit up into the air and attacked her with a sequence of crushing, flame charged punches, which released heat each time they hit. The demon general then kicked her to the ground again in time to stand still and grab his falling halberd. He gripped it with his two hands, the flames in them spreading around the weapon's cable and concentrating all of it into its blades.

"Flare Cry!" Merahwdir then slashed at Sheena, his halberd's ax edge releasing fire in the air in a similar manner to Lloyd's transformed sword, creating an inferno that burned through Sheena's magic defense. Merahwdir ended by spinning two times, throwing the guardian user away.

When Sheena hit the ground, a glow enveloped her body and dissipated into several dots as she reverted back to her normal form. She was a little tired from all of the attacks she suffered and could feel some parts of her body a little burnt from the Mystic Arte Merahwdir performed, which managed to pass through her defenses and harm her human body. Other than that, she didn't suffer from any more serious damage.

"Hmph. That was shameful," the demon scowled again, approaching her as she stood on her knees. "You dare call yourself a warrior when you couldn't make a decent fight? You don't even deserve an honorable death."

Upon realizing she could finally control her magical energy again and that it didn't seem to have been spent at all, Sheena laughed a little. Merahwdir's white eyebrow shot up at hearing Sheena's laughter, wondering what was the problem with the female fighter.

"Actually, I should thank you. Seems like I overestimated my capacities, but now…" she didn't even end her phrase and suddenly got on her feet and ran to the demon general at lightning speed. Merahwdir just noticed what she was doing when she jumped and was near his face with a grin on her lips. "I can finally fight without any problems!" charging light in her feet, Sheena delivered a strong kick on the demon's face, making him stagger to the side as she landed.

The demon general passed his hand to where she hit him and strangely smiled at sensing the local was sensible. He could also feel a slight burning sensation from the after effect of the light-charged blow. Now that was what he was expecting from this challenge.

"Well then, you made me show you my skills while I didn't really injure you," he then stood back into his fighting stance again. Sheena wouldn't correct him by saying he had actually achieved to pass her defenses and injure her. "Now this is getting interesting. Show me how you truly fight, Lena'aret!" Sheena decided she would have to ask Raine later what that term means.

Merahwdir charged fire in his halberd and swung. The Radiant Maiden laid down and slid on the ground, the blade passing above her and leaving a trail of heat in the air. When she stopped, the guardian user quickly put her hands on the earth as she propelled her body up and pushed. Sheena shot to the demon general and kicked his armored belly with her two feet, making him bend slightly.

She quickly curled and placed two seals on Merahwdir's chest and pushed her feet, jumping away of him and throwing the demon out of balance. She extended her hand and sent magical energy to the cards, using her Power Seal Absolute Arte. Merahwdir felt his armor crack as Sheena ran to him again.

The lion-like demon charged fire onto his halberd again and slashed the ground, releasing flames from his weapon and sending a pillar of fire traveling across the ground. Sheena jumped to the side as the demon general sent in more waves. She avoided two more waves of fire and threw seal cards on the demon, who cut the seals in the air.

Sheena ran once more as Merahwdir thrust the lance point of his halberd in the ground, using Lava Surge, but this time Sheena was ready. She jumped in the moment red cracks appeared in the ground, avoiding the geyser of molten rock and charged her fists and feet with light, punching and kicking the demon general when she was within range.

The guardian user could feel part of the demon's aura being burnt by her light and quickly added a Demon Seal Arte to her combo, blowing the great lion some meters away and breaking his breastplate. She was ready to go attack him again when Merahwdir suddenly casted a spell without even charging. A flame sword descended from the skies, catching Sheena off guard and hitting her, before erupting the earth around her and sending her into the air.

Merahwdir continued his attack, by sending another flame pillar, which traveled onto the ground and ran towards Sheena, pushing her away as the flames dissipated. He then brought his weapon to his back and threw it. The halberd travelled in the air, spinning, and sliced the violet haired woman in half… or so it seemed.

Suddenly, smoke enveloped the two halves of the Radiant Maiden's body like in an explosion and when it dissipated in their place were the halves of a tree trunk.

"What?" the demon general exclaimed.

"Was that too fast for you?" a voice said, coming from behind him. He felt energy being gathered. "I guess if you were dead set on throwing your weapon at me, it means you want to end this fight, am I right?"

Merahwdir then turned and saw Sheena behind him. He could sense the light in her aura shining brightly, but not enough to blind his second vision. He knew that she was obviously preparing something powerful and he wouldn't be able to defend himself now that he threw his only weapon away.

Seal cards appeared around Sheena, forming a sphere around her, but as time passed they turned less substantial, until what remained was a spectral impression of the cards and the charms inscribed on them. The spectral cards' glow intensified and suddenly Sheena was upon Merahwdir, who didn't even register her movement.

"I'll show you my true strength!" she yelled as she punched the demon in the chin. The force was enough to make him stagger to the side. The sphere of seals rotated, accompanying Sheena's fist. A line that was parallel to Sheena's fist shone and released light beams, burning the demon's aura even more. Sheena then floated to him and unleashed a kick onto his chest, the sphere accompanying her foot's movement and another line of seals released more beams to further damage the beast demon. After delivering more blows, which released more beams, Sheena quickly hovered past the demon, this time half of the sphere released beams in the direction Sheena was facing. She quickly turned and hovered past Merahwdir once more, the beams burning through his skin and aura. The guardian user then floated up, all of the cards shining brightly and sphere rotating around her fast. "Nova Seal!" the cards converged to Sheena and her body released a blinding flash, which hit Merahwdir with a strong burst of light, throwing him backwards.

The guardian user then floated to the ground and landed on her knees, panting. That Mystic Arte took all her remaining energy. Merahwdir seemed to be in a similar state. He was panting and had burns all over his body, his aura had diminished its wild vibrations, indicating a significant part of his energy had been burnt away by the light. Sheena also had some burns from Merahwdir's fire pillars and his latest spell.

It was in that moment she felt the presence of Lumen approaching her. The Centurion asked if she was alright with worry on his voice. She looked to him and then to Merahwdir, who was trying to stand. Sheena thought:

_Huh… these generals are… really tough… _she then fell forward, exhausted and near unconsciousness.

Merahwdir looked to the guardian user, his expression one of interest. He tried to move, but felt some pain on his chest. It seemed the damage on his aura was deeper than it seemed. Lumen stood in front of Sheena, ready to defend her if it was necessary. The demon general merely smiled a feline smile to the cheetah-like Centurion as he painfully stood, speaking:

"There's no need for that, little Centurion. Lena'aret showed me her strength and I am satisfied. I haven't had a challenge like this in a long time," he slowly walked to where his halberd laid and picked it up. The demon then turned and a runic circle appeared below him. "Tell her our fight ended… in a tie. And that I'll anxiously await for a rematch."

With that said, the demon turned into a red sphere and teleported away in a flash. Lumen turned to Sheena and called to her, shaking her body with his muzzle. The voluptuous woman stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Groaning, Sheena sat and looked around.

"Where's Merah-whatever his name is?"

"He left, Shee-luni," Lumen said. "Oh, and he said it was a tie and he waits for a rematch."

Sheena looked to the Centurion in confusion. Merahwdir just left while she was down? Why didn't he finish her off and continued to chase Lloyd and the others…? Sheena then stood at once, her eyes wide. Lloyd and the others. She had forgotten all about them!

"Damn! Let's go, Lumen!" the guardian user called, sprinting to the exit of the peninsula, forgetting she was still exhausted and injured with Lumen right behind her.

- / - / - / -

Lloyd was pushed away again by an electrical pulse and had to jump to the side to avoid a lightning bolt. The red clad swordsman gritted his teeth in anger. Behind him, his friends were fighting against the Desians troops, most now in their demon form. Kvar was in front of Lloyd, with his mocking smile still on his face.

"Is that how you intend to kill me?" Kvar sneered in a soft tone. "You didn't even touch me yet."

"Sh-Shut up!" Lloyd yelled back. He was getting tired and frustrated.

Since he began fighting Kvar, Lloyd wasn't able to land a blow on the Desian Grand Cardinal. Kvar parried most of his blows and whenever Lloyd managed to get past the Desian's defense his swords seemed to jolt to the sides, away from Kvar's skin.

With a war cry, Lloyd ran at Kvar again, who kept smiling all the while. More blows were thrown against the Desian Grand Cardinal, who parried each one with ease. Lloyd tried using his Artes, but Kvar produced an electric shield which absorbed and blocked each strike. The half-demon then counter-attacked by swinging his staff, hitting Lloyd and spreading an electrical charge on the young man's body, though it didn't have any effect on him thanks to his Spirit Form's protection.

"Lightning Strike!" Kvar thrust his staff forward, hitting Lloyd in the belly with great strength. The dual swordsman was pushed back by three bolts of lightning that fell on him. Kvar then hit him again with his staff, throwing Lloyd away. "My, my. You almost made me feel sorry for doing that to you."

Lloyd stood up with his teeth still clenched. Why has none of his attacks hit Kvar? The Desian Grand Cardinal could see the frustration on Lloyd's eyes and decided to aggravate him further:

"Shall I reveal how you weren't able to harm me since the beginning of our 'fight?'" Lloyd didn't even reply, he simply charged at Kvar again. The one known as the Deadly Thunder continued to speak as he batted away and avoided each of Lloyd's attacks, which never got close to his body. "You see, every metal and matter has a magnetic polarity to them. All I have to do is to change and strength the polarity of my weapon's metal and my body molecules to one opposite to attract your swords or an equal charge to repel them."

Lloyd didn't understand a thing of what Kvar had just said, but by the sound of it, the Desian had the situation completely under control. Lloyd then tried to argue when his and Kvar's weapon got into a deadlock:

"What are you talking about? My swords are made of flames now!"

"Oh, they aren't. I can sense the metal on them. Its presence is small, but enough for my powers to have an effect on your weapons," electrical sparks appeared between Lloyd's swords and Kvar's staff, seeming to try and warp around the Wielder of Victory's Flames' blades. "Though not enough for me to electrocute you, but other than that, you are…" with another energy pulse, Kvar pushed Lloyd backwards. The Desian Grand Cardinal charged a spell. "... A pathetic excuse of a replacement! Spark Wave!"

A giant sphere of electricity was formed around Lloyd, shocking the young man several times. The dual swordsman was forced onto his knees once more. He started panting, noticing now that his energy seemed to be leaving him by the minute.

Behind Lloyd, Raine and the others were fighting the Desians and noticed between the archers that there were some Bone Archers with helmets identical to the Desians' covering part of their faces.

_Maybe they were disguised between the demons from before. _Raine thought as she casted another Barrier spell to deflect the demonic archers' arrows.

Marta sent wind blades flying to eliminate the archers while Emil quickly eliminated the footmen, preventing them from getting near Raine. The half-elf woman often casted light spells which brought down two to five Desians at once.

The situation seemed to be under control for their group, with the help of some of Ratatosk's monsters. Raine risked taking a look at Lloyd and saw he was panting and Kvar was approaching him. The Deadly Thunder was unscathed and sported a mocking grin. Raine knew that couldn't mean anything good. She decided it was time for her to dispose of those annoyances and help Lloyd.

"Leonit vehr, areh na lais…" Emil heard that and looked back, seeing Raine's hair and clothes flapping with a strong wind that seemed to materialize around her. Marta also felt something and looked back. The two saw a message in Raine's eyes that clearly said for them to get down. "Cillier Phyone!" the wind around Raine seemed to intensify and suddenly typhoons blew from the "wind cage" around the Professor, right when Emil and Marta lay down. The winds hit the Desians and sliced their armors and skin like it was butter, reducing the already injured to bits.

Meanwhile, Lloyd tried to attack Kvar again, but the Desian Grand Cardinal didn't even try to parry the blow. He simply sidestepped it and swung his staff on Lloyd's head, who defended the blow and tried to counter. Kvar jumped behind and suddenly Lloyd noticed that his opponent's staff was floating near him as Kvar seemed to "sit" in the air, floating some centimeters from the ground as a great rune appeared around them on the ground.

"Guardian Shield!" traces of light emanated from the runic circle, attacking Lloyd. "Now let's see you try to stand after this," the energy of the circle suddenly converged around Kvar, his staff floating back to him as he landed. The Deadly Thunder pointed his staff to the skies and lightning bolts fell on it, charging the weapon. Kvar then pointed his staff forward, in the diagonal, and a sphere of electricity formed at its point. Suddenly a lightning bolt shot from the sphere, hitting and maintain a sort of chain link with Lloyd. The red clad swordsman screamed in pain as he felt his spirit form being deactivated due to his defenses having reached their limit. Kvar beat the electric sphere with his staff and it flew towards Lloyd, stopping near him and pulling him through the connection there was between them by the lightning. The dual swordsman tried to fight back the pull of the sphere with the sensation of his insides burning. "Magnetic Void!" Lloyd's swords finally flew out of his grip when he was close to the magnetic electrical sphere and were absorbed by it, which grew and exploded in sparks and electricity.

Lloyd was sent flying backwards. His swords fell to the ground, shattered. Kvar slowly approached Lloyd as he tried to sluggishly back away, his muscles felt like they were burning up while others seemed not be working properly, like they were paralyzed.

"Amazing element for you to have at your side, don't you think?" Kvar mused just as he stopped near the swordsman's still form. "Thunder… with it the possibilities are endless. You can paralyze your opponent's muscles, or, my personal favorite, shoot a high-voltage current that, when hitting the target's chest, can make its heart stop pumping blood, effectively killing it."

Lloyd's eyes widened. Was that what Kvar did to that man back at Luin? If that was it, then Lloyd had as much chance of surviving it in his current state as that vendor. The Deadly Thunder's grin widened at seeing Lloyd's fearful expression. He started charging a spell, getting ready to kill his helpless prey when suddenly he heard a shout:

"Brilliant Shackles!" two seal lines made of light closed in around Kvar, interrupting his cast and exploding onto him with light. Lloyd then felt someone cast a healing spell over him and felt rejuvenated, the numb sensation on his muscles dissipating and the sensation of his body's inside burns diminishing. Raine appeared by his side, glaring at Kvar.

"You filthy woman…" Kvar grumbled, out of his mocking pose for the first time. "How dare you attack me?"

"The same way you dare to hurt my students and friends."

"Is that so?" Kvar asked, his cocky tone coming back as he united chaos energy around him. Lloyd and the others felt a chill on their spine as they saw Kvar charging a chaos spell, a poison-green, magic circle appearing beneath him. "Then let's see how you handle against true chaos magic! Loterah Uris!" the skies seemed to darken with clouds as lightning bolts struck the ground in front of Kvar several times, forming two spheres of electricity that started to spin around a pillar formed of electricity, which widened until Kvar made a signal with his free hand, like he was commanding the abnormality to attack.

The electric pillar scarred the ground on its wake, aiming for Raine, who stood on a defensive stance. She didn't know if she had enough magical energy to produce a barrier strong enough to defend against an attack like that, but for Lloyd's sake she had to try. Emil and Marta were also ready to help.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was still at his place on the ground, just able to observe the older woman fight to protect him from the dangerous half-demon. Even he could feel the level of power of that chaos spell and knew Raine, having fought against those other Desians before, could not be strong enough to stop the chaos spell coming at her.

_And all because I was stupid enough to be beaten by Kvar. _Lloyd thought, lowering his head and feeling frustrated by being so weak. He then looked up and decided. _I won't let her get hurt because of me!_

With that thought in mind, Lloyd got up and reached for the extra pair of swords that were strapped on his back; these were made of a material that was said to repel demonic energy. His father said an old friend had forged those and gave it to Lloyd as present on his sixteenth birthday. Now was a good time to try them out.

The red clad swordsman felt heat coming from his heart and spreading through his body like fire. Lloyd jumped in front of Raine right when the lightning pillar was almost at her. The half-elven Professor was surprised at seeing him standing and even more when he entered in his spirit form again, crossing his transformed swords in a defensive position as he proclaimed:

"Flame Shield!"

The electrical spell hit Lloyd's flaming barrier and tried to break through it. However, the flames seemed to be making a good work at repelling it, even dissipating the two electrical spheres that were circling around the lightning pillar. The spell finally wore off and Lloyd's barrier dissipated. When Kvar saw his two adversaries standing and alive, he looked in shock.

"But… I defeated you even when you were using the powers of Efreet. How is it possible that…?" it was then Kvar stopped speaking as he looked more attentively to Lloyd and realized something. "Wait. That look…"

Emil and Marta arrived near Raine and saw Lloyd glaring at Kvar, but his eyes didn't have any hatred on them, instead, now they were gleaming with determination and will to protect his friends. Raine had to admit she was mesmerized by the intensity of that protective look.

"I remember these eyes. So you're the offspring of that damned human Kratos along with the test subject A012!" Kvar said.

"Don't you talk about my parents like that," Lloyd said, his tone cold and piercing as he pointed his sword at Kvar. "I'm Lloyd Irving-Aurion and I won't let you lay a finger on my friends!"

"Really?" Kvar said, recovering his sneer and snapping his fingers. A whole troop of Desians appeared right behind him, composed of archers, whip masters and sorcerers. "As I remember, your father wasn't even able to protect that pathetic human he called a wife. What makes you think you can protect anything?"

"Because he's not alone!" Sheena's voice sounded. Lloyd saw her landing near him, Lumen coming right behind. "Lloyd isn't the only one fighting. We are all fighting against the likes of you," she gave him a smile, which Lloyd returned.

"You can try, but you won't defeat us…" Lloyd said.

"As long as we stand together…" Marta said.

"And even if we're all apart," Emil completed.

Lloyd's aura started agitating more. Kvar's sneer turned into a surprised expression as he sensed Lloyd gathering power. The young man then pressed his swords together and lifted them above his head as he said:

"We won't lose to monsters like you because our hearts fight together!" he then brought both swords down with a cry. "Blazing Fang!" a fierce wave of fire was unleashed from Lloyd's swords.

Kvar stepped back, sweating as he saw the giant wave of fire coming at him. The Deadly Thunder then ordered his sorcerers to quickly put up a barrier. The Desian magicians entered into their demon forms and quickly chanted a spell in the demonic language. A spectral wall full of strange symbols appeared around the Desian troop as Lloyd's attack collided with it, trying to break the barrier, without success. However, the fire quickly spread around the Desians, trapping them in a circle of flames.

"Now's our chance, let's go!" Raine called the group.

Lloyd and the others nodded and sprinted away. Sheena pulled Raine along with her as they gained distance from the Desians, who tried to put the magical flames out.

- / - / - / -

Moments later, the group was taking a break from their mad dash. Lloyd immediately fell on his back, exhausted from having to enter in spirit form twice in one day and using his newly discovered Arte. Marta also lied down on her back right near Lloyd. Raine and Emil were panting from all the running while the Centurions and Sheena were looking around for any sign of enemy presence.

Ventus then communicated to Emil:

"It seems we lost our pursuers, my Lord. But we shouldn't stay here for too long."

"Surely that Desian will come after us," Tenebrae said. "We have to get to the Balacruf Mausoleum as fast as we can."

"Tenebrae… give us a break…" Marta complained in between long breaths. "We just… fought for our lives… we can't go on like… this…"

"Not to talk…" Raine spoke up, also panting. "Some of us… don't have superhuman endurance… not yet that is…" the silver haired woman then looked to Sheena.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Sheena protested.

"Anyway, we have to go on," Aqua said. "Maybe we could rest a little at Lake Umacy?" she pondered.

Sheena said that was a bad option, since the water around the Lake Umacy had turned poisonous lately. Aqua showed a pained expression at hearing that while Tenebrae and Ventus had a somber look to them, the latter thinking out loud:

"I wonder if the Unicorns that lived there were able to find another place."

"Unicorns?" Raine asked, seeming to be completely recovered. "You mean the legendary creatures which are said to be the symbol of death and rebirth?"

"Yes, but they might as well be extinct," Tenebrae said.

"That's so sad. I liked those little horseies," Ignis bubbly commented.

"Maybe… we could go to Asgard," Emil suggested. "I mean, if we cut through the forest at the foot of the Hima mountains we could get there fast enough and seek shelter within the city."

"That's right! And maybe we could look for another reincarnated Summon Spirit. We found Sheena there after all," Marta said. Then, faster than the eyes could catch, she clang to Emil's arm like he was her personal plushie. "That's my Emil. Always thinking ahead."

"Y-Y-You're exaggerating, M-Marta."

"And oh so modest," Sheena said, impersonating Marta's voice tone. The brunette shot an ugly look at her. The guardian user then looked to Lloyd and found him still lying down… snoring.

"At least my Emil isn't a lazy bum," Marta whispered, though loud enough for Sheena to hear.

"What was that?"

Tenebrae, Ventus and Aqua decided to intervene before the two girls started to argue, so they threw Lumen in and the Centurion of Light effectively distracted Sheena and Marta enough for them to remember the two they needed to continue walking.

Sheena sighed and picked Lloyd up, bridal style, and walked with Marta to the woods at the foot of the Hima mountains. Just Raine and Ignis were left behind, the former sighing in frustration as she said:

"I wish I could at least have seen those Unicorns."

"What Unicorns?" Ignis asked, with a look of confusion on her face.

"The ones that lived near Lake Umacy."

"Really? They're cute! Can we go see them?" Ignis spoke up, excited.

Raine started to wonder why she even bothered to try…

* * *

A.N.: Before you all go thinking things: No. Blazing Fang isn't Lloyd's Mystic Arte in his spirit form. It's a normal Arte (think of that overpowered demon fang he uses in the Animation to kill Remiel. I never understood why give him those overkill attacks, but, again, the game is always better) much like Ratatosk's Destroyer Song in Chapter 12.


	17. The Whirlwind Rider

Hello my readers! As you can see, I'm not dead... *looks narrowly to some people* and acheived to get this chapter beta-read.

Now, we're nearing the end of Act II. Then we'll have another interlude with the villains and then start Act III.

Also, check the post notes for another Skit. I'm sure some of you missed them.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**The Whirlwind Rider**

The wide magic circle of Ratatosk's pact disappeared as the Carrion Worm again was bounded to the will of the Lord of the Monsters. The monster received orders to retreat until it was called and went back to the woods. Ratatosk walked back to the group, which soon started to walk to Asgard once more.

They had to avoid walking out in the open and used the woods at the foot of the Hima Mountains as a cover. They were also able to hide thanks to Sheena, Tenebrae and Raine's abilities to hide their auras. After two days, the group finally arrived at the gates of Asgard.

"Remember, we can't spend too much time here. The demons and Desians are searching the entire region for us," Raine warned.

"Don't worry. If they do come, mother and the others will hide us," Sheena said with a smile.

"Yeah. The people here are nice," Lumen said.

Sheena suggested they had lunch first on Asuka's. The group went to the night club and entered. Tanny suddenly appeared in front of them with a smile on her face as she greeted who she thought were new customers:

"Welcome to Asuka's! What can I…?"

"Tanny, you can drop the act. It's us," Sheena said.

"Oh, sorry."

As Tanny lead them to a free table and the group started to sit, Marta noticed Asuka coming. Sheena also saw her surrogate mother and went to hug her. Asuka then seemed to speak about something to Sheena that made her assume a more timid attitude. Marta could guess what it was.

"So, how have you all been doing?" Asuka asked as she approached the group.

"Hello, Miss Asuka. We're all doing fine," Emil said.

"Oh please, don't call me 'miss'. I know I'm old, but you don't need to treat me like that," Asuka then picked up a peculiar presence and looked to Raine. "Oh, hello. I don't think we were presented before."

Raine got up and introduced herself, shaking hands with Asuka, who arched an eyebrow at hearing the half-elven woman's name. Raine saw that and asked if there was something wrong.

"Oh nothing. But, could you come talk with me for a little bit?" Asuka asked.

"Mother. What you…?" Sheena started, but Asuka interrupted her.

"It's nothing, Sheena. Just a little doubt in my mind."

Raine followed the other half-elf to the back of the stage, Lloyd and the other's eyes accompanying them. Sheena found that a little strange, but decided to leave them be. The voluptuous woman said for the group to ask for whatever they wanted. Lloyd said that he would pay, but Sheena insisted that it was on the house.

After asking for the food, Sheena went to the kitchen to relay the order to Aisha and the others. As the workers of Asuka's were making the food, the women asked Sheena to tell them how her journey was going so far.

"Let me see…" the guardian user said as she prepared her Mizuho Curry for Lloyd (it seemed to have turned into his favorite dish). "We were chased by demons, found out some interesting things…" she debated if they would believe their entire group was composed by reincarnated Summon Spirits. "And were almost killed more than I can count."

"Sounds like you got yourself into more trouble than usual," Kate said. Sheena shrugged to her.

Tanny then appeared in the kitchen and sat in a nearby chair, deciding to take part in the talk. She looked to Sheena and asked:

"By the way, how are you and that hot piece of swordsman, Lloyd, doing?"

"We're fine," Sheena answered simply.

"Oh, c'mon. We're all friends here, Sheena. Tell us."

"Yes. Tell us all of the juicy parts," Aisha said.

"What the… Aisha!" Sheena exclaimed with a blush.

"What? I'm a woman too, you know."

"As your friends and co-workers we have to right to know," Kate inputted.

"The only right you all have is to mind your own business."

"Please, Sheena. Pleaaaaaseeee," Tanny begged with cute puppy dog eyes.

"Urgh… nothing what your two dirty minds are thinking happened! There! Happy?"

The girls moaned in disappointment. However, Tanny decided to persist on the talk:

"But you did talk to him, didn't you?"

"Why do you want to know so much?" Sheena inquired. She liked Tanny as a sister, but there were times that she couldn't stand that side of the half-elven girl.

"Because we could help you."

Sheena looked from the red head to the other girls in the kitchen, all seeming pretty anxious to hear about her love life. The guardian user sighed to calm herself and asked:

"If I tell, you swear that you will get off my case?" the three nodded. "Ok. He does like me," the other women squealed, making Sheena slightly cringe before she talked again. "But he feels intimidated around me. Thinks I will judge him because he doesn't know how to act in a relationship."

"I knew it," Kate said. "He looked like the kind of guy that doesn't date very often."

"From the sound of it, he's just underestimating himself because he's virgin," Aisha said simply. "Pity."

"Yeah," Sheena agreed with them. "And don't tell anybody I told you that, got it?" Sheena soon added in a threatening told.

The three nodded and went back to work.

After the food was ready, Tanny and Sheena served the group. It was then that Raine and Asuka came back, however, both their expressions were somewhat heavy and thoughtful. Marta and Sheena noticed that and the brunette asked what was wrong, but Raine avoided the subject, saying it was nothing…

- / - / - / -

After renting two rooms in one of the city's Inn, the group had settled themselves to sleep. That is, everybody but Sheena, who decided to take a look at how Asuka's was doing without her. As she was mentally reviewing the pictures of all the idiots and perverts that were not allowed to ever come back to the night club, her attention was deviated due to a familiar aura, which she didn't sense coming from the Inn, but rather from the ruined, stone bridge near the entrance of the city.

The voluptuous woman looked to that direction and saw that Raine was really there, sitting in the edge of the stone bridge, facing the direction Sheena was and looking to the crescent moon in the night sky. The silver haired half-elf had a reflective expression on her face that Sheena never saw before.

Deciding that Tanny and the others could take care of themselves until she arrived, Sheena went to where Raine was. The older woman was so deep in reflection that she didn't seem to notice the guardian user approaching. Sheena then spoke up when she was on the stone bridge right near Raine:

"I swear I never saw a researcher look so attentively to the skies, but looking so lost at the same time," Raine looked up to the young woman, seeming surprised. "May I have a seat?"

The Professor looked again to the skies while nodding. Sheena then sat down near Raine and observed her. The half-elf indeed seemed a little lost, like there was something troubling her. Sheena wondered what it was that her mother and Raine had talked about that made her companion get like that.

"So, can you tell me what's on your mind or is that another private subject?" Sheena asked, though she could already guess the answer. "And don't try to hide it. We both know that you've been like this ever since mother and you talked."

"I never intended to hide anything from you. After all, you were raised by that woman," Raine simply said.

"Ok… and what does that exactly mean?"

"Just that you both are very attentive to your surroundings," there was a pause when Raine looked up again to the moon. Sheena did the same. "I was just… remembering."

"About what?" Sheena asked with interested. Was Raine going to speak something about her past? Up until now, Sheena and the others knew next to nothing about Raine's life.

"Why I ended up here, traveling with all of you."

Sheena expected something more concrete than that vague answer. She started to wonder if that was how Richter answered to Nebilim, because that certainly was telling nothing. It was then Raine asked again, and this question picked at Sheena's interest:

"Did you have any family back at Mizuho?"

Sheena had to tighten her grip so as to not fall from the bridge. Did Asuka tell Raine about Sheena's hometown? If that was so, then why? That was one of the most closely guarded secrets between her and her mother. Nobody in the town knew where she was originally from and Sheena hadn't told even Lloyd and the others (though she knew she would have to at some point).

"In case you're wondering, your mother did mention it, but please don't think ill of her. She had a reason to do so."

The guardian user wondered what reason it would be, but she trusted her mother, so, she would leave things alone until either Raine or Asuka told her. Sheena then answered:

"I was an only child. My mother and father were very nice people and my grandpa… well, he was pretty nice too," Raine merely acknowledge with a nod for Sheena to continue. "But there was a girl, actually an outsider, and her mother. I swear I never saw people more sweet and kind in my entire life. I won't go into details about them, because it was my village's business, but that little girl… she was raised together with me, even though I was older than her. I remember that she was always following me everywhere, calling me 'big sis'," Sheena chuckled at that, shaking her head with closed eyes as she remembered those good times. "We even thought about training her to be one of us, but… then…"

There was no need to continue. Raine knew of Mizuho's ultimate fate. The older woman decided to focus back on what she had been meaning to ask:

"If this girl, who you regard as a sister… if she did… something terrible… what would be your reaction?"

Sheena raised an eyebrow at that. This was certainly suspicious, even for Raine. The voluptuous woman decided to see where this talk would lead and answered:

"Well, if she did, I certainly would be upset and, depending on the reasons behind it, give her a scold. But I would forgive her in the end and say that she needs to think of a way to fix things."

"Even if what she did can't be fix?" Raine asked with a coldness in her tone that made a chill run up to Sheena's spine.

"Um… if it doesn't… then I think that all I could do is to say that she will have to face the consequences. Why are you asking all this by the way?"

"Just curiosity," it was clear it wasn't just out of pure curiosity and Sheena was ready to further inquire Raine until she got a satisfactory answer, but the silver haired woman stood and dusted her pants. "I think it's already time for me to return. We have to be ready for tomorrow. After all, they say there is a demon's fortress in the mountains near the Balacruf Mausoleum."

Wishing a good night to Sheena, Raine up and left. The young ninja tried to call her back, but Raine was already too far ahead. The violet haired woman crossed her arms as she stood, thinking:

_What was that about? Man, that woman is so full of secrets. But what she said and all of those questions… _Sheena started to wonder if that had anything to do with Raine's family and, if that was so, where was her family?

- / - / - / -

In the peninsula where the Balacruf Mausoleum was located there was a string of mountains in which had built a demon fort. However, no one, except for the demonic troops themselves, knew the real purpose of that fort was far from military.

Inside the fort there were several halls and demonesses walking around with notes and some packages. Deeper in the fort were the residential quarters and there was one room in special that housed the master of that fort. Waiting besides the door was a purple haired demoness in human form, though the designs of her skimpy clothes showed it wasn't fabricated in that world.

From inside the room were incoming moans. Then there was a gasp and a muffled sound, after that, silence. Five seconds later, the door opened and a black haired demon in human form stepped out. He was wearing dark clothes that seemed to be made of some kind of leather and decorated with silver belts. His skin had a pale tone and his eyes were of a purple color clearly unnatural for that world. His hair was a little messy, but he had a content expression on his attractive face as he said:

"Nothing like a blowjob to begin the day," the master of the fort then noticed the demoness near the door and greeted. "Oh, hey Shallia. Didn't notice you there."

"Slept well, Master Netrioh?" the demoness asked, bowing to him.

"Yeah, but one more company surely would have been nice," Netrioh said as another demoness stepped out of his room, this one with red fiery hair, golden eyes and claw like nails, though she had a seductive smile on her face, a face that could easily make any men drool for her. That not mentioning the rest of her features. "That is, if that's why you're at my doorstep."

"No. I wouldn't dare to intrude."

"Oh, c'mon sweety," the red haired demoness said, putting one hand in Netrioh's shoulder while leaning on him, pressing her curvaceous body on him. "You know what they say; the more the merrier."

"I'll consider it next time, Lady Algrioh," Shallia bowed her head again to the two. "But, I came because there's a visitor in the entry hall."

"Visitor, heh?" Netrioh said, smiling a cunning smile. He made motion for the two females to walk with him as he asked in a business-like tone. "And who might that be?"

"The Desian Rodyle."

Netrioh arched an eyebrow in confusion, but an expression of understanding soon dawned on his face. Rodyle had contacted him the other day, saying he would be coming to collect the tax for Netrioh's stay in Aselia. Although the demon knew Rodyle would certainly take some of the payment for his infamous experiments, there was not much he could do. Rodyle might look like your typical crazy scientist, who never do the dirty work, but the one that the Desian Grand Cardinal reported to…

Good thing Netrioh had the approval of the Grand Demon Lords and of the Merchant Clan to be there. The trio walked through the corridors of the fort and came out in a hall with a large balcony that gave view to the mountains and the path to the Balacruf Mausoleum.

In the hall, Rodyle was waiting, sitting in a couch. The half-demon scientist wasn't paying any attention to the exotic women around him, he was busy checking the files on his personal data storage pendant. When the purple haired man sensed Netrioh walking in, he looked up.

"You certainly took your time. I've been waiting for over an hour," the Desian Grand Cardinal said.

"Really? Then do you mind waiting for another hour?" Netrioh said with a smile on his face.

"You sure are cocky for somebody who is here just by the goodwill of the Great One," Rodyle replied.

"Then don't you think I should enjoy it while I can? Man, you're just as stuffy as they say. Sheesh. Get laid, buddy."

There was some silence in Rodyle's part after that sentence. Shallia, Algrioh and some nearby demonesses who had been hearing the conversation, giggled at that remark from their master. Netrioh winked to two of them. Rodyle sighed in exasperation while massaging his forehead with his fingers. Deciding he should just get out of there before he started losing more brain cells by talking with Netrioh, Rodyle said:

"I have more useful things to do with my time than to hear to your pointless antics. Now hand me over the payment!"

"Alright, alright. Stuffy, stuffy…" Netrioh went to sit in a nearby divan and snapped his fingers. Two demonesses came in, bringing a huge chest. They deposited it near Rodyle's feet and the Desian opened it to inspect the content. "You'll find all eighty exspheres there, just as promised."

Rodyle seemed satisfied and put the exsphere he had picked up back in the chest. He then called out to two Desian soldiers, who picked up the chest and took it to the exit of the fort where the teleportation device that brought them there was waiting. Rodyle then turned to Netrioh and spoke:

"Also, according to Lord Nebilim's orders, I must warn you that Ratatosk is in this region. If you see him, you are to immediately communicate with our Lord. Though I doubt you would be capable of even that much."

That piece of information seemed to pick Netrioh's interest, for he stood from his divan when Rodyle said it. The demon seemed to ponder that for some time and finally said, with a dismissive smile:

"Alright. I'll be sure to let you know if I see Ratatosk around. Now, if you aren't going to stay for a round with my girls, though I honestly don't know if I want to have them pass through a horror like that, you can leave. You're cramping my style."

"I would worry more about your situation with Lord Nebilim than about your… style," Rodyle commented, smiling a smug smile. "I heard that your recent activities have been...what could I say? Slightly suspicious."

"Really? Can you prove it?" Netrioh said, his smile turning one of who challenged someone. Rodyle's glare hardened. "And even so, I already told you all; I'm a trader, a businessman, not a warrior. And since I have permission to run my business here from the Top Ones…" he pointed his finger upward for emphasis. "I would say that you are in my way, since you probably don't know a thing about Niflheim's commerce."

"This impudent behavior of yours will be your end, Netrioh. Mark my words!"

"Yeah, yeah. Well, while that don't happen…" the demon then laid on his divan, snapping his fingers and soon he was surrounded by three demonesses, one fanning him with her arm transformed in a wing, other handing him fruits with exotic color tones and another laying near Netrioh. "Can you leave, please? I swear…" Netrioh held his nose, like he was trying to block out some awful smell. "When was the last time you remembered to bathe? Man, and they say we demons don't know the concept of personal hygiene."

Rodyle's left eyebrow twitched while all of the demons around laughed at him. Mumbling some curses under his breath, the Desian Grand Cardinal turned on his heels and left. Once Netrioh couldn't feel his presence anymore, he got up, going to the balcony while his servants watched him.

The demon merchant looked down to the path that lead to the Balacruf Mausoleum and could see a number of figures approaching from the direction of the mainland, no doubt Ratatosk's group. He had heard about them from the reports that his contacts achieved to intercept. Not that he needed it anyway. Ratatosk's group composed by the reincarnated Summon Spirits had turned into the talk of the moment in the demonic troops.

Netrioh smiled, remembering the last time he had saw the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree. Algrioh then approached her master and asked what they should do. She, like him and good part of the demons that worked on that fort, were of the Beast species, more precisely bird demons, which were known by their exceptional sight and flying abilities.

The master merchant of the fort belonging to the Merchant Demon Clan turned to her and looked to his servants inside. He then spoke:

"We still have some time before they arrive and go to Sylph's altar, so…" he pointed to Shallia as he smiled a rather seductive smile. "Shallia, on your knees if you may," the demoness smiled, bowing her head again, seeming content to comply. "And you…" he said turning to Algrioh. "I want that off in three seconds," he said, pointing to the strap that she used to cover her large breasts and was the only piece of clothing she used form the waist up. "But let's make this quick. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I don't drop by to say 'hello'?"

- / - / - / -

The group quickly made it to the Balacruf Mausoleum while the sun was just about to hit the mountain peak. They all had woken up early (though Sheena had to practically use the chaos essence to get Lloyd out of the bed) and parted, having said their farewells to Asuka's crew the other day.

They arrived in the area around the Balacruf Mausoleum after using monsters and Centurions as mounts (Tenebrae complained a bit, but Aqua shut him up) and looked around. Raine immediately made a mad dash for a salience in the pyramid-like structure that was the mausoleum. Lloyd and the others could clearly see the mad gleam of Ruin Mode in her eyes.

"Ooohhhh! The Balacruf Mausoleum… such a relic from the past of Sylvarant. It's absolutely marvelous and more grandiose than I previously thought!" Raine said in a dreamy tone, which contrasted horribly with her normally calm and cool attitude. "Just look at the angle. The perfection in which it was built! Not even the magitechnology of the Kharlan War period could build something like this!"

"Yeah. It's really impressive," Emil said, walking near Raine without the group noticing. Lloyd and the others looked at the boy with surprised expressions.

"Uh… Aster Mode?" Lloyd asked.

"Seems so…" Marta said, sighing.

"These two really are something…" Sheena said.

"Anyway, Lord Ratatosk," Ventus said reminding the group of why they came there.

Ratatosk took control of Emil's body and nodded, going for the stone door that was the entrance to the mausoleum and undoing the seal. The group entered the ancient building and noticed how dark it was. Sheena and Lloyd entered in their spirit forms and produced spheres of light and fire to lighten the path.

"Stay close. This place is full of traps to stop intruders and grave robbers," Ventus said.

"Oh my! Look at these inscriptions!" Raine said as she looked at a stone mural in the wall.

"Um… Professor Sage…" Ventus called her. Even he was a little uneasy around Raine when she was like that. "We need to go further in the mausoleum."

"Really? Why didn't you just say so before? Let's go!" Raine said in an excited tone and taking the lead of the group. Ratatosk, Lloyd, Marta and Sheena all sweatdropped at Raine's behavior.

The group advanced while fighting through undead monsters that rose from the tombs inserted in the walls and avoiding traps like spiked walls, ground and pit falls (to which Sheena only survived because Lloyd was able to grab her arm and pull her back).

"Goddammit! I forgot how I hate these pitfalls!" Sheena cursed.

"I would never pictured that you like somebody who would fall for such old tricks," Tenebrae jabbed in, causing Sheena to blush.

"Me too. Shee-luni always seemed so smart," Lumen commented.

Sheena said for the two to shut up. The group continued with their exploration (though Raine and Emil seemed to behave like it was some short of excavation). It was then the group came across a hole that isolated the part of the ruin they were at. At the other side was a stone door and to their left were stairways.

Raine looked to the stairs and also noticed something in the wall between them and the gap. Approaching, the female Professor saw that it was another mural, this one with phrases inscribed. She couldn't read it due to the darkness.

"Lloyd, Sheena, come over here," the silver haired woman called.

The couple walked to her, however, in that moment, a gust of wind came and their lights died out. Lloyd got a little confused and created another fireball, but another gust of wind made it die. Sheena tried too and, odd enough, hers also was dispelled by the gust.

"What kind of wind is that?" Sheena asked. "I could feel something on it."

"Hmm… strange," Lumen said, seeming to ponder. "Why would there be magical wind around Sylph's lair?"

The entire group looked to Lumen and sweatdropped. Deciding to forget the Centurion's obliviousness, Raine tried to read the few parts that she could see:

"'_The rich of… blue princess… holy seal…_' interesting," Raine mused, crossing her arms. "It seems this is some kind of clue to get to Sylph's altar, but I don't know what it means. If I could at least see it more clearly," the researcher then turned back to them. "We'll have to find the draft from where this wind comes from and shut it off."

"What? Are you crazy? It could be anywhere!" Ratatosk said, taking control of Emil's body. "We don't have time for this. Ignis, Tenebrae."

The Centurions nodded to their lord and called the monsters he had ordered them to bring through the mental link he had reestablished with the Centurions. A tall, brown bear and a dark scorpion appeared. Lloyd and the others wondered what he was going to do with the monsters, but they soon found out when the creatures approached the mural and started to beat the wall, creating cracks around it.

Since the mural was more elevated than the wall and of a different tonality, Ratatosk deduced it had been put there after the structure was built. The others closed one eye at seeing the monsters opening holes in the wall around, the bear used punches and blows that made the area seem to shake. Ratatosk grinned, but Raine, right behind him had her mouth agape in shock. The others noticed it and the Centurions considered to make their servants stop, but their lord's orders were absolute.

The bear could finally dig his claws around the lower edge of the mural. Ignis then called upon another to help carry it. The two monsters took the mural off the wall and deposited it in front of the group with more care than they seemed capable of.

"There. Now you can…" before Ratatosk could end his phrase a violent blow sounded as a hard staff hit the back of his head. He looked back. "What the hell… ?"

The Lord of the Monsters stopped as he finally saw Raine's face and sensed a murdering intent in her aura. The expression on the silver haired researcher's face was one of cold anger, more threatening than if she had an expression of hatred on her features. Ratatosk gulped.

"You dare to damage such a unique relic of the Balacruf Dynasty as this building and its murals…" Raine said in a cold, serious tone. Ratatosk gulped, suddenly thinking the Grand Demon Lords weren't so scary anymore. "You have no consideration, whatsoever!"

Ratatosk tried to call out for help, but Raine was faster and mauled the rash Summon Spirit. Marta and the others flinched at the beating that was inflicted upon their friend. When Raine's attack ended, Ratatosk was a bloody pulp on the ground. The researcher approached the mural and asked for light. Lloyd and Sheena quickly did as she asked, not wanting to anger the silver haired woman any further.

Raine took out the book she used to take notes on everything in that journey and wrote the translation of the mural on it. Once she was done, Raine made signal for all of them to continue. Marta picked up the out cold Ratatosk by his arm, passing it over her shoulder and carrying him with the group. It didn't take too much time until Emil took control and asked what happened and why he was feeling like he had been through a round against a demon general.

The group passed by some more traps and lit two torches near a blocked door to unlock the mechanism in order to open it. The new room was brighter than the rest of the mausoleum. In its center stood five windmills, each with a different color, and in the other side of the room was another stone door with the Emblem of the Gale, Sylph's crest, carved on it.

The group approached the door and tried to open it. Sheena even tried the spell that Ratatosk used to undo the spirit seal, but it didn't budge. They turned to look at the room again. Maybe the windmills were connected to the door somehow.

Marta approached one and raised her palm to it, wind gathered around her arm and shot to the windmill, making it spin. That made Raine show an expression of understanding. She took her book and flipped through it until the last note she made.

"I see…" Raine said, calling the group's attention.

"What is it?" Sheena asked.

"The mural that we saw before held clues to open the door that leads to the altar. These phrases have elements in it that probably corresponds to the color of the windmills. Most ancient civilizations used to associate colors to elements of nature and feelings in their paintings."

"Ok…meaning?" Lloyd asked, not having understood much of what Raine said.

"Marta, activate the windmills in the following order."

The female brunette nodded and did as Raine told her to. When the last windmill started to spin, a rumble was heard and the door behind them started to move and opened to reveal a staircase. It was then Marta started to sense something as a gust of wind seemed to come from above. She started walking towards the staircase as the rest of the group followed her from behind.

The altar was at the top of the pyramid-like mausoleum, in an open area which you could view the woods and mountains all around. There was a green, glowing sphere at the top of the altar around which the wind seemed to swirl. Lloyd and the others could sense a presence within the sphere as Marta approached it with her eyes fixated on it.

A feminine, deep voice echoed in the area:

_You, who are our new incarnation… we are the ones known as the Sylph… _the voice then changed at the next phrase to one a bit more lighthearted. _We have waited for the time you would come to reunite with us and be reborn as a Summon Spirit of this world… _the voice changed again, this time to a high-pitched one. _But first, we need to make a little, tinsy bit of testing. So hang in there!_

Lloyd and the others raised their eyebrows at the final voice, while the Centurions just sighed. The half of Sylph's soul started to shine brighter as the wind picked up its intensity. Eventually, Marta was forced to cover her face as the light before her took shape.

When the brunette girl looked again, there, standing before her was a giant, humanoid, bird-like monster. Its body was mostly blue with some tones of yellow and green and its head was small, though it came with a very, sharp-looking beak. The talons showed three, equally, sharp-looking claws.

_"Well… at least they didn't throw in three monsters at once," _Emil heard Ratatosk commentand asked what he meant with that. _"Back then, when they tested a summoner, the Sylphs fought against him all together. Anyway, if Marta wins this battle she'll become the new Sylph."_

_But… if she becomes Sylph… then that means… _Emil communicated back to Ratatosk.

_"Yeah. She'll be an immortal Summon Spirit…" _there was something in Ratatosk's tone that Emil couldn't quite catch. Was it sadness?

The two stopped talking once the battle began and they had to give Marta space as she was pushed back by a strong gust coming from the wings of the bird monster.

"That's an Iapix," Ventus explained. "Lady Marta, watch out for its feathers and talons, they're as sharp as steel blades!"

"Don't you think I noticed?" Marta talked back as she jumped when the Iapix landed where she had been seconds before.

The bird monster spun, trying to slash Marta with its talons. She used her spinner to defend herself from the blow, but it was strong enough to throw her out of balance. The Iapix then floated up and shot a rain of feathers. Marta again had to use all of her agility to avoid the sharp feathers, which buried in the concrete.

She gathered wind in her spinner and spun, releasing a wind disk. However, when it collided with the Iapix, the giant bird suffered no damage. Marta gritted her teeth as she had to jump again to avoid another Feather Shoot. She should have guessed the monster was immune to wind.

_That means I'll have to get close. But how am I going to do it without getting sliced to bits by this thing's talons? _Marta wondered.

The Iapix then started to charge a spell and Marta immediately used the defensive Arte she had been developing during her training with the boys:

"Damage Guard!" a green, protective, bubble-like shield raised at the same time the Iapix casted Air Thrust. Thanks to her Arte, the wind blades hit the shield without any harm to Marta.

The monster seemed to get frustrated at seeing its attack had been useless and flew to Marta in high speed, intent on ramming into her. The brunette girl saw an opportunity and crouched on the ground before jump, twirling in the air as the great bird passed below her. Marta then slashed at the wing of the monster bird, using just the blade of her spinner.

She managed to cut part of its feathers, which made the monster lose altitude and crash on the concrete. Marta quickly charged at the Iapix and swung her spinner at the monster's back, delivering three cuts to the creature's back. Marta tried to jump back when the Iapix spun, but didn't count on the creature using its wing to hit her. She was thrown across the altar area and hit a pillar behind her with enough strength for her to open her mouth in a gasp of pain.

Marta fell to her knees, but managed to look up and saw the Iapix charge another spell. The reincarnated Sylph couldn't use Damage Guard in time and was hit by another Air Thrust which gave most of her body several cuts, spilling some blood. Marta screamed in pain. She never had much of a magical defense.

Emil's eyes widened as did the others at seeing Marta fell forward in pain, putting her hands on the ground and panting while droplets of blood fell in the concrete floor. Emil wanted nothing more than go and help her. Ratatosk just wanted to tear that overgrown chicken limb by limb and give the remnants for savage beasts to feast on. However, both knew they couldn't interfere with the test.

Marta managed to, somewhat, gather enough strength to stand. She saw the Iapix coming at her. Quickly looking around for a place to protect herself, she only saw the pillar behind her. The Iapix then jumped into the air and fired two swarms of steel sharp feathers. The girl ran behind the pillar as the feathers buried themselves into the stone.

Marta knew if the bird monster caught her now, she was dead. Quickly thinking about her options, she looked to the pillar behind her. It wasn't very thick, so maybe she could… as she heard the monster approach again, Marta made up her mind and detached her back from the pillar, positioning her spinner and cut the pillar with it. The column of stone started to fall and the Iapix looked up, not being able to avoid it in time the monster was hit by the stone and went to the ground.

Marta took the chance and charged at the bird monster, intend on ending the fight, but right as she was close, the Iapix rose from the rubble and, sensing her close, applied a sweep kick with its talons on the girl. The sharp talons left three cuts on Marta's torso, bringing her down. The girl gritted her teeth in pain as her wounded back hit the concrete.

She opened her eyes in time to see the Iapix upon her and ready to deliver a final blow with its talons. Almost on instinct, Marta used Damage Guard and managed to block the attack. When the talons bounced back, the Iapix decided to use its beak. Marta knew she wouldn't be able to raise the shield again and did the only thing she could; rolled to the side, ignoring the pain.

She saw the sharp beak of the monster sink into the concrete and get stuck. Knowing she wouldn't have another chance like this, Marta got up in less than a second, adrenaline rushing through all across her system and blocking the sensation of pain, and made her spinner's blade spun like a buzzsaw. With a yell, Marta brought her weapon down on the bird's neck. There was a loud chirp of pain and blood flew from the friction between feather, flesh and metal. Another second later, the head of the Iapix was severed from its body and the monster finally went down.

Seeing the test had ended, Emil and the others ran to Marta's side as the Iapix's remains started to fade away into several green dots and wind. Marta was panting in exhaustion. Her entire body hurt like hell and her right arm and spinner smelled of blood. Emil arrived in time to catch the exhausted and beaten Marta from collapsing onto the ground.

"Marta! Marta, are you okay?" Ratatosk asked, taking full control.

"Ugh… Emil… I did it… did you see me?" Marta said, appearing to be half conscious as Ratatosk made her sit on the ground for the female brunette to catch her breath.

"Yeah. You taught that overgrowth chicken a lesson," Ratatosk said.

"Heh heh heh. Thanks."

The rest of the group sighed in relief. Ventus then looked to the altar and saw the bright, green sphere forming again. The Centurion of Wind called:

"Lady Marta. It's time."

Marta saw the light floating over the altar and nodded, getting up even though she was exhausted and severely injured. She walked towards the altar in a trance-like state. It was like she wasn't even feeling any pain now. Lloyd and the others observed as the voices of the Sylph sisters spoke, the high-pitched one first:

_Wow! You're really tough, girl! _the voice changed to the cheerful one. _It seems you're ready to take on our duty. _It said as its tone changed to the serious and mature one. _However, remember; our powers will come as you learn to control them. Show the same determination you did today and no storm will be able to bring you down. _

Marta then reached for the green sphere of light. When she touched it, the wind started to get stronger and the green light seemed to pass through her arm and into her entire body, healing it as the voices of the Sylph sounded once more, this time all three together as one:

_Now we are reborn… as the Whirlwind Rider…_

The wind grew stronger while Lloyd and the others had to protect their eyes from its gusts. At its center, Marta's clothes changed as green rings of wind passed through her body. Most of her clothing disappeared and was replaced by a skin-tight, green suit that hugged her slim form with golden drawings which resembled branches. Her boots were also replaced by white ones and a pair of spectral blades that seemed to form wings sprouted from her toes on each shoe. Her arms were bare save for her hands, in which appeared purple, fingerless gloves and floating at the back of these appeared spectral, green spinner blades which sunk into the back of her gloves, leaving a drawing of them.

Finally, a pair of spectral, green wings, very similar to Lloyd and Sheena's appeared on Marta's back as the Emblem of the Gale on her right arm glowed and acquired a green tone. When the winds finally died down, Marta and the others could see properly again. The reincarnated Sylph was the first to notice the changes on herself. However, when she looked on what had become of her clothing, she started to look at herself in a frantic manner.

"What's wrong Marta?" Sheena asked. The young girl then turned to the ninja and answered in an almost panicked tone:

"'What's wrong'? 'What's wrong'? Are you blind or something? I'm practically wearing a swimsuit that shows off my entire body! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG!"

Marta blushed a scarlet tone as the whole group looked at her with confused glances. When Lloyd and Emil finally registered what Marta had said, two things happened: Emil's eyes widened, almost jumping out of their sockets, as two, thin lines of blood came out of each nostril and Lloyd blushed the same color tone as his jacket and turned back trying not to look. Emil had to cover his nose and excuse himself as he quickly hid behind a pillar to clean himself.

Raine looked slightly interested as she put her hand on her chin and Sheena tried to calm Marta down:

"Hey, calm down, Marta. It's not that bad."

"'Not that bad'?" Marta repeated, cutting Sheena off. "Then I'm supposed to go around wearing this?" she pointed to her new attire. "Don't tell me the Sylphs wore this thing!" she looked to everybody in the group for an answer.

"Actually they did," Ventus said in his typically wise tone, but with a hint of hesitation due to Marta's frantic state. "According to them, it provided much better maneuverability and freedom to move… and they also said it allowed them to feel the wind as they flew."

"Yeah, well I can feel it alright! Right up my thighs!" Marta said in an angry pout. It was true, the impression she had was that she was actually wearing nothing and that disturbed her to no end.

"Oh, c'mon. You make it look like you never used a swimsuit before," Sheena said.

"Actually I didn't. Daddy, Mother and me never had much time to enjoy the beach."

"Ah… well…" Sheena said, scratching behind her head, not knowing what to say.

"I honestly don't know why you are so bothered by something like that," Tenebrae spoke up. Marta and Sheena looked to him. "I mean, it's not like you have anything to hide."

"What did you say?" Marta asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, you know. You don't have any curves, Lady Marta," Lumen said, as blunt as ever.

Marta went mute at that comment as did the others, including Ignis and Aqua.

"I wonder if she has a slow maturity growth," Tenebrae commented.

"Maybe that's it. Shee-luni said she started gaining curves when she was around sixteen," Lumen jabbed in again without even realizing it.

Though Sheena felt a little angry at Lumen speaking about her like she wasn't even there, she was more worried about Marta's mood. The girl's aura was vibrating with murderous intent now and her shoulders were shaking with her head slightly lowered. That was more than enough of a warning for Sheena to run and pull Lloyd and Emil, who seemed to have recovered from his nose bleed, with her and rush downstairs. Ignis, Aqua and Ventus pushed Raine downstairs too, much to her protests.

The reincarnated Sylph then stomped her way to Lumen and Tenebrae, who stopped once she was close and sensed her murderous intent. The two looked at her and started sweating as the girl asked, in a tone of controlled anger and baring her teeth:

"What. Did. You. Just. Say? That I'm flat and look like a boy, is that it?"

Tenebrae stayed mute, hoping that maybe that it would give him enough time for a chance to escape appear. However, Lumen, being who he was, wasn't able to keep his big mouth shut and spoke:

"We didn't say it like that. But now that you mentioned it…"

Tenebrae's eyes bulged as he heard what his counterpart said. Even he wasn't that tactless. His attention soon turned to Marta as a hurricane of wind seemed to form around her as she shouted in anger:

"I. AM. NOT. FLAT!"

The next sound that was heard was a loud "blam" that shook the entire mausoleum…

- / - / - / -

Outside of the Balacruf Mausoleum, Netrioh and Algrioh were flying around the building, watching and keeping their distance of the barrier around the building. They couldn't see anything of what happened at the top of the building due to its magical protection, but the demon merchant did felt something as he let out an "huh?" from his mouth. Algrioh looked to her master and asked:

"Is something wrong, Master Netrioh?"

"No. I just suddenly… felt a huge surge of power coming from the mausoleum. But it must have been my imagination," he said, shrugging…

- / - / - / -

Marta (reverted back to her human form) and the group were returning to the entrance of the mausoleum. Aqua and Ignis were dragging Lumen and Tenebrae's mauled bodies with them, but didn't dare to complain. The reincarnated Sylph hadn't uttered a word and nobody dared to break that silence. Raine looked from Tenebrae and Lumen's unconscious forms to Marta while writing frantically in her book.

When the group finally arrived at the entrance of the mausoleum, Ratatosk opened it and they exited. However, before the group could close the door, they sensed a presence nearby. When they looked to the road ahead, they saw it was a black haired demon with black bird wings. Together with him was a demoness with red hair and wings. After the two landed, their wings disappeared with a glow and they walked to the group of reincarnated spirits and Centurions.

The group drew their weapons, ready for a fight. The demon stopped at seeing that and said:

"Whoa, whoa! Relax guys. I'm not here to fight you."

"Ha! Good one. But we're not falling for that!" Lloyd said, ready to enter his spirit form for battle.

The demon scratched the back of his head at that retort. Looking to the black haired, demon bird a memory suddenly came to Emil and Ratatosk took control. He walked past the group, who looked to him in surprise and worry since he sheathed his sword. Marta was about to call him when the Summon Spirit said:

"Relax. This guy couldn't be less of a threat."

"Hey! Ratatosk! How are you doing, ol' buddy?" the demon said, smiling to the crimson-eyed spirit.

"Buddy?" the rest of the group repeated.

Ratatosk sighed and spoke:

"It seems you haven't changed a bit, Netrioh. I thought they would feed you to mindless, lower demons after the war was over."

"Nah. The Merchant clan recognized my obvious talents and asked for the Great Ones to spare me. But just look at you," Netrioh said. It was then the demon seemed to really notice Ratatosk's new appearance. "You're… uh… shorter…"

"I'm sharing this boy's body as you can see," Ratatosk said in a curt and annoyed tone.

"Oh…" Netrioh spoke, seeming a little embarrassed. He then looked to the group behind Ratatosk and smirked as he looked to his "old buddy" again. "But it seems you haven't lost your tact. Still hanging out with the hottest babes."

Raine raised her eyebrow at that comment. Marta blushed. Lloyd felt a sting of anger and Sheena sighed while shaking her head, thinking:

_Great… just what I needed… a demon version of _him_. _

"Why don't you mind your own damn business?" Ratatosk said. He then looked to Netrioh's companion. "By the way, who's the new whore?"

"Ratatosk!" Marta spoke in shock. They were demons, but at least they didn't seem to want to kill them, so, she considered there was no motive to be uncivilized with them (even though Netrioh seemed to be a pervert, judging by his partner's clothing).

"What?" Ratatosk asked.

"Ah, don't mind him. He's always like that around his good, ol' friend, Netrioh," the demon merchant said, sporting a charming smile as he spoke of himself.

"We. Are. Not. Friends," Ratatosk growled, but was ignored.

"This is my head servant, Algrioh," Netrioh said.

The red haired demoness greeted them all, which the group returned with awkward expressions on their faces. She asked:

"So, we've heard you're all reincarnated Summon Spirits."

"Why do you ask?" Raine inquired, crossing her arms.

"Oh, nothing. Just to make sure that the information we've intercepted was true," Algrioh replied with a smile.

"'Intercepted'? What does that mean?" Lloyd asked.

"Simple. We're not here with the invasion troops," Netrioh answered.

"Independent agents," Raine spoke out loud.

"Dead on, sweet cheeks."

Raine raised her eyebrow as she repeated the compliment. She was never once called "sweet cheeks" by any man in her entire life. And hearing it from the mouth of a demon was… amusing to the say the least. Sheena shook her head again.

"So, we've came here to say hello and see how my old friend Ratatosk was doing," Netrioh said.

"And now that you've done that, can you get out?" Ratatosk replied.

"Wow. You really break my heart when you say things like that, man," Netrioh said, bringing his hand to his chest.

"Oh, good grief. As if demons have hearts to begin with," Ratatosk rolled his eyes.

"Anyway. If you need anything at all, stop by my fort at the top of that mountain," Netrioh then pointed to one of the peaks at their right. Lloyd and the others accompanied the finger of the demon and saw the lines of something hidden behind a mountain top.

"We'll be sure to remember that," Marta said with an embarrassed smile as she urged the group to go. That demon's presence was starting to disturb her more than if he had come to kill them.

"Just a moment," Raine said. "How exactly do you and Ratatosk know each other? Or rather, how come a demon is friends with a Summon Spirit?"

"He's not my friend, dammit!" Ratatosk said again. "And just forget about it! Let's go!"

The group gave their farewells to Netrioh and were about to leave when they saw four figures blocking their way; two monsters and, mounted in one of them, Alice and Decus, carrying his iron maiden as always.

"My, my. Just look at my luck today," Alice said in a sing-song tone. "Ratamil and his little friends."

"See? I told you they were still around this region," Decus said with that same tone of adoration he used when talking to Alice.

"Yeah, you did, I have come to realize that. Good work Decus," Alice said.

"Oh. I'm so flattered, my darling Alice…" Decus said, putting his hand on his heart and with a dreamy expression as he kneeled near Alice.

"Ok, that's enough. Get up," Alice cut him off. Decus did as he was told. The blonde then resumed her smile as she said. "Anyways...time for you all to become the material of my promotion. You two!" Alice said, pointing at Netrioh and Algrioh with her whip-like rapier. The two were near the entrance to the Balacruf Mausoleum, watching the entire scene. "Take them into custody."

Netrioh seemed uneasy. He felt something emanating from the girl's aura as she spoke. Some kind of pull. Was she trying to control him? Algrioh looked to her master, waiting for his order. He then looked to Ratatosk's group, who spared a quick glance to him. The demon then put up a smirk to mask his uneasiness and spoke:

"Sorry, but I'm not with the invasion troops, therefore, I have no military training. But I'm sure you would like to have all glory to yourself," Netrioh flashed a smile at Alice. "Now, if you excuse me, I have important stuff to do."

As Netrioh turned his back to Alice, he and his head servant drew their wings and took off. Decus shouted to them, pointing and seeming pissed off:

"How dare you talk like that to Alice, you…?"

"Decus, let them go," Alice said, cutting him off again. Decus tried to protest, but the girl said in her typical baby-voice. "I just remembered the Cardinals commented about a certain useless demon. Well, anyway, we'll just have to get all the glory for ourselves," the half-demon girl smiled.

"Oh, excellent idea. Like always, my dear…" Decus started, but Alice didn't pay attention to his flattery anymore, turning to Marta and the others.

"Do you really think you can beat all of us?" Sheena challenged. "We've already recovered our Summon Spirit powers."

"Oh, really?" Alice asked in her sweet tone. She then smiled like a cat as she raised her free hand near her face. The hand seemed to freeze itself and create claws. Alice then spoke in a malicious tone. "In that case, this is going to be really fun."

* * *

Here's a skit for the end of the chapter, this one occuring between Marta, Sheena, Aqua, Ignis and Emil:

Fashion Taste

Marta: Gahhh! I can't believe I have to wear... that in my spirit form!

Sheena: You're still complaining about that? Give it a rest, Marta.

Marta: And how come you're not bothered? Last I remember, your clothes are just as revealing as mine.

Sheena: Actually, yours would be considered less revealing. And me… well, it's not like I'm going to use it in public. So…

Ignis: Plus, Lady Sheena thinks it probably will help her to keep Sir Lloyd interested in her body.

Sheena: I-Ignis!

Ignis: Yes?

Marta: I wonder if all female Summon Spirits have a taste for skimpy clothes.

Aqua: I wonder what you would think if you knew about Undine's clothes.

Marta: What?

Aqua: Uh… nothing.! Anyway. Maybe you could follow Lady Sheena's example and try and see how Lord Emil reacts to it.

Ignis: Yes. According to Ventus and Tenebrae, human males tend to fantasize about females in exotic, short garments. Though I'm not sure what this means.

Marta: Oh, well. I will give it a try. Oh, Emil!

Emil: What is it Marta?

Marta: Be honest, what do you think when you see me in my spirit form's clothes?

Emil: I-I… ! Uh… that's… !

Marta: Hum… Emil. Your nose is bleeding.

Emil: Excuse me!

Marta: … Ugh! I knew it. He probably thinks I'm disgusting.

Ignis: Maybe Lord Emil doesn't approve of Sylph's fashion taste.

Sheena: Actually, I think it's quite the opposite…


	18. Deals and Merchants

Finally had a break from all my tests at college.

Well, here we have, people! The closing for the Act II! And to comemorate... a skit:

This one has Raine, Ratatosk and Lumen on it. Enjoy!

Raine and Ratatosk

Ratatosk: Ok… why are you following me, woman?

Raine: Oh, nothing. I just wanted to ask you some questions if you don't mind.

Ratatosk: Really? Then let me end your hopes right away: I don't remember anything about my previous existence, save by some memories here and there.

Raine: Is that so? I heard Lloyd say you have retained your knowledge over the demons.

Ratatosk: … he did?

Raine: Yes.

Ratatosk: … he's dead.

Raine: Why do I have the impression you and the Centurions consider my presence a little… unsettling?

Ratatosk: It's not the fact of you being there. It's more like the look that you give them each time they reveal something that you mortals didn't know about.

Raine: That's just pure, academic curiosity. Nothing more.

Ratatosk: I would say more like obsession. You creep me out even more with that Ruin Mode of yours.

Raine: Creep… you out?

Ratatosk: Yeah. Not even demons give me the chills that I feel when I see that crazed gleam in your eyes and…ouch! H-hey, what are you? OW! OUCH! CUT IT O… oh my… GAAHHH!

Raine: Humph. You have no manners whatsoever.

Lumen: Um… why is boss lying on the floor, bleeding and with a blackboard on his head?

Fear Professor Raine and her ability to turn schollar material into deadly weapons!

Ok, now enough with the nonsense. Let's rock this joint!

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Deals and Merchants**

One would think that five against four, with one of the members of the team being able to summon monsters at will, would be good odds in a fight. However, Emil and the others soon learned that it doesn't work that way when you are facing demonic powers.

Alice proved to be a real threat. She summoned demons after Sheena and Lloyd killed the monsters the honey-eyed girl brought. Two tiger-like creatures with two saber-like fangs, spikes along their spines, sharp, ebony claws and tails with spikes on the point jumped out of two ports with unknown runes. Ratatosk called those beasts Ravagers.

While Sheena and Raine took care of the creatures, Marta tried to fight off Alice. The blond girl had great control over ice magic and used her transformed ice-claw-like hand to defend against most of the blows. Marta tried using her wind enhanced Artes, but the wind blades and disks bounced off harmlessly on the half-demon girl's icy protection.

"Aw, what's the matter Martmart? Having problems?" Alice taunted with her baby voice and sweet smile while Marta attacked her with a flurry of spinner slashes and kicks, just to have them blocked. Alice then smiled her fanged, malicious smile. "Maybe you should…" Alice ducked under an attack and grabbed Marta's leg with her ice-clawed hand. "Lie down!"

The Desian General flung Marta over her and threw the brunette on the ground. Marta tried to counter using her spinner, but Alice had already stepped back as the reincarnated Sylph stood. The blonde took the chance while Marta was still trying to regain her balance and unleashed a sequence of blows with her whip-rapier, each one brimming with chaos energy, which made Marta feel like her skin was burning. Alice then pointed her weapon at her rival's chest and unleashed a powerful charge of chaos energy in the form of lightning.

Marta felt her muscles going numb as she had to knelt, unable to stand still, her clothes charred at the chest. Alice smiled sweetly as she was about to deal the killing blow when, suddenly, she was bound and attacked by a Brilliant Shackles spell. While Alice recovered, Raine cast Recover on Marta, making the numbness go away. Alice glared at the silver haired woman, before summoning two ordinary demons with purple bodies, bloodstained halberds and skeletal wings; Chaos Soldiers.

Sheena came in and repelled the two demons with a well-placed Demon Seal and Raine dealt a good amount of damage too with a Ray spell. Alice scowled, but then remembered that she still had her own battle to fight when Marta got up and charged at her, spinner's blade ready.

The brunette fighter unleashed several slashes and a flurry of kicks. The slashes caught Alice, but the half-demon girl managed to use her transformed, icy hand to block the kicks. She then casted Icicle which Marta defended using Damage Guard, only for Alice to attack using her icy, clawed hand.

Marta's defense was broken as Alice slashed at her belly. The reincarnated Sylph charged wind energy in her spinner's blade, extending the reach of it for a counterattack. However, when she was swinging it, a wall of ice appeared between her and Alice, taking the attack, which left a scratch on the solid ice. Marta's surprise soon turned into fear when she saw a spike forming from the wall and aiming for her head.

The petite brunette jumped back when the spike moved along the wall, almost cutting her. Marta saw Alice behind the wall, her whip-like weapon seeming to enter inside the solid ice, which explained how the spike formed. Alice smiled maliciously again as she retrieved her weapon and slashed at the ice wall like it was butter. She then pointed her palm to the upper half of the wall and it immediately cracked, exploding in ice fragments that flew to Marta's direction.

Marta used Damage Guard again to defend from the rain of icy projectiles, almost getting buried in them, and, as soon as her bubble-like shield dropped, started slashing at the shard that flew towards her. Some left minor cuts on her cheeks and clothes, but nothing too serious. When the attack passed, she saw Alice sitting cross-legged on the remaining half of the ice wall. The blonde smiled sweetly at her rival, like the two were simple having a friendly talk. Marta gritted her teeth.

Meanwhile, Lloyd and Emil were trying to fight off Decus. The blue haired man had great strength and resistance, mainly to fire attacks, which Lloyd discovered after entering in spirit form and trying to use his fire enhanced Artes against him. Decus also turned out to be quite a competent swordsman, swinging his broadsword with ease and using some rather flashy Artes (such as plunging his sword on the ground and using the handle as a pole to swing his body in the air and spin in the place, kicking the two boys away).

Emil tried using his element enhanced Artes on Decus, but the young man either blocked with his sword or simply avoided them. Lloyd used his speed, seeing Decus wasn't too fast, but even when he landed some blows, those seemed to do little harm to the half-demon, half-human man. Decus then took the chance when Lloyd left his guard open after attacking and punched the dual swordsman in the belly with one hand, bringing his sword down on him with another. He used his demonic strength to bring Lloyd to the ground, before a pillar of purplish flames erupted, raising the reincarnated Efreet.

Emil used Dark Fang, only to have Decus block it and counter with a combo of sword blows, most which Emil blocked, but the blonde was unprepared when Decus scarred the ground with his broadsword and released a wave of flames with it, which engulfed Emil, pushing him away and burning him in the process.

Lloyd returned to the fight, unleashing a Flaring Tempest, but Decus just smiled as he held his broadsword with two hands and swung it like it was baseball bat against the spinning blur of red that was Lloyd. The friction between the swords caused sparks to fly, none being able to push the other away. Emil used that chance and jumped, releasing a Raining Delude. Decus saw that and his smirk widened as he put a little less pressure on his attempt to push Lloyd away, causing him to slide back.

The human Desian then jumped back the moment the water sphere was almost upon him. He got some minor cuts, but Lloyd was hit by Emil's attack and drenched in the water of mini-geyser that the Arte produced. When the water lowered, Lloyd had his hair covering his eyes and his wings had disappeared, probably being put out by the enchanted water.

"Uh... sorry Lloyd," Emil said with an apologetic tone.

_"What are you doing, you idiot? Look out!" Ratatosk yelled through his mental link with Emil. The blonde saw another of Decus' personalized Blazing Fang coming his way and used his defensive Arte:_

"Kharlan Shield!" a bubble-like shield enveloped Emil, this one seeming to be made of multicolored flames, which repelled the fire from Decus' Arte. When the shield went down, Emil saw Decus near him, at striking range. The blonde brought his sword up in reflex and almost had it knocked out of his grasp by the strong blow that followed.

Decus was about to cut Emil in half when Lloyd stepped in and blocked his sword with his twin blades. Decus jumped back again and looked at the duo, saying:

"Huh. Seems you improved, Emil."

"Why are you doing this?" Lloyd asked.

"Because this is Alice's wish," Decus answered in a simple tone.

"What?" both boys asked.

_"C'mon. Are you both that stupid?" Ratatosk said to Emil. __"This guy practically kisses the ground that little bitch walks on. I bet the only reason he became a demon was so he could stay around her."_

While Emil found that romantic to a certain degree, he couldn't help but have mixed thoughts about Decus' obsession with Alice. The blue haired man attacked again, however, before he could reach the boys, a violet blur stood on his path and a shout of "Pyre Seal!" echoed as Decus was forced back by the explosion of energy created by magic seals.

Alice saw that and before she could summon more demons, Marta threw wind blades against the blond girl, which hit her in the back and broke her concentration. Decus ran to Alice's aid and stopped the other wind blades with his broadsword.

"Hmph. Looks like they're strong... to some degree," Alice said, her face had a neutral expression and her sweet tone was gone.

"Alice. How about we attack them together?" Decus suggested.

"Hmm. Yeah, I think that will do," Alice said, looking to her companion, who smiled to her.

"Holy Lance!" Raine proclaimed as several light swords started appearing around Alice and Decus.

The half-demon girl summoned an ice dome around her to shield them from the attack. The ice absorbed all of the magical attacks and when the spell stopped, one hole opened near the base of the icy dome and a column of fire shot from it. Lloyd, Emil and Sheena had to jump to the sides to avoid being hit.

More holes opened in the sides of the dome in a rapid succession, each releasing a column of fiery flames. Raine saw Alice and Decus inside when one hole opened and the fire attack was shot in her direction. Decus was using his personal Blazing Fangs as Alice controlled the dome.

Emil, Marta and Sheena decided to approach the dome and stop the two half-demons, however, they realized too late that was exactly what Alice and Decus wanted. The dome shattered and broke, a strong wind started to blow and picked up the shards, which flew against the trio and collided with them, cutting their bodies as the shards seemed to fragment even further.

"Decus..." Alice called, staying in the eye of the great, ice tornado, together with Decus. She put her hand on the shoulder of her admirer and transferred some power to him while casting a spell.

"As you wish, Alice!" Decus replied.

The blue haired man suddenly disappeared from sight, just to reappear above Sheena and dive, seeming completely unaffected by the wind, pointing his broadsword down while flames enveloped his body. Sheena saw the human Desian coming and twisted her body to stay out of the way of the blade, but she couldn't avoid the flames that burned her skin and part of her clothes.

Marta saw Decus teleport again and entered in her spirit form to try and cancel the winds, but Decus was faster and cut her with his blade while flames licked at Marta. The half-man, half-demon teleported four more times, striking at each member of the group. Sheena also entered in her spirit form, but noticed her energy and defenses were somewhat reduced. It seemed the injuries that they took in their human form had a direct effect on their spirit form.

Decus reappeared behind Alice, who was smiling sweetly again as Decus put his hand on her shoulder. She nodded as they gathered power and unleashed it, transforming the cyclone around them in a raging, icy inferno.

"Extreme Poles!" the two proclaimed as Sheena, Emil and Marta were attacked by the combined Arte. The thermal shocks caused the reincarnated Summon Spirits to revert back to their human forms, their already compromised defenses being broken.

Sheena, Marta and Emil fell to the ground with a thud. Alice's smile widened and turned into her malicious one as she transformed her left hand in an ice claw once again. However, before she could attack her fallen rival, she sensed an agitation in the chaos energy and heard Raine chant:

"Neran Liard!" a runic circle appeared above Alice and Decus, paralyzing the two as several lance-sized, green poison arrows fell over them, cutting through their defenses and part of their bodies.

"Alice!" Decus shouted as he saw his so-called love being cut by the rain of chaos lances. He managed to shake the paralysis off and threw himself at Alice, taking them out of the area of the circle as a massive sword of chaos energy fell and released waves of energy, which pushed the two half-demons away and further harming their auras. "Guh! Alice, are you alright?" Decus asked, from his position over the blond girl.

Alice merely nodded, still seeming a little shocked from the attack. The two stood and Alice turned to Raine, pouting and stomping her feet on the ground as she said:

"What do you think you were doing, you witch? You almost killed me!"

"If you're not ready for that possibility, you shouldn't have challenged us to begin with," Raine said, in the tone of somebody that tried to teach something to a spoiled child.

Decus bared his teeth, scowling and pointing at Raine:

"You… ! HOW DARE YOU TRY AND HURT MY ALICE?"

Raine noticed Decus' already unstable aura agitate even more as the blue haired man charged at her, just to be stopped by Lloyd, who grunted when he blocked Decus' attack, given the force the half-human, half-demon applied to the attack. Lloyd countered it by bringing one of his swords back, while holding Decus' blade with the other, and using quick, successive thrusts.

"Sword Rain: Flare!" each thrust was enchanted with fire and the final one caused Lloyd's sword to ignite, launching a jet of fire on Decus and pushing him away.

Alice rushed to her companion's side as the two glared at Lloyd and Raine. Marta and the others were trying to stand when Alice and Decus' aura started to vibrate stronger and the others felt the concentration of chaos element within the two raising. It was clear they intended to transform into their demonic forms.

However, when the air around Alice started to get cold, the blonde's eyes suddenly widened as she started to fall forward, her aura suddenly stopping to agitate. Decus noticed it too late as he was knocked out cold as well.

Lloyd the others were immensely surprised when they saw Netrioh and Algrioh standing behind Alice and Decus. The black haired demon swiped his forehead like he had been sweating while he let out a sigh of relief, saying:

"Man, that was close. Things were really getting ugly."

To say the reincarnated spirits were shocked would be an understatement. The Centurions reappeared, seeming as surprised as Emil. Ratatosk took control and stood, walking to Netrioh, who gave a grin to his old "friend" as he approached.

"Hey, buddy. Are you al... ?" before Netrioh could finish his line, Ratatosk punched him in the face. The blow didn't carry much strength, but was enough to force Netrioh to lean to the side.

"What the hell is your problem? If you wanted to rescue us, you should have done it sooner!" Ratatosk complied.

"Glad to be of service," Netrioh said, passing his hand on his sore cheek. The others couldn't tell if the demon was being sarcastic or not.

"B... but... why?" Sheena asked.

"Oh, c'mon. Did you really think I would let my pal Ratatosk be taken by those two? Please," Netrioh said in what sounded like an offended tone.

Raine decided to just let the situation be and healed the party. The group approached the two merchant demons. When Marta repeated Sheena's question, all that Netrioh said was:

"I told you before; I don't care what the army's business is. I'm not here to fight or anything."

"Then what exactly are you here for?" Lloyd asked.

"Sorry man. Business' secret."

Lloyd sighed in frustration and decided that Netrioh was on their side, at least for now.

"Anyway, we should leave," Aqua said.

"Oh yeah, we also came here to warn you," Algrioh started. "That brat girl sent a demon runner to warn the troops stationed at the blockage in Hakonesia."

"What? There's a blockage there?" Emil asked.

"Yes. It probably reached them by now."

"Then what do we do? Do you think we can escape from here in time?" Ignis asked.

"I didn't sense Alice summoning any demon and sending it to warn the troops. She probably sent it before coming to confront us," Tenebrae pondered. "The demons should have the peninsula's access road closed off by now."

The others didn't like that in the least. With their escape route cut off, they would have to fight their way through hordes of demons to get away. However, with what they saw at the Tower of Mana, it was clear they still weren't ready to face a whole troop with a general. The probability that Kvar was still looking for them was also high.

"If that's the case, how about you come and hide in my place?" Netrioh offered. The party looked at the demon with their eyebrows arched. "The troops won't think of looking for you there and nobody knows that Ratatosk and I are buddies."

Lloyd and the others looked to Emil. Ratatosk took control and sighed, nodding to what Netrioh said.

"I think I rather face the demons," Sheena grumbled.

"Sheena, this is serious," Raine said. "Considering our situation, that's our only option at hand."

The ninja sighed. The group decided the ones who could fly would carry the others to Netrioh's fort. Algrioh would show them the way while Netrioh would take Alice and Decus' unconscious forms to the road and leave them somewhere for the troops find.

After setting everything, the reincarnated Summon Spirits and Centurions took the air and followed the bird demoness. Sheena and Lloyd were carrying Raine, passing their arms around the female half-elf's back, and Marta carried Emil. The Centurions followed closely.

Ignis asked Algrioh what kind of place was the fort where she and Netrioh were staying. Algrioh smiled with mirth as she said:

"Oh, it's very fun. You'll soon see."

"Really? Sounds good," Ignis said, in her typical ditzy tone.

_Knowing Netrioh, I can image what kind of "fun" she's talking about... Ratatosk thought._

_"Oh, c'mon. The guy says he's your friend," Emil said. __"Surely it can't be that bad."_

- / - / - / - / -

_"What were you saying again?" Ratatosk asked in an "I told you so" tone. Emil didn't reply._

Marta had her mouth agape at looking around the fort and seeing its crew. She looked like she was ready to pass out here and there. Lloyd was scratching behind his head at the sight. Raine was acting as regal as always, as though none of that mattered to her and Sheena had the look of someone who had been expecting that.

Aqua and the other Centurions looked mildly surprised as she asked:

"Are all of your crew women?"

"Hmm. As far as I remember, yes," Algrioh said.

"Oh, I imagined that much," Sheena grumbled.

The group walked through the corridors of the fort, passing by several female demons, who either waved to them with smiles on their faces, winked when Lloyd or Emil looked to them, or simply greeted Algrioh in demonic language. Even though knowing that he was surrounded by demons, Lloyd didn't feel unsettled or in danger, rather, the place actually transmitted a cozy mood, but the dual swordsman could also sense the permanent aura of second intentions emanating from each demoness.

They passed by the double doors that lead to what looked some great hall and from there came the smell of food, probably the dining area. Marta seemed to have finally recovered from her shock as she asked:

"Excuse me... um... Miss Algrioh..."

"Just Algrioh, dear. I'm nothing more than a demon of Great ranking."

"Ok... Algrioh. I thank for all the hospitality, but I think we should really get going. Right guys?"

Marta looked to her companions, hoping that they would all agree with her. They simply looked back at her. Tenebrae then spoke:

"Lady Marta, it would be careless to go out with demonic search parties searching for us. We would likely be killed trying to get out of the Balacruf region."

"Indeed," Ventus said. "It would be more prudent to wait until they leave the area."

"Ugh! I know that…" Marta said, sighing.

Sheena and Lloyd could very well see why Marta was so uneasy about them staying here. Even Sheena wasn't sure if she liked the idea of sleeping in a place full of demonesses, no matter how friendly they seemed. Lloyd was also getting quite unnerved by the way some demonesses looked at him; with full, blown desire and smirks that seemed to spell "how about a little fun, handsome?". He could swear he saw one licking her lips at his direction.

The red clad swordsman started to wonder if he should feel embarrassed by the attention his looks were getting or worried about the hungry gaze of some of the female workers. He noticed with some surprise that Sheena was also receiving those looks, though she didn't seem to pay any heed to them.

Algrioh lead the group to the sleeping quarters. They passed near two scantily clad women, who, at seeing Sheena, wolf-whistled to her. The voluptuous young woman raised her eyebrow at the demoness, who spoke something to her in demonic tongue.

"It seems they liked you, Lady Luna," Algrioh said. "I also must admit: you surely picked a fine body to reincarnate into."

"Uh, thanks… I think," Sheena said. After a minute of hesitance she asked. "What's up with them, anyway? Are they lesbians or something?"

"Actually, most female demons have bisexual tendencies," surprisingly it was Raine who answered. "Male demons tend to have a varied vision about sex, ranging from purely for procreation, to simple amusement, but their tendencies remain heterosexual according to what I know."

"I don't think I even want to know where you learned all of that from."

"Wait. Does that mean… ?" Marta asked, her tone sounding horrified. "Th-That they could… go after me too?"

The brunette knew about that kind of attraction, but never imagined someone of the same sex having that kind of thoughts for her. The concept was very foreign and scared her a little.

"Relax. Nobody here will do anything you don't want to," Algrioh assured the brunette. "Besides, you're Master Ratatosk's girl, aren't you? I'm sure he would be quite angry if we took you without his permission. Master Netrioh is just the same when somebody wants to play with me without asking him first."

"That's kinda mean," Lumen said. "I mean, you should have the right to play tag or hide 'n' seek with anybody you want. I'm sure boss would let Marta, right boss?" the Centurion of light asked, putting his goofy smile on.

The group stopped and stayed silent for some time. Algrioh had a confused look for the first time since she met them. She then spoke:

"I've heard many analogies from many different worlds to it, but I think it's the first time I heard those kinds of words."

"That's because he isn't capable of understanding what you meant," Aqua said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Really? What does she mean then?" Ignis asked, earning new silent stares from the group.

"You're all quite an interesting bunch," Algrioh mused.

- / - / - / - / -

After showing the group their rooms, Algrioh said they would have dinner soon, so they should go to the dining hall of the fort. She also answered questions, as why all of the rooms had king sized beds (it seemed Netrioh liked to pay night visits to his subordinates at anytime and liked to be comfortable).

"You don't have to worry about any noise. We have silence runes drawn in all of the doors after people started to complain about all the moaning and wild parties. I couldn't sleep until they got them drawn," Algrioh admitted.

Sheena and Marta decided they would stay with their respective crushes. Marta was worried some demon vixen might attack Emil in the quiet of the night and Sheena didn't want to even think about what those demonesses could do to Lloyd. Netrioh she could easily repel. After all, demons also had sexual organs.

"Do you want some company, Raine?" Lloyd asked, more out of courtesy than anything, since Raine would stay alone in her room. "Maybe one of the Centurions could..."

"Don't worry with me. I can take care of myself better than most of you. I'm actually more worried about you and Emil," the older woman said.

"Oh, don't worry, Lady Undine. I assure you my girls would be very gentle to them," Algrioh said.

Raine decided not to reply to that, leaving Lloyd and Emil blushing.

After settling themselves in the rooms, the group left for the dining hall. Passing the double doors, they saw the room was just as big as the entry hall which gave a good view to the path down the mountains. There were several round, big tables, with space for at least ten people. They looked for a free table for all of them to sit together until Emil saw Netrioh coming. The master of the fort said:

"Hey guys. I already dropped that little brat and her corrupted boyfriend at the road, away from the Mausoleum. The troops will probably think that they were knocked out while you all made your escape from the region. Now come here. You're sitting with me, since you're our honored guests."

The group followed him to a table where Algrioh was already sitting. The red headed demoness greeted them as the group sat down too. Netrioh asked if the Centurions didn't mind, seeing as they didn't have enough seats, to what Ventus replied they didn't need to eat, since they could absorb energy naturally.

Netrioh then snapped his fingers and several demonesses came from a back door, bringing the most exotic-looking food the group ever saw. One of the waitresses almost brushed Lloyd's shoulder, who was too occupied analyzing his meal to notice the look that the female demon shot at him. Sheena also couldn't help, but notice the waitresses were wearing little more than underwear beneath their aprons.

_Netrioh and he __certainly would make best buddies. Sheena thought._

"What's this?" Lloyd asked, looking at a piece of steak with a brown sauce, which seemed to be bubbling.

"Steak with Revah, a special hot sauce right from Niflheim," Netrioh said.

"And this?" Emil asked, pointing to something that looked like salad, except by the dark and blue color.

"Vitrius and Grutoh Fruits Salad. Very nutritious."

"Is there something edible to humans?" Marta asked.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that," Netrioh said, snapping his finger again. A female waitress immediately appeared, bowing to her master as she asked in demonic tongue what he wanted. "Human Course Number 2, please."

The demonic waitress bowed again and left for the kitchen. Before the group could say anything more, Raine reached for the exotic dishes and took a portion of each in her plate. Lloyd was about to ask her if she would really risk eating the strange dish when he noticed the gleam in Raine's eyes. Netrioh looked mildly surprised as he said:

"Sweet cheeks, you know these aren't edible to you, don't you?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to eat it," Raine said, not even looking at Netrioh and already taking out her note book. Sheena widened her eyes in surprise at seeing Raine carried the book even during the meals. "This is actually the first time I had the chance to see a real sample of the so-called demonic cuisine. It's even more impressive than I thought," Raine said, her eyes gleaming as she took a piece of the steak and smelled it.

Netrioh dragged his chair a little away from Raine, since he was sitting to the Professor's left. He decided to dismiss the disturbing expression on the half-elf's face and started to talk with Ratatosk. Emil was the one that engaged in the talk, since the rash Summon Spirit refused to talk with Netrioh.

The meal for Lloyd and the others arrived after four minutes of wait. The reincarnated Efreet was really thankful the cookers had made enough for ten people, because he sure was hungry. As the red clad swordsman and the others started to dig in, two demonesses approached their table and stopped right behind Lloyd.

When the young man felt their presence, he looked from his food to them. A blue haired demoness wearing what resembled a swimsuit made of leather that had a slit that came from her collar to the middle of her belly and was held by several strings talked something to Lloyd in demonic with a smile on her face. He didn't understand a word of what the girl just said, but both she and the other demoness were looking very anxious for his answer.

"Uh… sorry. What did you say?" Lloyd asked, swallowing his food.

"They asked if you want to come to their room tonight for a party," Algrioh translated.

"Really? A party?"

"You're not really thinking of going, are you?" Marta asked.

"Well, I don't know. Can Sheena come?" he asked the demonesses. The one that talked answered in what seemed to be an affirmation.

"I take it you never went to parties before, did you?" Sheena asked with a questioning glance.

"No. Never," Lloyd admitted with a nod.

"Really? I heard that the humans were supposed to live in desperation, but that's just plain cruel! Man!" Netrioh said in reprobation, as if the idea of one not being able to come to parties was a mortal sin against universe itself.

"Anyway. If those girls are talking about the kind of party I'm thinking of, here's what's going to happen…" Sheena then inclined near Lloyd and whispered in his ear. The young man blushed a crimson tone as he exclaimed a loud "WHAT?". "Don't tell me you honestly didn't consider the possibility. Just look at who owns this place," Sheena pointed at Netrioh.

"What?" the bird demon asked, seeming genuinely confused.

Lloyd asked for Raine to help him, since she was the only one in their group that knew how to speak demonic (he didn't even want to ask Netrioh or Algrioh in fear the two might confirm his presence). Raine had stopped studying Niflheim's dishes once their food arrived and decided to help Lloyd. She spoke something to the demon girls and the two showed disappointed looks before leaving.

Lumen then asked what Raine had said to them and the half-elven woman told them:

"I said that Lloyd is Sheena's mate and that she is territorial about him."

"I think you have it wrong, Professor Water," Lumen said. "Marta is the territorial girl here."

"That's quite true," Tenebrae agreed with a nod.

"I'm not territorial!" Marta protested in a huff.

While Marta discussed with Tenebrae and Lumen, Netrioh had a sweatdrop running behind his head at seeing the discussion. He then turned to Lloyd and decided to engage in a conversation with him:

"So… is Luna really territorial?"

"Why do you keep calling us that?" Lloyd asked. "That's not our names."

"Hey, chill out, man. It's just easier for us demons to recognize you and your friends by your auras, just that."

Lloyd thought about that. Most demons always regarded him and the others by the names of their previous incarnations. He always felt that whenever the demons called them by their Summon Spirit's name it was like they were neglecting the fact they were different people now. Like their human part was insignificant.

Lloyd was brought back into the conversation when Netrioh said:

"Anyway, I know how girls can be demanding. If you want some tips, just ask good ol' Netrioh. I can even give some pointers and you can ask some of my girls for some practice," the demon bird said with a smile, as Lloyd blushed. Before he could protest, Netrioh continued. "But I seriously recommend you not to go for the Succubus, since you're a beginner, unless you're into wild things."

Lloyd was about to say something about Netrioh's sentences (considering he could feel Sheena tensing at his side. A fact that Netrioh seemed to have completely overlooked), but Emil beat him to it by saying, while stuttering:

"Th-There are S-S-Succubi here?"

"Yep. And man, are they tireless. Having them in a party is practically a blast," Netrioh replied.

"But… don't they… suck your vital energy or something?" Emil asked.

"Um… nope. They never did this to me. Well, of course, it might be because we're both demons, but…"

"Actually, contrary to popular belief, they don't," Raine suddenly said, calling the group's attention. "If that was the case, they would completely wipe out all of the male population of a species within months, considering the frequency with which they seek partners for intercourse."

"She's actually right," Ventus joined in the lecture, using his wise tone once more. "Younger Succubi, who can't control their powers well, are the ones that gave fame to their kind, since the more mature ones could blend with the population without their presence being known."

"O-oh... that's good," Emil said, sighing in relief.

_"What? Don't tell me you have fear of some of those demon whores," Ratatosk said._

_Th-That's not it! Emil replied._

_"Really? Then what is this memory that I'm seeing of you asking your parents about demons and you freaking out when they told you about the ones that can suck the person's life out of them?"_

_I-I was only a child then!_

As Emil kept arguing mentally with Ratatosk, the Centurions decided to discuss on the more important matters with the group, such as how they would proceed from then on. Aqua asked Netrioh about the blockade in the Hakonesia peak.

"I couldn't gather anything more about it. Seems like they'll stay until they hear you all have gone to another area," the merchant demon said.

"In that case we're cornered. Going back to Luin would have the Grand Cardinal Kvar breathing down our necks," Raine surmised. The entire group looked to her with a serious look.

As they thought on a solution for that predicament, Ignis suddenly asked Netrioh:

"Can't you help us, Sir Netrioh?"

Ratatosk's eyes widened while Emil was still in control. The Lord of the Monsters was about to make Emil speak to deny that request, but the damage had already been done:

"What? You really want my help?" Ratatosk was about to take control and yell out in refusal, but Netrioh didn't give him the chance. "Of course I can help my good buddy Ratatosk!" the demon said with a smile.

Ratatosk cursed Ignis, but thankfully Emil was able to keep in control, so the insult didn't leave their minds. Tenebrae asked Netrioh how he could make them pass through a whole army of demons without being noticed. The demon merchant gave off a confident smirk as he said:

"Just leave that to me. I have a debt to pay to my buddy anyways."

Lloyd, Marta and Sheena looked with curiosity from Netrioh then to Emil. The blonde tried to ask for an explanation from Ratatosk, but the Summon Spirit diminished their link, leaving it clear he didn't want to be bothered with that. The swordsman then asked the Centurions if they knew something.

"Sorry, Lord Emil, but we were created after the War for the Young Aselia," Tenebrae said. "As such, we do not have any memories from the time."

"Lord Ratatosk passed his knowledge about demons to us when we were created," Aqua said. "But we never actually had any direct contact with them. I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok," Marta said.

"Ok, now I think it's time for you all to go to bed," Raine said.

"Who are you? Our mother?" Sheena complained.

"No, but I'm sure you're all tired from today's battles, so it's best that you go rest," Raine said, although her tone made the younger members of the party remember their mothers.

They all got up and eventually left the dining hall. Raine, however, stayed behind, still sitting in the table while watching the others go. Once she saw that they all had left, she turned to the master of the fort and asked:

"Netrioh. Since you have information on the demonic invasion troops, would you also happen to have some sort of list of the names of the Desians?"

"Sure I do. But why are you asking me about that?" Netrioh asked, at first in the friendly tone he used to talk with Ratatosk, but soon reverting to a business-like one.

"Do you often question your clients' motives?"

"Who asked what?" Netrioh said with a charming smile.

Algrioh looked to Raine with interest. She had been with Netrioh long enough to know how he did business and what his strategies were and before that she had been in the Merchant Clan long enough to recognize what kind of client they were dealing with. Netrioh and Algrioh could tell Raine was the kind of client who liked to get to the point and have her request done with within the stipulated time with no questions asked. Raine then asked:

"Would you be so kind as to tell me if there's a certain name in the Desian rankings?"

"Sorry. Even if you are one of my pal's girls, I don't do business out of charity, since that concept doesn't even exist to us demons, babe," Netrioh said with a light smile.

"If you want it, you'll have to pay. And we're not talking about the currency you use here," Algrioh said, referring to Gald. "That doesn't have any value in our realm. We only take relics."

"You mean, valuable artifacts?" Raine asked, raising her eyebrow.

"If by valuable you mean powerful or with some kind of magical properties, yeah," Algrioh said.

Raine thought for a moment. She indeed had some materials that could be considered valuable to the demon, but the problem was in the fact that they all belonged to the history of the civilizations of Aselia and were very important research materials. She would rather have to cut off one limb than to lose any of them. Seeing her expression, Netrioh said:

"If you don't want to give up any of them, we accept favors," Raine shot a glare to the merchant demon. "Whoa, whoa! It's nothing like giving me your soul or anything," Netrioh shook his hands in front of him while saying that, before reverting to his business pose. "It's just like that saying you humans have here; 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours,'" Raine continued to glare at Netrioh, who knew that look very well, although he received it from few other clients. "Ok, ok. Nothing of sexual favors. Damn. And you looked like the type that has intellectual hotness."

"Are you into girls?" Algrioh asked, hopefully. However, Raine shook her head. The demoness sighed.

"If you accept these conditions, it's a deal," Raine said.

Netrioh agreed, though a little reluctant. Still, he couldn't refuse an opportunity to collect favors whenever it came to him. Even more if it was from a Summon Spirit. He held back his grin at thinking the green envy in the faces of everybody back in the Merchant Clan as he shook hands with Raine, sealing the deal.

"Alright then..." Netrioh said. "Who's the guy you're looking for?"

- / - / - / - / -

Lloyd woke up as the sun was beating down on his face. He squinted his eyes at the clarity and tried to move, but discovered there was something around his midsection that was restricting his movements. Opening his eyes, the red clad swordsman saw that it was Sheena, who apparently had hugged him in their sleep and wore a content smile on her face.

He remembered Sheena insisting that they share the bed the other night and he had given in. She also had put a seal card on the door as a "security measure". Lloyd couldn't help, but notice how beautiful the voluptuous woman looked while sleeping with that smile on her face.

The dual swordsman then picked up a smell in the air. Lavender. And it was coming from Sheena's hair. She probably washed it. He found out he quite liked the smell and it fit her somehow. Sheena then snuggled closer to him in her sleep and now Lloyd felt she pressing herself against him, also giving the young man a good view of her cleavage.

Lloyd felt heat crawling up his face at seeing and feeling Sheena's ample bosom. Sometimes, he wondered how a guy like him ended up in situations like this. It was not like he had anything special to attract the attention of a woman like Sheena (not minding the Summon Spirit thing). Sheena snuggled even closer, pressing her entire body on him. Under the five shades of red in his face, Lloyd started to wonder what she was dreaming of.

It was then a loud "thump" sounded, followed by the sound of electricity clacking and an "OW!". That woke Sheena up, who slowly opened her eyes. She then noticed her position with Lloyd, who was now sweating and wondering if he shouldn't have tried to escape before. However, the female ninja just smiled at him, saying in a soft tone:

"Mind if I go back to sleep? It's so comfortable this way," before Lloyd could even answer, there was another "thump" and an "OW!" at the other side of the door. Sheena grumbled under her breath at the noise. "Oh, for the love of…" the violet haired woman got up and walked to the door, opening it to find Netrioh in the hallway, holding his apparently smoking hand. "What do you want?"

"Sheesh, sorry if I interrupted," Netrioh said. "But sweet cheeks said for me to wake you all up. By the way, did you seal your door?"

"It was just a safety caution in case you or any of your crew decided to sneak in," Sheena replied in a sharp tone, removing the seal card from her door.

"Just so you know, I only get in threesomes if it evolves two girls, one bed and..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sheena said, slamming the door on Netrioh.

After she heard the demon bird sigh and go away, she and Lloyd started to dress themselves (with their backs turned to each other). After getting ready, the two exited and met Ignis and Lumen in the hallway, who greeted them in a cheerful voice:

"Rise and Shine!" the two Centurions said, with smiles, at the same time.

"What's that all about?" Lloyd asked.

"Isn't it what humans do when they greet each other in the morning?" Ignis asked.

"Not exactly."

"Oh. Ok then," Ignis said. Five seconds passed before she spoke up, apparently having forgotten what they just talked about. "Rise and Shine!"

Sheena sweatdropped at that.

Lloyd, Sheena and the two Centurions went to the dining hall, where the others were reunited. They joined their friends and asked how they passed the night. Marta was the first to start complaining:

"Can you believe those demon hags knocked on our door and asked if we wanted room service?"

"What's wrong with a midnight snack?" Lloyd asked.

"Apparently, they only understand room service as being the signal for them to start stripping in your room. I had to enter in spirit form to push them away with a typhoon. Poor Emil almost passed out," she said the last part with a visibly softer tone as she looked to Emil, although it was Ratatosk who was controlling the body now.

"That's just because he's a wimp. Honestly, passing out just by seeing a woman stripping off her clothes," the Summon Spirit said.

"Yeah, Lord Ratatosk didn't even pass out when Celsius did it in front of him," Ignis said.

"WHAT?" Marta shouted and Ratatosk choked with the fruits from that world brought to him.

"You mean ice-queen Celsius?" Netrioh asked. "Man, I heard she was the hardest of the Summon Spirit chicks to get. Way to go buddy!"

"I-It's in the past! It's not like it makes any difference now," Ratatosk said.

"And _what exactly is in the past?" Marta asked, her tone a dangerous one._

Ratatosk gulped and tried to dodge the question:

"What was that that you were asking Ventus?"

"I didn't ask anything, my Lord," the bird-like Centurion said, but Ratatosk cut him off before he could continue.

"Yes, you did! Now spill it!"

Marta continued to glare as Ratatosk engaged in an one-sided conversation with Ventus. Raine and the rest of the group asked Netrioh about his offer to help them leave the region.

"They arrived just this morning and are already loaded with supplies for you all to leave," Netrioh said with a proud smile.

"'They?'" Sheena asked.

"Come with me to the landing balcony and I'll show you."

After the group ended their breakfast, they all followed Netrioh and Algrioh to the balcony he referred to. It was actually a large, circular platform with some short of emblem drawn from the stones in the ground. They could see the sea from that point and around the platform, seeming to be waiting for them, were...

"Dragons?" Lloyd voiced everybody's thought.

Three sky-blue dragons with oranges horns, wings and claws were positioned around the circle with saddles on their backs big enough to accommodate two people. Netrioh spoke up:

"Yep. The best carriers I've ever seen in this world."

"We needed some kind of creature which could transport heavy charges to our agents spread around this world," Algrioh explained. "So, we came across these creatures and decided to use them."

"Yes, but they're my servants, you know?" Ratatosk said, eying Netrioh by the corner of his eye. "So I'm taking them back."

"Oh, c'mon, Ratatosk, my pal. I've been taking good care of them. Can't you at least let me borrow them for a while?" Netrioh asked.

Ratatosk was about to reply, but Marta, who had went to check on the dragons with Raine and the others said that the monster were, indeed, in a healthy shape. The brunette had stayed around Emil/Ratatosk long enough to understand some things about monsters.

"I don't see why we shouldn't let your friend use them, if he has been taking good care of the dragons during this entire time," Tenebrae said.

"Alright, alright. Fine," Ratatosk said, sighing. "But I'll summon them should I see the necessity."

"Yes! Thanks a lot, buddy! Anything you need at all, just call me; the greatest merchant and dealer in all over the world of Aselia," Netrioh said, flashing a smile at Ratatosk, who immediately started to regret what he just said. "Anyway, where are you guys going? I don't think it's a good idea you hanging around this region and the forces on Palmacosta are on high alert in case you pass through the Hakonesia peak without them noticing."

"I guessed as much and already devised a route with the help of Ventus," Raine said.

"Since we don't have any other leads to the reincarnated Summon Spirits, we should go back to our previous quest and collect the Centurions' cores," Ventus said.

"In that case, we're going to the Meltokio region," Emil said. "But I doubt that we can use these dragons seeing that they couldn't stand traveling across the sea."

"We won't. We're going to stop at Iselia and take a boat to Meltokio."

"Ok, then let's go!" Lloyd said. He then turned to the dragons. "I'm actually pretty excited to ride on one of these dragons. That sounds awesome!"

"Yep, it is," Ignis said.

"Ignis, you never actually rode on a dragon before," Aqua said.

"Of course I did," the Centurion of fire protested. "Don't you remember that time when the humans were hunting for dragon scales for the production of anti-magic armors? I had to lead an entire colony while you and the others lead the dragons of your respective elements into hiding so the species wouldn't be hunted down to extinction."

The entire group stayed silent at Ignis' tone. Raine was even more surprised that Ignis was actually correct about that particular event during the Kharlan War. Netrioh whistled, saying:

"Never figured you were that smart," he then turned to Emil. "But thinking again, my buddy always had a pretty refined taste for girls, am I right or not? Heh?" he gave nudged Emil with his shoulder. The blonde could feel Marta glaring at him from behind.

The group selected who would ride on each dragon; Marta decided to go with Raine for a change (although she clearly was still angry at Ratatosk), Sheena and Lloyd would ride together while Emil would go alone on his dragon, but since he had Ratatosk's knowledge about monsters he would be fine. As they adjusted themselves on the saddles, Algrioh and Netrioh gave their farewells to the group, the former saying:

"Come whenever you want, buddy. And bring your friends so we can have a mad party!" the merchant demon winked at end of his phrase in a not-to-subtle manner.

_"Hell no!" Ratatosk exclaimed on Emil's mind. __"I already have enough trouble without that idiot adding fuel to the fire."_

The group took flight to the northwest skies, keeping themselves above the clouds to avoid possible aerial scouts. After they passed above the Hima mountains and the Altamira sea, they would arrive near the Triet region once more, from there they could make their way to the capital Iselia, one of the biggest centers of the Church of Cruxis in Aselia...

_End of Act II_

* * *

Notes: As you can guess, Chaos Soldiers are the "Demon" monsters from ToS 1.


	19. Interlude: A Deal with the Devil

SURPRISE! DOUBLE UPDATE!

After all this time without chapters I had to compensate you, my faithful readers, with something, don't you think?

Anyway, with this Act II is officially closed. Now some warnings:

In the next act the members of yuri couple of this fic will start to appear (bet you even forgot that there would be one) and a bunch of members of the gang will appear. Who knows, even Kratos might actually made an appearance.

Now, let's enjoy the interlude chapter and see what our favorite villains are doing now.

* * *

_Interlude: _

_A Deal with the Devil _

Alice exited the Final Road area (where the portal to Niflheim was located) of the Ginnungagap pouting. She had just gotten a scolding from Nebilim for engaging in combat with Ratatosk and his group and letting them escape in the end. The most frustrating part is that she knew she had Ratamil and his little friends at her mercy, but after that... why couldn't she remember anything besides that point? Of course, she wouldn't say that to Lord Nebilim, he would probably think she was making that up and it would not improve her situation with the Lord of the Demonic Invasion Troops.

To top it off, Nebilim deemed her as unprepared to face Emil again, since it seemed the group was getting powerful and called for an observation on the matter to access what was the level of threat Ratatosk and the reincarnated Summon Spirits represented to their plans for Aselia.

On her way out of the Ginnungagap, Alice saw Richter leaning on the wall of the door that separated the bridge to the Final Road of the Path of Ascension. The red head looked back at her with a smirk, it was obvious he had eavesdropped during the entire talk.

"What? Came here to brag just because I can't hunt your little friends for now?" Alice inquired with a venomous tone.

"What gave you that impression?" Richter asked, smirk never leaving his face.

Alice's pout got deeper. She knew Richter was making fun of her. The older half-demon never liked her or the fact she sold Ratamil and that annoying Martmart to Nebilim. She honestly didn't understand why Nebilim kept Richter around when the former half-elf made it so clear he was against them and was forced to join the demons against his will.

_Then again, I don't understand most of what Lord Nebilim's plans are, but whatever. As long as I get to leave this filthy world behind, I don't mind. _Alice thought.

"Go on laughing while you can, Richy..." Alice said her sweet smile and tone showing up. "Because sooner or later, your usefulness will end. And I'll make sure I'm there to put you to rest," she said the last part with her typical malicious tone and smile, giggling.

"Don't worry, I fully intent on seeing that I'm as far away from here as possible when that happens," Richter said, his tone never wavering as he detached himself from the wall. "Meanwhile, maybe you should be thinking on where you're standing in all of this, or don't tell me you fully believe the demons are intend on carrying out their end of the bargain."

With that, Richter left. The red head passed by Decus on his way, who stopped to shoot a look at the half-demon of doubtful loyalty. Alice had a neutral expression on her face as she saw Richter departing and Decus arriving. Her self-proclaimed servant asked how the audience with Nebilim was and Alice explained they were forbidden from going after Ratatosk until Nebilim could better access the situation.

"And what was it that Richter wanted?" Decus asked, shooting a look to the direction Richter had gone.

"Just to laugh at my face," Alice said.

"That double-timing... are you sure I can't kill him?"

"Did you already forget Decus? Lord Nebilim says he's not to be touched. Apparently, Richter is useful for him."

"Um... maybe he wants to use him as hostage," Decus suggested.

"Whatever. That's none of my business anyway."

There was silence between the two of them as they walked on the Path of Ascension. Decus started to think where he and Alice stood. He hated to admit it, but some of the things Richter said sometimes had some truth to them. But still...

"What are you thinking about, Decus?" Alice asked the young man.

"Well..."

"Don't tell me, I know that face and you know very well what my word is on the matter," Alice cut him.

"I just think that maybe we should have some kind of insurance about this deal. You know the demons think all Aselians are trash, human or not."

"But Lord Nebilim isn't like them. I know he'll uphold his end of the deal," Alice said, smiling.

"But still..."

Alice closed her expression. She and Decus had that argument several times and each time it seemed that she was unable to make him see her side of the things. Anyway, it wasn't like she needed him to agree with her. As long as he followed her orders, the rest could be arranged.

Even so… sometimes she felt annoyed that he would question her decisions. She didn't know why, but she wanted him to see what she was doing was for the best.

"Look, if you're going to jump out, then do it now. I have to know who I can relay the important tasks," Alice said in an ultimatum.

"No! I-I didn't mean it like that. I-I just…" Decus tried to justify himself.

"Of course, I would rather do everything myself. I am the only person I can really count on, but even I have my limitations," Alice mused, not caring that Decus was listening. "I can't simply put my trust on somebody that might betray me later."

"I would never betray you, Alice. I swear on my life!" Alice didn't seem to hear him as she started walking ahead again, leaving Decus behind.

The blue haired man sighed as he brought his hand to his head. Why couldn't Alice see he was just worried she might get herself in more trouble than she can handle? The deals with demons were no laughing matter, even he knew that, but Alice always insisted she was in control of things.

_Maybe I should just shut up and play along. _Decus thought.

Still, it frustrated him Alice didn't trust him even after everything he did for her… everything he would do for her. He didn't care if she was a half-elf, half-demon, or whatever. But it seemed the time she suffered being discriminated made her close herself off from everybody.

_Sometimes, I wish I could have born a half-elf. At least, this way Alice would trust me and I wouldn't have to deal with… UGH! _Decus mentally agonized as he felt pain and clutched his chest. He felt like something was squeezing hard his heart. _Again!_

Sweating, Decus quickly searched his pockets and found what he was looking for. He smiled as he sprayed the liquid on the bottle all over him. The effect was almost immediate as the pain started to subside and he sighed in relief. Luckily, Alice didn't notice the sudden spike of chaos energy on his aura as she came back, seeing he wasn't walking alongside her anymore, and stopped once she saw the bottle on his hand. With an expression of disgust, she said:

"Ugh! Not again. How many times do I have to tell you to stop using this thing?"

"Oh. So you're saying I need nothing to enhance my already alluring charms, my darling?" Decus said in a flamboyant tone, making flashy gestures with his free hand.

"No. I'm saying I would rather breath while I walk," Alice replied sharply as she snatched the bottle from Decus' hand, reading the name on it. "'Eau de Seduction'. I swear, I'll kill whoever had the brilliant idea of creating this thing."

"Actually, I modified it myself. Nothing like giving it a personal touch," Decus said, complimenting himself.

"I swear…" Alice said, turning and throwing the bottle over her shoulder. Decus caught it. "Sometimes I wonder what you have in your head instead of a brain."

Decus sighed as he followed Alice. Sometimes he wondered if he should tell her.

_No. She'll think I'm weak and Alice doesn't have any need for weak people. _Decus thought _I'll have to endure it alone if I want to stay at her side and protect her._

Sometimes, he really wished he was born a half-elf. Then Alice wouldn't suspect of him trying to get advantage of her and he probably wouldn't have to suffer like this. And... maybe... none of this would have happened and he and her could be happy together...

As Decus thought on that, he and Alice passed near a section of the Path of Ascension that the demon generals used to train. There, Merahwdir and the Hell Knight were sparring. The bigger demon didn't have any problem countering the vast array of weapons the hunter demon could summon at will, spinning and swinging his halberd to bat projectiles away and release fire on the armored demon.

The two locked their weapons again as they pushed against each other, the Hell Knight trying to use the long-range of his sword to injured Merahwdir, who just pushed him back with a strong kick. The lion-like demon prepared to run his halberd through the hunter demon, but the Hell Knight simply jumped, landing on the lance's cable and running on it, ready to slice the other demon's head off.

Merahwdir brought one arm up, enveloping it in magical fire and using it to dispel the purple, energy blade of his adversary. He then proceeded to punch the smaller demon to the ground and prepared to finish him off with a slash, but the Hell Knight recovered and put his hands on the ground behind him, crouching his body, taking impulse and jumping behind as Merahwdir's lance scarred the ground, which quickly repaired itself. The two then stood on their battle stances once more.

It was then they heard clapping and stopped, looking at the source of the sound. From the path that led to that platform came another giant demon, almost the same size as Merahwdir. He was a blue, armor suit with a horned helmet. On his back was a bluish broadsword and a shield with a dragon's face carved on it. Between the gaps of the armor there was nothing, meaning the demon was one of spiritual type; possessing the giant armor specially made for him.

"You two have been really dedicated on your training recently," the living armor said in a deep, resounding voice, which made sound like he was really talking from inside the armor. "Shall I assume that it's because of your encounters with Ratatosk and his group of mongrels?"

"Greetings for you too, Narom'Kriaar," Merahwdir said. "Me and Gerash'Läh were just having a friendly spar while we don't have any assignments at the moment."

"Is that so? Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with your inability to capture them?" the demon asked in a tone laced with malice.

"I wouldn't get so cocky, Narom. You didn't even face them," Gerash replied.

The living armor simply chuckled at him, turning from the two. He talked again while walking to the edge of the platform:

"If I heard it correctly; they outsmarted you, Gerash. Something I would never have let happen with me."

"Oh, sure. Like you were never once outsmarted during the First Invasion on this world by... let's say... that old coot that was the former leader of the Summon Spirits."

Narom turned to Gerash at that. The other two demons could feel the threat lingering in the aura of the spiritual demon, but Gerash obviously ignored that. Like many demon generals, Narom was a feared and terrible opponent, capable of overwhelming any adversary with his sheer size and strength. However, just like many others, he was beaten during the War of the Young Aselia, a fact many of them refused to comment or admit.

"At least some of us concentrate on getting the job done quick and not playing with their targets," Narom said, casting a glance at Merahwdir, who acted with indifference to the comment.

Merahwdir was often accused of being "too nice" with his adversaries, to the point some even called him a disgrace to their race. Even so, that meant nothing to the beast demon, who preferred to let his skills in combat and leading speak for him. The lion-like demon thought about the fiasco of the First Invasion in Aselia differently, thinking that he had finally met somebody worthy fighting during that time.

"That doesn't matter," Gerash said. "In the end, all this resistance is futile. This world is already wrapped in our Lords' fingers. The humans are just too stubborn to accept they already lost any rights they had to this world the moment they chose to destroy it over their petty disputes."

"It's just a matter of time before we can return it to the Great Father and their so-called resistance is of little consequence in the face of the facts," Merahwdir spoke, his arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face.

"Even so, they are still useful to us to some degree, if only as livestock. But if we break them too fast, they will be as good as a bunch of putrid flesh," Narom completed. "It's also quite entertaining seeing they struggle against the inevitable…"


	20. The Smile of One

Hello everybody and welcome to Act III!

Now I have a few warnings, so first things first: The first two chapters of this Act will change its view point to that of another well-known member of our group of heroes, a certain blond puppy whose mere presence can make the level of fluffiness in a fic raise significantly, if well used. If not, you might get diabetes. Yes, I'm talking about no one other than our favorite angel: Colette Brunel!

With her, many other members of the group will slowly appear, if not all of the ones that are left. I'll see that as I advance.

And another important warning: in this chapter we will have the appearance of the first member of the yuri couple of the fic. I think it's already pretty obvious who it is at this point, so I ask of you to kindly not try to flame me to death (yep. _Try. _Because I don't intend to die from that, so don't lose your time) and actually concentrate on how I handle this new trait I put on her personality. In other words, constructive criticism is very appreciated on this matter.

That's all for now. Let's start the reading!

* * *

_Act III_

_Fractured Hearts_

**Chapter 17**

**The Smile of One**

Iselia, one of biggest cities in all of Aselia, known as the Cruxis' Capital of Sylvarant and protected by the heavenly organization itself. However, it's also one of the strictest ones in regards of following the teachings of the Faith. Any outsider has to pass by inspection before trying to pass the walls of the city and has to attend the public sermons when they're made in the several plazas along the city.

The houses are well-cared and the ones belonging to the upper class living in the city are either two stories, or with a wider area than the others. This class of citizens is mainly composed by the priests' families and the one belonging to Cruxis' Representative (who automatically gained the post of mayor of the city). The overall living conditions of the denizens in the city could be considered far better than in most cities in Aselia, since they could live almost without having to worry about the problems that occurred outside city.

But it all came with a price…

For expanding the city, Cruxis demanded the people of the city to dedicate part of their lives to them, which meant they had to attend the church, public sermons and when the church asked for charity services and offerings they had to comply. Most people thought this was a just payment for the peace that they enjoyed. Even the nearby Desian Human Ranch, which stood in the forest near the village, didn't bother them thanks to Cruxis' protection. That just made the people double their devotion for Cruxis and work more to earn favors from the church whenever there was a chance.

The city had docks in the cliffs near the sea and expanded past the foot of the mountains nearby, also taking some of the plains to the south. It kept a good distance from the Iselia Forest, so as to not be forced to open their city to the Desians in case they decided to come down from the ranch. Walls ran around the borders of the capital as an extra security measure.

The day was like any other in the city. People went about on their jobs and the Mayor was having a reunion with the Cruxis Church's priests.

"… and the influx of travelers and merchants continues the same as always," the Mayor and Cruxis' Representative, Morton said. He was a man in his late forties, with graying hair and a mustache. Always keeping a stern expression and loyal to his duties and Cruxis almost to a fault. "We've examined them all and found some who seemed to have contact with demons. They were, of course, handed to the Purge Inquisitors."

"And how many of them were real demons?" an elderly woman that went by the name of Phaidra Brunel asked. She was one of the oldest residents in town and the High Priestess of the Church due to her charity work and the support from the people. She was often regarded as a little soft on the masses and defended the opening of the city to refugees from demonic attacks.

"What do you mean?" another priest asked.

"Have you checked them through before handing them to the Purge Inquisitors?"

The Purge Inquisitors, also known as the Martel Knights, were the military branch of the Cruxis Church, or its police (as the ones that didn't strictly follow the church put it). They were the ones that handed the sentences to the offenders and those accused of plotting with the demons after investigating them.

Some said they tortured their suspects to get false confessions out of them, others that the suspects had to pay off or even hand themselves to the church as servants to prove their innocence, however none of that was ever proven and people didn't really care about the matter. Cruxis protected them and the church was Cruxis' voice, that was all most people cared about.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Morton asked. "None of us have the abilities to truly dispel a demon's disguise like the angels."

"There are other people who could tell you with one hundred percent of certainty who is a demon and who is not," Phaidra said.

"High Priestess Phaidra, we already discussed that," another priest said. "And we already agreed letting in a half-elf would be too great of a risk. Nowadays, most of them are in league with the Desians."

"Not all of them," Phaidra tried to correct him.

"Still, the risk is too great," the Mayor said. Phaidra seemed like she would protest, but was cut off. "Now, let's proceed with next subject."

Phaidra sighed. If there was one thing she would like to change about the church was that thought that all half-elves were demons in disguise. Even so, the Faith stated that those with hatred in their hearts would be the first to seek the temptation of power to satiate their desires and everybody knew how the half-elves were treated in the days of the Kharlan War. Even Phaidra had to admit it made some sense, but she knew not all half-elves were bad, some actually were good people that would be willingly to help them.

Still, the church always evaded that subject when they could. For them, the only benefactors with magical powers they needed were the angels, as little appearances to public as they made. The angels handed them devices and methods to detect chaos energies on people's auras as a means to detect demons, but a friend of Phaidra's, who lived in Sybak, told her that these methods only had superficial results, because people who suffered the effects of chaos magic carried some of the energy on their auras for some time and they weren't demons or even chaos users. Phaidra thought about divulgating it to the heads of the church once, but then Sybak got attacked and destroyed, along with her friend's entire research data.

She thought on contacting a researcher from Asgard and talk to him on the matter, but Cruxis' Oracles came and divulged a new teaching of the Faith: _Knowledge is as much of a blessing as it is a weapon. Investigate that which has been passed down by the agents of heavens is a sign of the human curiosity trying to reach the divine, when it does not possess that right_. That meant no more research should be made about anything related to Cruxis, since it would be trying to reach the divine.

Sometimes, Phaidra questioned her own faith on them, but quickly disregarded that, knowing it was Cruxis that kept all the people of that city from being slaughtered by the Desians and the demons. So, for these people and her son, she would keep her doubts to herself…

- / - / - / - / -

Waist length, golden, blond hair glittered thanks to the sun rays as sky blue eyes looked around and greeted back people. A yellow, summer dress with hems that reached until the knees fluttered with the breeze.

Colette Brunel was a girl like any other. She went to school, hung out with her friends and did chores for her family, even though the Brunels weren't really her and her mother's family in blood, contrary to most people's beliefs. But they had taken care of her and helped her mother raise her since she was six, so she considered them her family.

She was known by some people for her selfless, radiant personality and warm smile, which some said that could make anybody's day brighter, no matter how moody it was. Her mother also faced such compliments and, like her, blushed when heard such things.

Colette arrived at a small, two-story house, surrounded by a steel fence, with a front garden, which she helped to keep, and a well. Opening the gate, she passed the garden and entered the house, saying:

"I'm home, mom! Dad!"

A man with blond hair walked in at hearing her entering:

"Hello Colette," he smiled at the girl while cleaning his hands from the saw dust that covered them. Frank Brunel worked on a boat office and often carved some accessories, taking part of his work to home, where he had set up a little office. "Phaidra is still at the meeting, but I'm sure they must have been done by now."

"Ok," Colette said, going for the stairs that lead to the second floor of the house, where the bedrooms stood.

She knocked on the second door in the corridor before entering. Inside there was a woman reading a book while sitting in a chair. A gentle breeze fluttered her long, golden-blond hair, which cascaded down her shoulders. The woman appeared to be in her late twenties, although Colette knew she was in her mid thirties.

Anybody who saw the woman and Colette together would have immediately guessed the two were mother and daughter, due to the incredible resemblance between them. The only difference was that instead of Colette's sky blue eyes, the woman's were forest-green. The woman, who stood by the name of Amelia, was wearing a white, standard dress with details in yellow. Amelia looked at her daughter and smiled at her, seeing she had come back from the grocery store.

"Hi mom. I've picked up food to prepare lunch," Colette said as she showed the bag with the goods while she approached her mother. Amelia smiled again and patted the golden hair on her daughter's head. She then got up and Colette handed her the bag with the groceries as her mother went to the kitchen to prepare the meal wordlessly.

One fact that stirred most people's curiosity was that Amelia didn't speak. She wouldn't make a single sound, even thought she wasn't diagnosed as mute. Colette would avoid the subject when she was asked, because she didn't like people worrying about her, a personality trait she shared with her mother. Frank and Phaidra were the only ones that knew the truth.

Colette and Amelia were found by Frank and Phaidra, who were on a pilgrimage for the church near the Altamira city, twelve years ago. Colette was in a state of shock, barely able to move or show any kind of reaction and Amelia had a grave wound on her throat. Colette didn't ask much about it, but she had heard Frank comment that he had been surprised Amelia had even survived a wound like that. According to him, the woman was losing a lot of blood.

After being treated and Colette finally coming out of her stupor, she couldn't remember much about what had happened to them. The doctors on Altamira described that as being post-trauma amnesia and Amelia's vocal cords had been greatly damaged, virtually rendering her unable to speak without stressing them, which would cause her great pain. After that, Frank and Phaidra offered for the two to stay in their house, seeing Colette and Amelia didn't have anywhere to go. Phaidra had to pull some strings and use her position as high priestess in the church to convince Morton to let Colette and Amelia stay in Iselia.

Colette enrolled in the local school and quickly befriended the kids there. For that, they had to sign her as Colette Brunel, since the girl apparently didn't recall what her last name was. It caused quite a ruckus at the time, in which people started to think Colette was indeed Frank's daughter and that Amelia was married to him. Phaidra had to step in to clear the subject.

Amelia took up to herself to take care of the Brunel's house as a form to repay their kindness. She was also a competent cook and started to prepare their meals. Like any other citizens, mother and daughter had to go to the church to listen to the sermons and give their offerings to Cruxis and the church (although Frank insisted that he would gladly cover that for them).

Both of the blondes were quite energetic and always eager to help those around them, which quickly gave them some kind of fame with the denizens of that part of the city. Some people even compared Colette and Amelia to angels, saying the two could bring happiness and hope to anybody. Both blushed whenever they heard that.

"Hello," Phaidra's voice came from the living room. Colette went there to greet her surrogate grandmother. "Oh, Colette. How were you today?"

"Fine," the girl said.

"Mother…" Frank said, coming from his office at the back of the house again and sitting on the dining table to talk with his mother and prepare for lunch. "how was the meeting today?"

"Ah, same as always…" Phaidra said, sighing and sitting down together with Colette. "Morton clinging to his ideas of racial segregation and those new priests sending outsiders to the Purge Inquisitors without even checking them through fully."

"Any concrete evidence in them being demons?" Frank asked. He knew how things worked behind the scenes in the church thanks to Phaidra.

"Not like we can actually detect any, but they still refuse to even hire a researcher versed on the subject. Sometimes I wonder who's more outdated, me or their ideas."

"C'mon, grandma. You're not that old," Colette said.

"Why, thank you Colette," the old priestess said to the girl. "But we have to be realistic here… I'm not as young as I used to be and I think they are starting to disregard my opinion more and more. I wonder how long it will take until they feel I should retire."

Even Colette stayed silent at that. She didn't approve of the way some people thought of half-elves either. What was so wrong with being friendly with them? It's not like all of them are bad or in league with the demons. Her thoughts were cut short when her mother came in with the food. Colette and the others waited until Amelia sat down to pray a thanks for Cruxis, like was the custom, and started the feast.

- / - / - / - / -

Colette decided to walk around the city after having eaten and enjoy the day. Her surrogate family said for her to take care and her mother merely threw her a meaningful look, transmitting her feelings. The blond girl walked around, seeing the shops around town and people pass and greet her like they always did.

Colette stopped near a house where an elderly man was trying to carry some heavy boxes outside. She approached the man and greeted him:

"Hi Terry!"

"Oh, hello Colette," the man said while trying to balance the box on his arms.

"Do you need some help?" she asked.

"Oh, no, I'm fine," Terry then started to sweat and his arms shake. "This… is… really… nothing…" seeing the box was about to fall, Colette reached for it and grabbed with her two hands, easily lifting it and taking the box from the weak man's arm. "But… if you really insist…" he said, panting.

"Sure," Colette said, giving off her usual radiant smile.

The girl helped the elderly citizen clean his store closet by putting all the boxes outside. Colette grabbed even two boxes full of tools in her arms like they weighted nothing at all. When they ended, the man swept his forehead while thanking her:

"Thanks Colette. I've been having trouble cleaning my closet lately. You sure are strong. You must be eating very well."

"That was nothing," Colette said, leaving Terry and walking in the sun once more.

The smiling girl was suddenly approached and hugged from behind. A teasing tone reached her ears as she showed a surprised expression:

"So, playing the good Samaritan again?"

"Hi Maki," Colette said as the girl behind her detached her arms from Colette's midsection.

"Seesh, I swear, you should probably gain a scout medal or something. Are you sure you're even supposed to be here, among us common mortals?" the girl said, teasing tone never dropping. Colette's cheeks assumed a pink tone at that as she tried to say something in her defense, but Maki didn't gave her the chance. "Anyway, I was just looking for you."

Maki was Colette's best friend from school. The two met on Colette's first school day and quickly befriended. Colette also seemed to be one of the few that could stand Maki's teasing and introverted personality while other girls labeled her as weird. She was a teenager one year younger than Colette and smaller by two inches, with red hair and green eyes. Her figure was normal for her age, with curves filling in the right places. The red head was wearing a simple, beige shirt with blue pants and brown shoes. Her hair framed around her face with one strand brushed to the side, covering her forehead.

"Do you need some help?" Colette asked.

"Yep. I need you help me to pick some flowers. My uncle demanded that I do something for the next Cruxis Festival and I thought about making some floral arrangements, but I don't have that much money."

Colette knew her friend was the niece of Cruxis' Representative and Mayor of Iselia and, as such, she was raised to be a faithful follower of the church and was expected to be on the lead of the festivals the city promoted in the name of the heavenly organization. However, Maki couldn't be any more detached from the religion. All that she wanted was to hang out with her friends and don't have to worry about rigid discipline or becoming a Cruxis' Representative.

Although Colette wasn't what you could call a faithful follower either, she did believe Cruxis protected them from the demons and that they needed to atone for the sins humanity committed during the Kharlan War. However, the blond girl knew better than to try and convince Maki to follow everything her family told her (since some of that included some racial segregation ideas).

"Sure I can help you," Colette said, happy to help her friend.

"By the way…" Maki said, approaching Colette and eying the girl from top to bottom. "Is it just me or have you grown up a little bit?" before Colette could ask her friend what she meant with that, Maki poked her chest, causing the cheeks of the taller girl to flare. "Hmm… nope. Nothing yet."

"M-Maki!"

After getting to know the red head better, Colette found out why Maki was avoided by the other girls from their class. Maki had these strange antics about her; like groping girls or blatantly commenting on their looks with suggestive motions. She said that in other cities, like Asgard, people wouldn't mind her behavior, but since the church controlled even the educational system in Iselia, girls were expected to learn how to "properly behave and handle themselves". Colette was sure Maki wasn't called by the principal just because her uncle was an important member of the church.

Though the blond girl was always caught with her guard down and her first natural instinct was to protest to her friend touching her, Colette found out she didn't get so bothered by Maki's antics. To her, that was just the way her friend was and how she complimented people, or showed appreciation.

"Oh, don't worry. You've still have that cute face of yours to count for," Maki said with a grin.

"Thanks…" Colette, said, sighing and walking together with her friend. "People always say I look so much like mom and… I haven't even…" she couldn't continue.

Colette didn't like to bother people with her problems or doubts. She believed she had to live her life to its fullest, since you never knew when you could meet a demon and have your life being stripped away from you. She also tried to live for her mother, who couldn't talk anymore.

However, like any other teenage girl, Colette had questions about life and herself, so she needed a confident outside of her family, who already had enough to deal with all things the church demanded from them. Maki was that confident and who lifted Colette's spirit when she was in a sour mood, as rarely as that was. The red head believed the same thing about life as her and claimed that was the motive she didn't leave her family's teaching get to her (although Colette suspected Maki actually liked to be rebellious).

Maki looked at her friend, who had her head lowered while her cheeks were still flustered. She sighed. She and Colette already had that talk and she thought even Colette's mother had talked to her about it, or wrote, or whatever way they used to communicate. While her mother had a fair sized chest, Colette still had developed none, labeling herself as an ironing board.

"You shouldn't mind it so much," Maki said with a neutral expression. "Not all people mind that and it's going to appear when it has to."

"That's what mom said," Colette thought aloud.

"So. Listen to your mom. And honestly, don't pay so much attention to it. If the boys don't like you, then I do," Maki said with a grin.

"T-thanks," Colette said.

Each time Maki spoke things like that, complimented her figure, or eyed her like who analyze a particularly tasty sweet, Colette felt her heart skip a beat. She never understood why, but she felt that as long as Maki liked her and thought she was pretty she didn't need to worry. It has been like that ever since Colette turned twelve.

They passed near another of their friends from school, a girl with blue hair and blue eyes. Maki grinned a mischievous grin as she approached and spoke:

"Hey there Lilla. I heard something very interesting."

"Really? What is it?" Lilla asked. Colette was also curious as she approached.

"Seems Kevin is claiming that he knows your measurements and that you have a double D cup," Maki said, using the name of the most popular and perverted boy in their school, a common tactic to her, though what she said often proved to be true.

"W-what? That jerk!" she lived in the next house to the boy, so it was possible he had peeped her from the window.

"In my opinion, he's exaggerating. Though…" without any further warning, Maki grabbed her friend's breast, who yelped. "Hmm, just as I thought."

"Ack! Stop that!" Lilla protested and Maki let go of her.

Colette watched what was a common occurrence in her friend interacting with their other friends. However, every time Maki did that, Colette couldn't help, but feel a little annoyed for no reason. It was like she was feeling jealous. But jealous of what?

"Maki, let her be," Colette said, not wanting her best friend be scolded for sexually harassing other girls in public.

"Ok, ok. I was just curious."

"Yeah, I know what kind of curiosity you have," Lilla said. "By the way, why are the two of you going in the direction of the west gate?"

It was then Colette finally noticed they were close to the exit of the town that led to the path of the Iselia Forest, where the Human Ranch was located. The forest, obviously, was considered off-limits to any resident in town. She looked to Maki, who gave off a nervous smile as she said:

"Oh, it's nothing of too much. Colette here is just going to help me pick up some flowers for my floral arrangement for the Cruxis Festival next week."

"Oh. Okay then, see you two later," Lilla said, waving goodbye to them and leaving the two alone.

"Let's go before somebody else comes," Maki said after Lilla was out of hearing range, grabbing Colette's arm and pulling her.

"We're not really going to the forest, are we?" Colette asked, starting to get fearful of the answer of her best friend.

"'Curse we will," Maki said, now smiling as they sneaked out of the gate. The guard on duty was snoozing off as they passed.

"But it's forbidden to go into the forest and…"

"Colette, where do you think we can get some good flowers, huh? I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood to get a scolding for picking flowers from other peoples' houses or the parks."

Now that Colette thought about it, Maki was right. Picking flowers from the parks was against the city's law and they couldn't go around stealing some from people either. She should have thought that through before agreeing with Maki.

"Don't worry. I've been sneaking around the ranch ever since last week and they didn't catch me yet," Maki said, winking to Colette.

"The ranch?" Colette exclaimed as they were already on the border of the forest. She freed her arm from the red head's grip and stood her ground as she said. "Maki, I don't think we should be doing it. We would be going against even the Faith's teachings, remember? _Do not meddle with the demon's affairs and its followers, for they will try and tempt you into straying off the path of redemption and_…"

"Details, details," Maki said, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Besides, what the priests don't know, don't hurt them," she smiled her typical grin at that. "But if you want to stay here and wait for me, then it's ok."

Maki then turned and started walking again. Colette took a moment to think about her options and decided she couldn't in her right mind leave Maki wandering around the forest so close to the Human Ranch. What kind of best friend would she be if she wasn't there to protect her? Finally making up her mind, Colette ran after her red headed friend, who stopped in the road that went up the cliffs, like she knew the entire time Colette would follow her.

_If anything, I can help her fight our way out of trouble. And if they didn't catch her yet, that means they might not even notice us there._ Colette thought, trying to reassure herself.

Ever since she was ten, Colette noticed she was the strongest girl in her class. Actually, the strongest in the school. She could even pick up two desks in her hands without any problem. Even so, Colette never liked fights or violence, she always tried to talk things over. However, she knew if the Desians spotted them, there would be no talk. She had heard enough stories about the half-demons to know that they would rather attack first and ask questions later.

Colette and Maki finally arrived at a crossroads, which one road was a path along the cliff and the other one connected where they were to another section of the forest. In that path was a great sign with the sayings: "No unauthorized personnel allowed". The sign itself didn't inspire any threat, but what was at the end of the path certainly did.

"I've heard that there are some flowers near the bushes of the ranch. So we're going to sneak there and stay hidden. They will never know we were there," Maki said in a confident tone. Colette was about to voice another protest against this, but it fell on deaf ears as Maki ran ahead. Colette sighed and followed her friend.

Finally, the blonde could sight the great, metal structure of the Iselia Human Ranch. To her relief, she saw Maki over in the bushes, well hidden within them. Colette quickly rushed to where the red head was and it was then she heard what sounded like a whip cracking and gulped.

From the few things people told them about the human ranches, the one thing constant was that humans were treated like slaves there, forced to work day and night without rest or food. If you were caught, you were done for, because almost nobody escaped the ranches and if they did, they generally died days later because of all injuries suffered during the attempt.

"Maki, are you done yet?" Colette asked, her voice laced with fear and worry.

"Calm down, I'm choosing here," her friend said, looking between the several flowers that grew there, however, most of them appeared to be withered.

Meanwhile, inside a small cubiculum near the gates, a Desian guard was inspecting the cameras with a bored look on his face. He pressed a button and the image of the cameras changed, but things remained the same: calm. He sighed.

It was then another Desian entered the cubiculum to check on his co-worker.

"How are things out there?" the new Desian asked.

"Same as always. Frickin' boring," the other Desian answered. "This has to be the most tedious job around here. Nobody ever comes here and those folks in the city are just too fanatic about Cruxis to ever think of being near here."

"Well, that's true… but you heard who came to visit Lord Forcystus right? If they find you away from your post, we won't hear the end of it. Lord Forcystus always liked to pass the impression of efficiency whenever somebody of high position comes."

"I know, I know…"

The Desian then pressed the button again and this time something happened. The bushes near the cliff in front of the main gate rustled. The first Desian wasn't impressed by that, but the second found it suspicious.

"Did you see that?"

"You mean that bush? Probably some animal."

"The animals don't approach this part of the forest. Let's go check it," the Desian said, already going to the gate and taking out his identification card.

"Whatever. Anything to get away from this tedious and boring job," the other Desian said, getting up too.

- / - / - / - / -

"Maki I think you shouldn't be messing with this bush so much," Colette said in a worried tone as she saw the bush moving as her friend tried to reach for what seemed to be a flower inside it.

"Why are you so scared, Colette? It's not like they'll pay any mind to something like a bush rustling. They probably will think it's just the wind or..."

"Hey? Did you hear that?" another voice said, one that made the girls freeze on spot.

Maki tried to pull her arm out, but the sleeve of her shirt got tangled on the branches. She muttered an "oh no" and tried to pull it out. Colette went to help her, but at that moment the two were spotted and one Desian grabbed Colette while the other grabbed Maki and pulled her up by the collar, making she rip the sleeve of her shirt.

"Now, now. Just look what we found here," the Desian holding Colette said as he and his companion eyed the two girls. "Two inferior beings hiking around our base," he then threw Colette to the ground while his companion remained holding Maki off the ground, who now seemed truly scared.

"Hmm, that one there seems a little to petite for my tastes, but this one here…" the half-demon holding Maki said in a lecherous tone, licking his lips.

"You kidding? They're just children, man. Put them together with the other host bodies."

Maki seemed terrorized now and Colette was frantically looking around for anything that could help her and her friend to fight off the Desians. Luckily, the other half-demon was looking at his companion, so he didn't notice that. Colette then saw something almost buried under the bushes, which looked like some short of metal disk. Seeing the Desians were still distracted, she quickly reached for the disk.

"Oh, c'mon. I bet she tastes good," the Desian holding Maki then showed fanged teeth and the girl was now struggling, but since her feet didn't reach the floor, it was useless.

"Alright. Just this one. The other we…" the Desian never managed to end the phrase, for in that moment a metal disk hit his helmet-clad head with surprising strength, denting the visor and braking his nose.

The other half-demon was so surprised he didn't notice in time a yellow blur coming and shoving him with great strength, making him fly across the ground and letting his hold on Maki go. The red head looked to Colette, who asked if she was alright. Nodding, Maki stood and they looked at the Desians, who were getting up.

"Maki, go back to the village, I'll hold them off," Colette said, taking the metal disk again.

"No way! I'm not letting you off to deal with these guys."

Before the two could argue further, Colette grabbed Maki and shielded her from a whip blow from the Desian Colette had hit with the disk. The blow left a red bruise on her back, together with a cut on her dress.

"You little bitch!" the Whip Master said, preparing to attack again.

Colette quickly turned and threw the metal disk once more, using all of her strength. The Whip Master tried to put his weapon up in defense, however, he underestimated Colette's strength and the thin disk cut through his whip and embedded itself on his arm, making him scream in pain as blood came out of his nearly severed limb.

The blonde girl and the red head decided to take this chance and made their escape, as the other Desian chased after them. The two passed the cliff that divided the ranch area from the forest and sprinted to the opposite direction of the town. After taking some distance from their pursuer, Colette and Maki made a sharp turn to the right and dived into the bushes behind a tree.

The two held their breath as the Desian passed nearby. After he left, Colette and Maki ran back to the road to Iselia using the woods as a cover. They ended up on the edge of a cliff and below it was the road back to Iselia. The girls heard the sounds of footsteps behind; the Desian was still looking for them.

Colette made a decision and asked for Maki to hold on her as she passed her arms around her friend's shoulder and jumped off the cliff. Maki wanted to scream, but knew it would attract their pursuers, so she settled at widening her eyes as the ground approached and shut them off before they hit the ground. However, instead of bashing on the dirt, Maki was surprised that Colette landed on her feet, even though there was a light "thud". Seeing her friend was still paralyzed by the shock, Colette dragged her to the trees nearby and hid just as the Desian peered over the edge of the cliff, looking for them. Upon not finding the girls, the half-demon cursed and left.

"He went away," Colette said to her friend, who seemed to finally recover and was breathing deeply.

"Y-you saved my life... Colette. Thank you so much!" the red head said.

"It was no…" Colette started to say, putting up her typical smile, but didn't achieved to end, because in that moment Maki's lips covered hers in a kiss.

Colette widened her eyes in confusion and surprise. This was something Maki had never done before, it was completely different from her normal behavior. The red head finally ended the kiss and separated her lips from Colette's, who stayed still with a dumbstruck look on her face. Maki grinned and said:

"You're very cute with that look on your face."

"M… Maki… what you… what was that?" Colette finally managed to utter, bringing her fingers to her lips. She could still fell Maki's lips on her. The sensation was foreign and kind of pleasant at the same time. But why was she feeling like that?

"It was my thanks for saving me and this…" she stroked Colette's face and planted a quick kiss on her again. "Is something that I've wanted to do for a long time," her grin turned into an attractive smile that made Colette's heart flutter and her cheeks blush.

"M-Maki…" was all the blonde managed to say.

Colette looked to the ground, feeling confused. What was that she was feeling? She sometimes felt pangs of jealously when Maki glomped their other friends at school, but this… was there something wrong with her, or was that all just an effect of almost being captured by the Desians?

Maki saw the confused look on her friend's face and asked her if there was something wrong. Colette could only mumble some incoherent sounds as she tried to form words and explain the strange turmoil of feelings inside of her. Maki sighed and said:

"I get it. You're wondering what is this that you're feeling, right?" Colette looked at her, surprised that Maki had read through her like that. "That's normal. It was just the same with me."

"With you? What does that mean?" Colette asked, tilting her head to the side.

"You didn't realize yet? Colette, I like women."

The blonde kept looking at her best friend in confusion. Maki saw she hadn't understood what she meant and decided she would need to give an example:

"Well, it's like… do you know when a man and a woman meet each other and fall in love?" Colette nodded to her. "To me it's almost the same thing, but instead of a man it's another woman."

Those words made something inside Colette jump as she widened her eyes. Could it really be possible? She never heard of this before. Whenever the teachers or people in class talked about love it was always described as a feeling between a man and woman.

_Wh… what does this mean? Does that mean I'm different? But Maki feels it too_. the blond girl thought. _I'm so confused…_

Maki saw her friend was still trying to take in everything and felt a little guilty for making Colette feel like that. She decided her best friend needed some time to think about it. Maybe she could talk about it with her mother. With the way the two understood with each other, she was sure Colette's mother would at least take it better than if she told her mother.

"Look, Colette. Maybe we should just go home and think about it. Talk with your mother. I know these things take time to accept. I took quite some time until I came into terms with it myself," she admitted.

Colette merely nodded and the two trekked back to Iselia. Finding the silence that followed unbearable, Colette asked Maki in an embarrassed voice:

"Did you… does somebody else know?"

"In school? No, I never told anybody. Granted, the priests would probably think I'm possessed or something, considering how old-fashioned they are."

"And your family?"

"Are you kidding me? My father would probably kick me out if he ever caught a wiff about it and my mother would never be able to look at me in the face again," she saw Colette seemed to worry at hearing that and quickly added. "But that's just because they take everything the church says to the letter. I bet your mother won't mind it. Who knows, she probably even met somebody like this."

"You mean there are more people that feel this way about others of the same gender?" Colette asked in an innocent and curious manner.

"Of course there are. What? You think I'm some kind of otherworldly freak or something?"

"N-no! Of course not! It's just…" Colette said, her cheeks flaring at hearing how her friend had taken her words. Maki giggled.

"I'm kidding, silly. I know you've probably never heard of it before. It's not something people that live a sheltered life in a city like ours know about."

Colette calmed down a little and the two resumed their travel back to Iselia. Maki started to instruct her on what to say in case people asked what happened with their clothes and where they got those bruises, but then remembered and spoke:

"Wait, forget it. You're horrible at lying. Just leave it to me and smile at everything I say."

"Oh. Ok," Colette said, her typical radiant, cute smile making its way to her face.

"Oh, stop that. Do you know how hard it is not to jump at you when you look so cute like that?"

"Oh, sorry," Colette said.

"That was a compliment."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Maki sighed and decided to leave it be.

- / - / - / - / -

Forcystus approached his surveillance team, dragging his stare longer at two men, one who had a dried patch of blood on his face and a bandage on his arm and other with a dirty uniform. The green haired Cardinal liked to think of himself as the more patient and understanding out of all the Grand Cardinals, but there were times that his patience ran out. This was one of these times.

"Can one of you please explain to me how in the hell you managed to get wounded…" he pointed to the bandaged Desian with his good hand. "And you lost to a pair of inferior beings?" he pointed to the other guard who had chased Colette and Maki not long ago before he was called back by orders from Forcystus.

Nobody answered, with fear of receiving some kind of punishment in the form of Forcystus bashing his arm-cannon in their skull if they got lucky and the Grand Cardinal was in a good mood, but considering he was receiving a visit from another member of the demonic invasion troops (a high up to top it), they felt that the less harmful thing Forcystus would do to them was shot them in the head.

The Desian Grand Cardinal sighed and proceeded to ask somebody to bring him the record data from the gates' surveillance cameras. One of the Desians happily applied and left for the ranch, if just to get away from a possible punishment. Forcystus then proceeded to scold his troops, until a voice sounded in the clearing:

"What is this? Are you having problems with your soldiers, Forcystus?"

The green haired man cursed before putting up an expression of neutrality in his face and turning to face his honor guest, who he had been talking to before one of his Commands informed him there had been a problem in the front gate. Thankfully, the Command had been discrete enough to not say it out loud in the visitor's presence, merely whispering in the Grand Cardinal's ear.

However, it seemed none of that mattered now, for his visitor certainly had picked up something strange was happening and got enough of waiting for him to return. Forcystus decided to try and salvage what little pride he still had left in the eyes of his guest:

"It's nothing. Just a minor occurrence."

"Is that so?" his guest asked with a smirk. "Strange, considering you always prided yourself for having a fully functional ranch that didn't have to deal with any form of resistance from the locals and operated at maximum capacity."

Forcystus grumbled some incoherent words. Meanwhile, his assembled subordinates could just look at the person who was outright mocking their leader. They had seen he enter the base and be given a tour while talking with Forcystus. None of them believed at first that this person was someone of a rank equivalent to that of a Desian Cardinal, but the moment they felt his aura, they knew they had better save their ideas to themselves.

The visitor's aura was unlike anything any of the half-demons had seen before. Power radiated from it, threatening to engulf their own auras. That, in demon standards, meant the being in question far outranked any of them. It was possible that Forcystus' guest was easily somebody of higher ranking than even the Grand Cardinals themselves.

However, they were certain they had never seen that person before. Forcystus did imply their guest worked on a different division of the demonic troops. Which one, he had hadn't specified and everybody knew better than to insist.

"Sir!" the Desian who went to check on the records of the cameras came back, holding a printed image of the intruders. "Here's the data on the two girls who sneaked around the front gate."

Forcystus widened his eyes at that. His visitor's smirk widened while the Desian soldier realized too late who was there and that he had said the wrong thing. He tried to apologize for it, but Forcystus snatched the picture from his hand and said in a grumble for him to return to his place.

The half-demon hesitantly did so. He didn't take three steps before Forcystus raised his arm-cannon, opened it and shot his subordinate in the back. The shot was charged with enough power to open a hole in the back of the Desian soldier, who went to the ground with a pained scream and remained there with his back smoking.

"Now I feel better," Forcystus said. He then looked at the picture taken by the surveillance system, which showed two girls, a blonde and a red head. Forcystus' lips twisted into a scowl. His guards had really been thwarted by two small girls. _Well, at least they look pretty. _Forcystus observed.

"May I have a look?" his guest asked.

Forcystus handed his guest the picture, before turning to his whole security team, his face contorting into an angry growl as he said:

"Give me one… one damn good reason why I shouldn't blast you sorry lot from here to Niflheim?" his arm-cannon opened little enough for them to see the green glow emanating from inside.

It was of common knowledge the green haired Desian Grand Cardinal lost his left arm when trying to defend a group of fugitive half-elves during the Kharlan War by killing every last one of their pursuers. After becoming a half-demon, Forcystus volunteered to be a test subject in a program installed by Nebilim that sought to implant prosthesis that could easily transform together with their host, raising his fighting capabilities to a new level. Forcystus immediately took interest in an arm-canon prosthesis.

The cannon was light for normal standards, being made of a special alloy that was lighter than most metals known in Aselia. Inside it was a special type of runic crystal which converted the energy of the environment and of its user into energy blasts. The crystal was incased in an extra protective layer of metal in case Forcystus needed to use his arm-cannon as a club. Combining that with the blood of demon birds that was injected on him, the Desian turned into a deadly marksman and gained the title Hawk Shooter.

The Desian guards immediately remembered that upon seeing the anger in the face of their superior, however, they were saved when the one visiting their base suddenly said:

"It's her!" Forcystus let out an "uh?" and closed his arm-cannon, turning to his visitor, who looked back to him. "Here, besides the red head," the guest of the Grand Cardinal said, pointing to the photo.

Forcystus took it and looked at who his guest was pointing to. It was the blond girl wielding a metal disk and fighting off his guards. She seemed pretty harmless for someone who disarmed one of his soldiers. Forcystus eyed his visitor and said:

"Well, I have to admit she looks nice, but I'm not into young human girls."

"Remember about that list of the travelers that passed by this region and of the citizens in the city I was asking you for?" Forcystus' honor guest asked, dismissing the Desian Grand Cardinal's last remark. "I wanted to know if she had passed by here. But if she really came here today and according to the other information I collected, she must have decided to stay in the city."

"Yeah, what so? It's not like I can simply storm Iselia and take her."

"Really? I heard that Rodyle rejected your request for him to develop some new weapons for your troops and have been demanding you to lend over some host bodies."

Forcystus started to show some interest after that. The first part really did bother him and having Rodyle at your hair, demanding host bodies for his experiments, could really turn into a torture, considering the frequency which the Desian scientist contact him for an answer. Sometimes Forcystus thought that shooting the violet haired Cardinal would definitely make wonders for his mood, even if there was the risk he ended up executed for attacking a comrade (mainly the one that coordinated their _little project_).

"If that's the case, how about we discuss this inside?" Forcystus said with a grin, which was returned by his guest as the two made their way back to the complex.

The guard staff let out a sigh of relief, seeing Forcystus had let them live for now…


	21. To Break your Heart

Second chapter of Act III up! With this we close the story of Colette's life in Iselia.

Now, some of my readers reported on Forcystus looking a little OOC in the last chapter, but some of them guessed correctly it is because of the demon blood injected in him. You can't have a person inject with the blood of an entirely different kind of creature and not expect him to go under some changes, both physical and mental. You'll notice the other Desian Grand Cardinals are more violent here than their canon counterparts.

Some people also thought that the yuri couple of the fic is Colette and the OC Maki. Let me remind you that in the last chapter I said that **one** of the members of the yuri couple would appear. You'll soon see what I meant.

Now let's get on with the warnings: this chapter could be fitted in the tragedy gender and also contains a fair amount of gore. Also, there's OC death here, so, you have been warned.

Before we get one with the heavy thing, let's relax with a skit to see how the rest of the heroes are doing. This one is between Emil/Ratatosk, Lloyd, Marta, Tenebrae, Aqua, Sheena and Raine.

Travelers 1

Lloyd: Man, riding in those dragons was awesome! I can't wait to try again.

Ratatosk: Knowing you, you'll get bored in five seconds at the next ride.

Lloyd: What's that supposed to mean?

Marta: Guys, let's stop fighting. Why don't we enjoy the meal? Ratatosk, would you like some of my homemade cooking?

Ratatosk: Hum…

Emil: No thanks… I'm full, Marta. Hehe.

Marta: Oh, okay. What about you Lloyd?

Ratatosk: If you wish to live, better say "no".

Lloyd: Hum… no thanks. I'm waiting to see what Sheena is making.

Tenebrae: Oh, already being picky about what you eat. I wonder how long it will take until you decide to go to the next stage.

Lloyd: You know, I'm starting to agree with Aqua when she says you're spiteful.

Tenebrae: How rude. I was merely making an observation.

Aqua: Nobody cares, Tenebonehead.

Raine: Well, since you're all so full with enthusiasm, how about trying some of my personal cooking?

Emil: Sure.

Lloyd: Yeah. It kinda looks interesting.

Emil & Lloyd: …

Raine: So, how is it?

Lloyd: Must… enter… spirit… form… to prevent… from… dyeing…

Emil: I… don't feel… very good…

Ratatosk: I think I'm… going to revert to… my core again…

Aqua: Hum, Raine what did you gave them to make them look like they're dying?

Raine: Oh, it's just noodles. Well, actually I also experimented putting some green pepper, onions, radish, cabbage and heated it all up. I think that would be the first vegetarian noodle dish in history. Once it's perfected, it's going to be revolutionary!

Sheena: I think I'll cook from now on if we are expected to survive through our travels.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**To Break your Heart**

Colette found herself fidgeting during dinner and often casting glances at her mother, who at some point noticed and looked at her with an inquisitive glance. Colette gave a fake smile to dispel any worry, however, she was sure her mother had seen right through it. The two had mastered passing their feelings through simple expressions or body gestures after all.

When it was time to go to bed, Colette decided she couldn't procrastinate anymore and asked her mother if they could talk alone. Amelia nodded knowingly and the two went to her room. Once inside, mother and daughter sat on the older blonde's bed. Amelia then waited for her daughter to talk while Colette collected her thoughts and tried to think on the best way to speak.

"Um… mom… there's something… that I need to tell you…" Colette said in an unsure tone of voice. Amelia smiled gently, encouraging her. "Well… do you remember my friend… Maki?" Amelia nodded. "It's… she and I… we actually…" her mother tilted her head to the side, waiting for her to resume her speech. Colette drew in a deep breath, trying to soothe her nerves. _Here goes nothing. _"Mom, I… I like her… I mean, I really, _really_ like her."

It took Amelia a total of five seconds to guess what kind of "like" Colette was talking about. When she did, her eyes widened in surprise.

"M-mom?" Colette asked, worry in her voice.

For the first time since she could recall, Colette didn't have any idea of what could be her mother's thoughts and feelings about the situation. Even though the two had developed means to communicate, there were certain occasions when one was too nervous, surprised or shocked that it tended to fail.

Colette then saw her mother reaching for a nearby notebook she kept close to her bed. The blue-eyed girl gulped subconsciously. Her mother only communicated with her through writing when she wanted to leave a very clear message, so there would be no space for her daughter to misinterpret her. Colette observed, her heart beating like a drum in her ears, as her mother reached for a nearby pen and started writing in a page of her notebook.

Amelia then showed her daughter her message, which said, in an inclined writing:

_When did you realize it?_

"Well…" Colette said, unsure what the question could hint about her mother's reaction to the news. "Today me and Maki… we were… taking a stroll and…" she decided to leave the part about the Human Ranch out so as to not only worry and possibly anger her mother. "we sort of kissed."

Again Amelia seemed mildly surprised. Colette lowered her head and didn't catch the sweet smile her mother gave as she wrote again. When she was done, she put her hand on Colette's and the girl looked up, fixating her eyes on the notebook:

_Don't worry about it. I've got to know some good women who are lesbians. Just because they made this choice, it doesn't mean they're different from any other person._

Colette was surprised at her mother's written words. Amelia flipped the page and began writing again, soon showing another message:

_This choice makes part of who you are. For me, you'll always be my daughter, no matter what kind of tastes, sexual preferences or even career choices you make. I'll always be here to protect and support you, my little angel, Colette._

Colette then looked to her mother, who simply smiled to her one of the most radiant, reassuring smiles the two were so known by. The younger blonde felt tears of relief coming to her eyes as she hugged her mother, not being able to express how that had lifted a huge weight off her chest. Amelia sat the notebook aside as she tenderly stroked her daughter's hair with a content expression on her face, letting Colette relieve all of the stress she was sure her daughter had been holding onto.

That night the two decided to sleep in the same bed, Colette having gone to sleep right after her tears had ended, emotionally spent from the confession. Her mother happily set her daughter on the side of her bed, while going to sleep herself, embracing Colette in a comforting hug.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Forcystus was briefing his soldiers as they were at the entrance of the Iselia Forest, near the road to Iselia. He had announced first thing in the morning that he would be taking a handful of soldiers for an operation of invasion and capture in Iselia. The troops were surprised at that, but eager to do it none the less.

"Ok, listen up! This mission will require swiftness and efficiency on your part. Iselia has a pretty decent guard, as you all know. Fortunately, our benefactor informed us they will be going to do some field training and most of the city will be attending a sermon in the churches of several districts.

"Our mission is simple: We are to invade the southeast district and apprehend a human girl by the name Colette Brunel. Here…" he took off a projector device and pointed it forward. A holographic image of their target was shown. "...is her visual description. Now, as you all know, Cruxis protect this city…" Forcystus had to suppress the urge to snicker at that. "...but they will not be a hindrance, that is, if we can do this quick enough.

"Our contractor guaranteed he can give us thirty minutes, but no more!" Forcystus emphasized. "So, anybody I see sidetracking, or acting out of the scope of the mission will be punished," Forcystus passed his eyes over the entire crowd to make his point. "Other than that, you are free to do as you please, but remember: the target is to be taken _alive_! So you must focus on rounding the citizens in the plaza located near the south gate."

The Desian soldiers saluted, confirming their understanding of the orders. Forcystus smiled. That was how he liked to operate; clean and with efficiency as the main premise. If they managed to secure the target within the time limit, he might even allow his men to have some fun with the rest of the time they had in the city.

The green haired Cardinal opened space to any questions, but none of his men asked anything. They had understood what needed to be made. When Forcystus was about to close the briefing, a familiar voice sounded in the clearing:

"I have a question: is there space for two more?"

_Oh, Great One, please let it not be her. _Forcystus thought with a grim expression on his face. He looked past his troops and, to his horror, saw Alice and her subordinate/slave coming. _Crap…_

"So, you're taking a stroll around the town, Forcy. But I wonder…" Alice said in her sweet, baby voice. "Is it okay for you to just attack a Cruxis city like that?"

Forcystus opened space through his subordinates, coming face-to-face with Alice. He hid his discomfort behind a serious expression. Back in the Ginnungagap, when the Grand Cardinals and the Desian Generals united for their Game Night (as Forcystus called it) to relief the stress of work, Alice was always present and tried everything that she could to call his attention.

He didn't know if the girl was infatuated with him or if she was just considering making him her toy (the latter made him shudder every time he thought on it), but he knew that out of all the Desian Grand Cardinals, he was the one she liked the most.

According to Alice, Magnius was too much brawny for her tastes. Kvar she didn't have time to consider. Pronyma was a hag and Rodyle was plain creepy (Forcystus snickered when he heard that). So that left him, the youngest and most attractive, according to Alice that is. In the beginning, he though having a fan was nice, but after she started talking with him using some innuendos behind her speech of what she would like to do to him if they were alone, he decided he definitely wasn't a masochist.

"And what are you doing here? From what I heard, Lord Nebilim gave you a reprimand," Forcystus said.

"Oh, but he just said that Alice couldn't chase after Ratatosk, not that she couldn't leave the Ginnungagap," Decus pointed out, shaking his finger.

Forcystus eyed the human. Sometimes he didn't know if he should loath Decus, considering he was of the same race that was responsible for the loss of his arm and almost killed him, or be amused by the fact Alice kept him around. She always said she liked having her personal servant, but Forcystus suspected there was more to it.

"Yeah, so we decided to come and pay you a visit," Alice said.

"Well, as you can see, I'm in the middle of a mission, so now isn't a good time to chat," Forcystus said, relieved he had an excuse. He tried once to deny Alice. Needless to say, the result hadn't been pretty.

"Oh, really? And what is it about?"

Forcystus seethed behind his teeth. Why did the girl have to be so insistent?

"It's a simple retrieval operation, nothing more."

"In Iselia. Isn't that going against… ?" Decus asked, just to be interrupted.

"I don't have to answer that to the two of you. So, if you don't mind… ?" Forcystus was interrupted by Alice before he could finish.

"To help? Of course! Things have been so boring in the Ginnungagap," Alice said in a pouting voice. "And you won't believe what Pronyhag said to me the other day."

"As much as I would like to hear it, I don't have time for this," Forcystus said, his patience wearing thin. "And though I appreciate it, I don't need any help."

Alice seemed to consider that for a moment. Forcystus dared to hope she would just turn and leave, but he had no such luck:

"Then I'll just watch. It's always entertaining to see those humans running for their dear lives when we arrive," she said with the sweetest of smiles.

Forcystus put his palm on his face, dragging his hand across it in exasperation. Sometimes, he really wished Alice accepted Decus' obvious feelings for her and left him alone. Deciding they were already getting late on schedule as it was, the marksman had no other option, but to comply:

"Fine. Just don't get in the way, or I'm going to report you for obstruction."

With that, Forcystus gave the signal and his troops started to move. Alice seemed to beam as she followed him side-by-side. Decus looked to the ground, but followed the two. He didn't like his object of affection following so eagerly another man, but if that was her wish he could do nothing, but to comply…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Colette, her mother and Frank left the church as the sermon ended. This day, the priest had reinforced the Faith's teaching of not meddling with demonic affairs. Colette always listened to the sermons, but sometimes compared the way they preached with her grandmother's. Phaidra often recited the teachings that taught about the necessity of uniting and correcting the wrongs of the past, but in a way to encourage people to do their best.

Sometimes, the blond girl thought that the priests were too much on the recriminatory side, like they were accusing them of having done something wrong. It was true nobody was perfect and people needed to get better, but a little encouragement could also help.

"Hey, Colette!" said girl turned and saw Maki weaving to her. Colette waved back and asked her mother if she could go. Amelia nodded with a smile and let her daughter go meet her best friend. "So, looks like things went smooth with you and your mother," Maki said once the two of them reunited.

"Yup. Mother said she'll always support me, no matter my tastes," Colette said with her radiant smile in place as they walked.

"Man, I'm so jealous of you," Maki said. "Are you sure I can't borrow your mother for one month or two?"

The two girls laughed at that. They decided to go to the nearby ice cream shop, Maki wanted to try out a new flavor they had. After purchasing their sweets the two continued their walk, licking their ice creams.

It was then Maki looked to Colette and pointed to her cheek, saying she got some ice cream on it. Colette was about to wipe it until Maki said to leave her take care of it. The blond girl said "okay", but to her surprise, her friend kissed her cheek. Before, Colette wouldn't have minded it, now though, it made her blush.

"You know, you're also cute when you blush like that," Maki said, smirking. That only made Colette's blush intensify.

The red head was about to say something else when the sound of an explosion made them stop and look behind. They saw smoke rising in the distance, near the walls of the city. More explosions sounded, one of them close enough to make the ground shake.

It was then the two saw people running in panic and the vendors leaving the buildings to see what happened.

"What's going on?" Colette asked in a worried tone.

"THE DESIANS! THE DESIANS INVADED THE TOWN!" somebody screamed as he ran.

"Desians?" Colette exclaimed.. "But… how?"

"The Martel Knights went to do field training this morning," Maki said. She then looked to where the first explosion had come from. "Those bastards probably waited for the opportunity."

- / - / - / - / - / -

The plaza near the south gate was in pandemonium. Desians restrained some civilians, pulling women through their hair and hauling children over their shoulders, throwing them unceremoniously on the space they had made to isolate those to be investigated. Those who tried to resist were quickly killed.

Forcystus looked around the plaza with a satisfied smirk. He then heard somebody shout his name. He looked and saw the Mayor of Iselia, Cruxis' representative, making his way towards him. The green haired Desian knew this would happen, so he left his troops warned before hand to let the mayor come to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Morton said in an angry scowl. "We made the favor to stay clear from your lands and even stated a municipal law for nobody to disturb the ranch and you do _this_?"

_This inferior being trying to preach to _me _about gratitude? Human ignorance sure knows no bounds. _Forcystus thought. The scene was, in the very least, amusing to him. "Don't come talking about deception to me, human. We're here because two of yours meddled with our ranch."

"And what proofs do you have of that?" Morton demanded.

"Oh, I'll show them soon enough. In the meantime…" he snapped his fingers and two Whip Masters flanked Morton, who looked around in surprise and fear. "Would you mind waiting with your people?"

The Mayor of Iselia threw back a look of hatred at the Cardinal, but went where his people was being rounded, notwithstanding. Alice giggled at that, standing at a fair distance from the green haired Desian. Forcystus called a nearby Commander and asked him if they had located Colette yet.

"Not yet sir. Some inferior beings are escaping to the other districts, though. We're having some trouble rounding them."

"That can be a problem…" Forcystus mused. If they killed the girl, it could complicate things. His visitor hadn't specified why he wanted the girl, but said it was imperative to capture her alive. The Desian Grand Cardinal decided it was time to get serious. "Alice…" he called. The girl came to him, almost jumping in anticipation. "it seems I'll have to take up your offer to help."

"Glad you finally realized it," Alice said with excitement.

The Desian General stood in a casting stance, a green-poison circle appearing beneath her as she chanted in demonic. Forcystus had watched her do that in training and knew she was a demonic summoner. It was then two portals of the same color as the runic circle beneath Alice opened. Several pairs of arms with sharp claws appear from them and creatures of sinister appearance jumped out.

These demons resembled a cross between a spider and a snake. Its body was long and its tail ended with a big, pointed arrow. Most of its body was of an ashen color, with yellow, short hair on its head and long tongues that were constantly out. Eight long arms with sharp, silver claws sprouted from the middle of the demons' bodies, but it was the creatures' face the main responsible for the fame they carried.

The demons didn't have lips, so they had their white, sharp fangs always at the show. Their eyes were of a vibrant yellow, with black slits and a gaze that could only be described as that of madness. Anybody that gazed into those eyes immediately shook in fear as the creatures simply looked down on them with glee at what they would do to them.

_Savage Slashers. Quite the nasty things. _Forcystus thought. He knew those demons were fast, so no ordinary human could escape them, and they could tear apart anything in a matter of seconds.

Alice passed some instructions to the creatures in demonic tongue. The demons nodded, with growls and grumbles, and soon darted across the plaza and the streets in the fashion of true spiders. The honey-eyed girl looked to Forcystus and smiled at him. The green haired marksman met it with a reluctant expression.

"I hope you at least told them we need the girl alive," Forcystus said.

"Oh, I know…" Alice said. Her tone soon turned malicious and her smile fanged as she giggled. "But that doesn't mean they can't have some fun with the other humans."

- / - / - / - / -

The skies started to get clouded and the sun was hidden. Colette and Maki ran across the streets, trying to flee from the Desians. They heard most people were being captured and those that tried to resist were quickly killed by the invaders.

The houses were either being searched by Desian parties or burned to the ground so nobody could use them as a hiding spot. However, the true horror had just started.

Colette and Maki arrived at the crossroads and saw a crowd of people fleeing, between them children and women. Something dropped from the roof of a nearby building in front of them. The women screamed and protected the children as the otherworldly being stood on eight, long legs, or were it arms?

The demon looked to the crowd in front of it with those yellow, evil eyes which seemed to emanate a feeling of bloodthirsty madness. The crowd immediately panicked and tried to flee. They didn't get too far as the demon crouched and leapt forward. Colette briefly saw several white lines in the air before more than half of the fleeing citizens were instantly cut down, blood flying and splashing everywhere.

The demon didn't give the survivors any time to analyze the scene before it extended its tail, the arrow point piercing one boy and one woman on the chest. The creature then turned with a screech, grabbing the nearest person and opening it mouth up in ninety degrees and put the man's waist near inside it. The deadly jaws closed and the man was snapped in two like he was a twig. The other citizens snapped out of their stupor and tried to leave, just for two more demons to land in front of them and tear the last survivors to shreds with their claws.

Colette felt nauseous just looking at the scene and Maki brought her hands to her mouth. Suddenly, Colette felt dizzy. Her consciousness faltering between reality and what she assumed could only be a dream:

_A village completely destroyed… fire… bodies everywhere… blood… a strange armor… red…_

Colette was shaken out of her stupor by Maki, who saw she was back to reality and grabbed her hand, the two running away from the scene as the demons gathered over the remains of the people and started to devour it like starving wolfs. In their frantic run, Colette and Make ended up near their school. The building was being searched by the Desians, who were forcing people out of it and turning classrooms upside down.

"Colette! Maki!" a familiar voice called and they turned to see Lilla running to them. There were some bloodstains on her dress, but aside from that she looked unharmed.

Colette and the red head were relieved to see their friend… just for their hearts to stop when a familiar, eight-legged creature landed behind the blue haired girl with a thud. Colette tried to warn her and Lilla stopped and turned, just to see the creature glaring at her with maniacal glee as it raised its sharp claws.

The world seemed to go silent as the claw cut the air. The only sound Maki and Colette registered was the soft thud of Lilla's decapitated head hitting the ground, followed by her body. Colette couldn't hold anymore and went all on four, purging the contents of her last meal out of her stomach as tears came to the corner of Maki's eyes at staring at the corpse of their old friend.

When Colette recovered, the demon had noticed their presence. The two girl's blood ran cold as they gazed into the mad, big, yellow orbs. The demon seemed to scan them for some time until its eyes locked on Colette and the creature let out some short of loud growl. Colette decided that was the cue for them to run and grabbed Maki's arm as they sprint away of the scene, demons starting to appear and coming after them.

The blonde and red head passed by several alleys, some too narrow for the demons to fit in, forcing the creatures to follow them through the roofs as they tried to grab Colette with their long claws. One attempt ended up ripping the shoulder of Colette's white dress and jacket with blue linings. But what disturbed her the most was that she could _smell_ the blood on the demon's sharp claws.

After many turns and running, the girls seemed to have shaken off their pursuers. They were now hiding in an alley that gave view to the entire South Gate plaza. There, the two could see good part of the citizens rounded up in a circled and watched by the Desians.

"Uncle!" Maki exclaimed, recognizing the mayor flanked by two Desians.

"Don't shout Maki. They might hear us," Colette said.

"I know, but…"

"Lord Forcystus!" a Desian called out.

The two girls then looked to the edge of the plaza and saw three Desians wearing different uniforms. One of them had a golden, eye patch-like device and an arm-cannon in place of his right arm. The other was a blond girl with cream-colored vests who appeared to be around Colette's age. The other was a man with blue hair arranged in a ponytail and leaning on an iron maiden besides him.

It was then that Colette noticed one Desian running to the one with the arm-cannon. Colette strained her ears to hear what they were talking. She was never gladder for her excellent hearing.

"We found somebody that matched the description, but…" the Desian started.

"Bring her!" the green haired, Forcystus, obviously, commanded.

"Right away, Sir!"

The Desian made a signal for other two that brought in…

_Mother!_ Colette mentally screamed at seeing her mother being pushed forward by two Desians. Amelia seemed to be struggling a little, but didn't seem to be intimidated or scared at being brought to the commander Desian.

"Now, now, Forcy," the blond Desian girl said. "I didn't know you were looking for a plaything. So, that's the secret mission you couldn't tell me about?"

"Shut up, Alice," Forcystus talked back. The blue haired man made a look of who wanted to jump at the green haired Desian, but restrained himself. "That's not her, though the resemblance is quite remarkable…" Forcystus mused. "Ah, yes. That's probably the mother."

Colette swallowed dry. Those Desians were looking for her. She then remembered the incident yesterday. They probably were doing it in retribution for her and Maki having invaded the terrain of the ranch. The red headed girl at her side had a look that mixed fear and guilt.

"If that's the case, can I have her? I always wanted to have a plaything, but Lord Nebilim never allowed me to get one from any of the missions I went," the Alice girl said with some glee in her voice.

"I never knew you were into girls," Forcystus commented, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Alice, darling… are you… ?" the blue haired man asked, seemed a little hesitant.

"Don't look at me like that, you two," Alice replied in a reprimanding tone. "To me, a toy is a toy. It's not like I'm going to give her flowers and take her to a date or anything," she smiled a sweet smile again. "I just wanna play with her a little. You understand, right Forcy?" she said with a baby tone that Colette found quite creepy.

"Whatever you say…" Forcystus shrugged. "Bring the woman."

Colette finally had enough. She wouldn't let them arrest her mother because of her. Ignoring Maki's protests, she rushed to the plaza, passing some Desians, who were caught off guard when she arrived. The blonde then screamed:

"STOP!"

Forcystus and the others looked at who dared to interrupt them. Amelia looked up and now showed fear at seeing her daughter coming. Forcystus showed a look of comprehension as he saw the blond girl. Maki came right after.

"Ah. So you're Colette Brunel. Am I right?" the Desian asked.

"Let my mother go!" Colette said, trying not to show fear, but her legs were shaking like crazy after everything she saw that day.

"Hahaha! And what makes you think you're in position to make such demands?" he then turned to the other citizens that were rounded up.

Forcystus threw a look at his troops. The Desians nodded in understanding and broke the circle that was barring the denizens of Iselia, going to the entrances of the plaza to block them and cut off any attempt at escape. The Savage Slashers came too, making the Desian troops look even more intimidating. Above them, lightning started to crack in the skies as the clouds darkened.

"Listen up, inferior beings!" Forcystus said for all around to hear. "I am Forcystus Hawk Shooter! One of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals, who rules over the ranches where we cultivate you pathetic humans," Forcystus then pointed to Colette. "You, Colette Brunel, are accused of trespassing our territory and attacking two of our guards. As so, I have come here to deliver punishment upon you and this city."

"You went to the ranch?" Morton said, taking a step towards Colette, looking even more enraged now that he was free from the Desians that were flanking him. "What the hell were you thinking? Didn't we tell you a million times not to meddle with the Desians?"

"I'm… sorry," Colette said, lowering her head.

"Now…" Forcystus said. "Colette Brunel shall be arrested to be faced with her sentence."

Maki's eyes widened at hearing that. Colette looked to everybody around and turned to Forcystus, saying:

"Only if you promise to let my mother and the others go."

"You don't have the right to demand such a thing from me, human," Forcystus spat the last word. "However, if you come with us willingly, I might consider," he said with a snicker.

Besides Forcystus, Alice giggled like she had been told a very juicy gossip. Colette saw she had no option and started to walk towards the Desian Grand Cardinal, but Maki stopped her by standing in front of her and spreading her arms in a protective way.

"Wait! You can't take Colette! I was the one that convinced her to go to the ranch. I'm the responsible for that!" there was a general murmur and whisper between the people of Iselia assembled. Morton looked like somebody had smacked him in the face.

"No, Maki! You can't…" Colette started, but Maki cut her off.

"It's my fault. So, please, take me instead of her," Maki said in a pleading tone.

Forcystus just glared at the red head before scoffing and saying:

"And why would I do that?"

"But…" Maki tried to reason, but Forcystus cut her off.

"Did I not make myself clear, human? Colette is the one we shall take. Now move aside!" he demanded.

Maki seemed to shake in her place and looked back at Colette who whispered a plead for her friend to stop. The red head then shook her head and once more stood in her defiant stance against the Grand Cardinal:

"No! Colette didn't do anything wrong, you don't have the right to take her!"

Forcystus seethed. They were losing time with all this bickering.

"I knew you inferior beings would try some kind of stunt, so I prepared a little something for this occasion," Forcystus said, his smirk coming back and Alice letting out an "uuuuhh".

The green haired marksman raised his good hand and snapped his fingers. At the signal, three Desians came from the direction of the south gate, dragging along something by chains. Colette and Maki gasped at seeing the creature.

It didn't give off the same aura as a demon, but it clearly was dangerous. The monster wore a metal collar around its neck, from where dangled the chains and was mostly green, with yellow sinews along its entire body. It didn't have a face, save for one red sphere in the center of its head. It also had long arms that dragged along the ground with sharp, red claws. The creature looked like some kind of plant monster, but the claws said otherwise. Colette also noticed it was wearing what appeared to be rags, but her focus came back to Forcystus once he spoke:

"Now, Colette… you will come with us, or we will release this creature on the citizens of this pathetic town," the civilians paled and cowered at that.

Colette looked from Maki to the denizens of Iselia. She wanted to help them and was willingly to give herself away to save the city, but Maki wouldn't let she do such a thing, she knew it. Forcystus seemed to get tired of it and finally ordered:

"Very well. Let's see if you're going to continue to resist once you have a real taste of what the Exbelua can do," he snapped his fingers again and the Desians that were restraining the Exbelua let go of its chains, running out of the monster's range as it let out a wail.

The creature seemed to lock its gaze on Colette and Maki. Advancing in long strides, the Exbelua raised its arm to hit them. Maki turned and threw herself at Colette to get them to the ground, before the long arm could hit them. The air agitated violently as the strong blow of the monster missed their heads.

Colette and Maki turned and saw the monster preparing to smash them with the back of its hand. The two rolled in opposite directions as the blow made impact with the earth, making Colette and Maki tremble at the mini-quake it caused. It was clear if they were hit by that creature's blows they were done for.

"Well, well. I must say I'm impressed," Alice said, looking as the two girls that tried to get away from the Exbelua. "This is quite the show you put up, Forcy. Pity I didn't bring any popcorn."

"Thanks," Forcystus said. "I've read that girl's profile and she seem to be the kind hearted type. Pretty much a puppy. Threaten her friends and she'll do everything you want."

"Sounds really pathetic."

"Speaking of pathetic…" he then shot a look at Decus.

"Should I remind you I already killed many of my race under your orders without even blink? I don't have any qualms with doing what is necessary to complete the mission," Decus said.

"Just checking. I saw your face when I brought the Exbelua," the Grand Cardinal gave a snicker at that.

"I just… rather get the job done without playing around with the target."

"Forcystus…" Alice called, now serious. "Can you stop harassing Decus? He's _my_ servant, remember? What he does or not is only of my and Lord Nebilim's concern."

"Alright, alright. Touchy…" Forcystus said.

Back to the one-sided battle. Colette fell when she avoided another hammer strike from the beast, which created impact weaves that tripped her. Maki was frantically looking around. She tried very hard not to pay attention at the Desians laughing at their torment and find something that she could use to distract the monster from her friend. She located a long twig and decided to give it a try.

Colette crawled backwards, trying to get away from the greenish creature, which was closing in and extending its claws to grab her. She closed her eyes and waited for the hand close on her in an iron grip, but only heard the sound of what seemed like a twig breaking as it hit its target. She opened her eyes again and saw the Exbelua turning its head from her to Maki, who was standing behind with the broken half of a twig in her hand.

Maki let go of the piece of wood, as the Exbelua advanced on her. Colette's eyes widened and she looked around for anything that she could use to defend her friend. She looked to the ground and, to her surprise, there was a brown, disk-like blade half-buried on the earth.

She didn't dwell too much on the thought of how that ended up there and clutched the blade, pulling it free from the earth. Turning, she saw Maki tripping and falling on her backside as the Exbelua prepared to smash her with its arm. Colette took aim and threw the chakram which sailed through the air and embedded itself on the back of the monster, making blood fly and the creature wail in pain. Colette then ran and held the creature by its waist, trying to restrain it.

"Leave Maki alone!" Colette shouted.

Suddenly, she felt like her hands were getting warm as they started to glow with a yellow light. The Exbelua wailed in pain as yellow electricity cursed through its entire body. Colette stood there, confused even when the attack stopped and the creature finally stopped moving. Smoke was coming out of the monster as it slumped and fell to the ground.

Maki looked with utter surprise to Colette, who looked back at her friend. If they looked confused, that was nothing compared to looks in the Desians' faces. Decus and Alice had their mouths agape and Forcystus his eye wide. Amelia also was dumbstruck at seeing that her daughter had dominated the monster like that.

Then, to everybody's bigger surprise, the body of the greenish creature started to glow and shrink. The skin turned paler and the yellow sinews disappeared. Claws receded and hair started to grow on its head. In a few seconds, an human body was in the place where before had been the Exbelua.

_W-What is happening? The monster… turned into a person? _Colette thought. It was then something came to her mind. She heard the Desians did some strange things to their prisoners, like experimenting. Was it possible that she had been fighting a transformed human the entire time? She then looked at the dead man's back and saw the chakram still stuck there, blood now pooling around the corpse. _But… that means… I killed somebody! _the thought made Colette's heart ache in pain and the girl started trembling once more.

Rain started to pour down as Alice got out of her stupor and walked to her superior in ranking, saying:

"Forcystus. She just…"

"Yeah. She used magic," the Desian Grand Cardinal said, clenching his teeth. "To think she has elven blood in her… that might explain why he wants her," the green haired marksman then looked at Amelia, thinking. _But I didn't sense any elven blood on her mother… wait. I can't feel anything that indicates her race. What's going on here?_

Forcystus started to feel like he had been deceived and he hated feeling like that. He finally made up his mind and pointed his arm-cannon at Colette, opening it and charging. Decus and Alice saw that and the former human asked:

"Wait. Didn't you say you needed to capture her alive?"

"If she really does have some elven blood in her, this shot wouldn't kill her. Not right away that is," Forcystus added. "Besides…" the Grand Cardinal clenched his teeth. "It seems that somebody has played me for a fool and that makes me absolutely pissed off!"

Once the cannon finished charging, Forcystus released the blast of energy. Maki, who had been paralyzed just as Colette was, looking from the human corpse to her friend, saw the Desian preparing to shoot her crush. The red head warned Colette to look out, but knew the blonde wasn't going to be able to avoid it in time. She then made a decision…

The blond girl looked from Maki to behind her and saw the swirling burst of green energy coming at her. It was then something came in front of her and was hit by the blast in her place. Once more, Colette lost her voice and all senses, save for her sight. In front of her, Maki showed an expression of surprise and pain as she slowly fell forward, the back of her shirt completely destroyed and her skin gravely burned. Colette could even see some blood running besides her mouth.

Colette's hearing came back once Maki hit the wet floor. It took her an entire minute to register what just happened and for her to run and kneel besides her best friend.

"Maki! MAKI!" Colette shouted her hands uselessly in the air near Maki as she looked all over her friend, taking some time to absorb the state which Maki's back was. It was completely burned, skin giving place to burnt muscle and sinew. In some corner of her mind, Colette knew no normal human could ever survive a wound like that, but the rest of her mind still refused to accept the fact. "Maki! Please! Don't die!"

The citizens of Iselia were all mute in awe and surprise. Forcystus cursed. Alice and Decus merely stared. Colette's tears were now joining with the rain drops as she tried to think of something, anything, that could help her friend. It was then she heard a mumble and looked at Maki's face. The red head blinked her eyes before looking at Colette.

"Colette… are you… alright?" Colette could just look at Maki as the red head smiled a weak smile. "Good…"

"Maki. Please… don't die," Colette mumbled, tears falling free as she could just plead for her friend to not depart.

"Colette…" Maki then moved her arm in the direction of Colette, her face contorting in pain from just trying to move. Colette grabbed her hand in a delicate hold. "Never… lose that smile… of ours… never… promise?"

"Maki…" Colette whispered. Maki just kept smiling at her.

"You… were the only person I knew… that made me believe… there's still hope for us… I… love you…" those were the last words Maki managed to say before she closed her eyes and her hand lost all strength, slipping from Colette's hands.

"Maki. Maki! NOOO!" Colette yelled as she lowered herself to her friend's face, crying and sobbing over Maki's corpse, her hands and clothes alright damp with the blood of the Exbelua now having Maki's own mixed.

"Damn these meddlesome humans!" Forcystus cursed, taking aim and preparing to shoot again. "At least now, you don't have anybody else to serve as a shield."

Colette looked up at hearing the Desian Grand Cardinal shoot again. She could only stare at the energy burst coming at her. She didn't find the will to move or even to look surprised or scared. She didn't have the will for anything, anymore. Just one thought came to Colette:

_At least… I'll be together with Maki again…_

However, once more, destiny seemed to interfere as a white and golden blur came in front of Colette and a hand was raised, stopping the energy blast when it made contact. The energy was absorbed by the hand, which closed once it had completely dispelled the projectile. There was a collective gasp and this time Colette looked surprised at seeing who was in front of her:

"M… mom?"

Amelia was standing there, an angry look on her beautiful and once serene face. The two Desians that had been restraining her had let her slip free in all the surprise of the last events. However, Forcystus was the one more surprised.

It was then a new voice sounded in the plaza. A warped and twisted sounding voice, like it was speaking through some kind of malfunctioning speaker and a metal helmet. A voice that came from Amelia:

"You're not going to hurt anybody here anymore, Forcystus,"

Wind started to blow as Amelia's clothes were picked up by the strange breeze. Forcystus could practically feel the power that wind carried and its origin was Amelia. He located its source coming from her neck.

_Wait… No way! How can she… ? _was everything Forcystus thought as Amelia crossed her arms forming and "X" and hunching her back as more power flared… demonic power.

The blond woman then threw her head up and let out a scream as her body shone and started to change; her skin turned a shade of poison grin, starting from the scar on her throat. Scales sprout from her legs, hands, shoulders, hips and sides of her face transforming feet and fingers into claws, ripping her shoes. Her hair shone brighter than ever until it seemed to turn into light itself. Her eyes now were two, shinning, golden spots. One single, black wing sprouted from her back, ripping her dress, its span was at least the same size as Amelia and capable of providing cover to her entire front. Her clothes feel to the floor, being destroyed in the transformation, leaving her naked in the middle of the storm, however her appearance was now far from human for anybody to notice anything other than the natural weapons in her body and the great, black wing.

When the winds finally died down and Forcystus and the others could look, they saw what could only be described as a demon. However, there was something very different in her. Her shinning hair, wing and protective stance near her daughter made her look almost like… some kind of demon angel.

_What the hell is going on here? How can she be a demon? _Forcystus thought in frustration. His visitor never told him anything about that and there was nothing on Amelia's files that indicated something like this.

Suddenly, the demon woman took a step forward and seemed to disappear from everybody's sight just to reappear near Forcystus in a blink of an eye. The Desian Grand Cardinal was so surprised he didn't even registered her hand moving at great speed and hitting him on the stomach, the scales on her knuckle forming little spikes that pierced his uniform, but weren't enough to actually draw blood. Even so, Forcystus lost his air due to the strength of the punch.

Amelia then proceeded to apply a round house kick at the green haired marksman's face. Not giving Forcystus any chance to recover, she dealt a right hook on his jaw with enough strength to raise him from the floor. She grabbed his good arm and spun him around, soon throwing him into a nearby tree.

The Desian Grand Cardinal grumbled as he tried to get up, but was surprised when two spheres of light collided and exploded on him. Amelia ran at him in blinding speed again her hand and feet shining with a yellow glow as she proceeded to kick, punch and even applied some chops on Forcystus' shoulders, side and neck. None of it drew blood from the Desian Grand Cardinal, but it was enough to keep him from countering. He was of a superior ranking and level, compared to Amelia, but that didn't mean he couldn't be shaken or stunned by her strong blows that were packed with pure, chaos energy and light combined.

When Forcystus finally was given a time to recover his breath, he looked at his opponent and saw she joining her hands, the two spheres of light she had charged on each hand grew as she joined them. Forcystus then mumbled:

"Fuck…" _This is going to hurt. _Were his thoughts before Amelia applied a double palm strike on his chest, the light on her hands slightly burning his aura as a great beam of light was released and pushed him across the plaza. The Desian Grand Cardinal was pushed inside a building by the beam, which caused an explosion and made the building fall upon him.

"Lord Forcystus!" one Desian shouted. He and the other soldiers then turned to Amelia. "You bitch! Kill her!"

The Desians and demons all ran in the direction of Amelia, who simply glared at them by the corners of her brilliant eyes. She then took a deep breath and started to sing in an unknown language. The Desians suddenly stopped and knelt, feeling like somebody had injected a great needle on them and was draining their very life force through it. Alice and Decus tried to cover their ears as they dropped to the floor and Amelia continued to sign. Her voice seemed rebound inside of their heads.

"Wha… what is this?" Decus questioned under his gritted teeth.

"It's… some kind of spell chant," Alice said, as she tried to cover her ears harder, her face contorting into pain. "I've never heard anything like this before. It's like her voice is manipulating the chaos energy even in our aura."

Colette could just stare at her mother as her song put all of the demons and Desians around under some kind of pain spell. Whatever it was, it wasn't affecting Colette or any of the humans around. Her mother's voice didn't sound so wrapped and twisted anymore, it sounded ethereal and melodic, like it was meant to sing rather than speak.

Hearing her mother singing brought back memories, memories that Colette had forgotten. When she was little, her mother used to sing lullabies to her. She didn't know what the words meant, for they were not spoken in common language. She once asked her mother and Amelia told her they were words in elven. However, the song Amelia was singing now sounded different even from the ones she used to sing to Colette.

The air seemed to be sucked in the direction of Amelia as she sang the final note, holding her voice as she reunited all the chaos energy she manipulated trough lyrics. She had put her hands over her chest as she sang and now extended them forward as if she were to receive a gift. In the palm of her hands, formed a sphere containing all of the chaos energy she manipulated with the song. At the end of the last note, the sphere shrunk into nothingness and the air around her seemed to contract and expand rapidly into some kind of sonic boom in the direction of the Desians that were slowly recovering. When the high pressure winds hit them, the chaos energy accumulated on them formed several pillars of energy, which scarred the ground in lines, consuming the Desians and reducing their bodies to nothing.

Decus and Alice were also hit, but they only suffered some injuries and were pushed back several meters. Amelia then looked around at the devastation her spell had caused; the demons had either been obliterated together with the Desians or just parts of their bodies were left. She then looked back at Colette, who hadn't moved from her spot near Maki and stared at her mother in awe.

It was then they heard the sound of rubble being moved and grunts. Amelia looked to the building that she had tried to bury Forcystus under just to see the half-demon making his way out of the rubble. He had a smile on his face as he looked at the demon woman. The Desian Grand Cardinal walked back to the plaza under the rain, saying:

"I must say… that's quite some power you've got there… and, man, a lyric spell. Just who the hell are you?" he was still smiling as he added that last part in a tone of somebody was pleasantly surprised.

"Just a mother defending her daughter from monsters like you," Amelia replied sharply in her once more wrapped and twisted voice.

"That you made quite clear. However…" Forcystus said, wiping a small line of blood coming from his mouth. "As you can see, you're far away from killing me. You sure pack some punches, but it's necessary more than that to _harm_ me."

"You certainly didn't give that impression when I was beating the air out of our lungs not ten seconds ago," Amelia replied.

"You got me with my guard down there. But now that I know what you're capable of…" he lifted his arm-cannon and pointed it to Amelia, not opening the weapon yet. "I'm not going to fall for the same tactics again."

Forcystus now grinned as he prepared to blast the Amelia into oblivion, however, before he could, he felt some kind of presence entering in his mind in the speed of light and leaving a clear, mental message: his time had ran out. He made a surprised face at the sudden intrusion. He knew demons from Lord ranking or near it could send telepathic messages to their brethren, but refrained from doing that due to the incredible strain it put the minds of their subordinates under. Generally, it was used just when you need to pass some kind of quick and urgent message.

He seethed again, lowering his arm-cannon. If he stayed, things would get complicated and he would end up having some explaining to do. Turning to what was left of his troops that had stayed at the edge of the plaza and out of the range of the blonde demon's lyric spell, he gave the order:

"Mission failed. Retreat now!" the Desians complied and picked up the few that were left alive and left. Alice and Decus got up and followed behind the troops, not wanting to stay behind and get a taste of what Amelia had put Forcystus through.

The rain continued to pour down as the Desians finally left the city. Just as the half-demons left, another set of armor clad footsteps echoed. The citizens present looked to the side to see the Martel Knights arriving in the scene. The captain of the troop, a brown haired man with a beard, approached Morton:

"What's going on? We saw some smoke in the horizon and came back to hear the Desians have…" it was then the Captain noticed Amelia who was still standing in the middle of the plaza. "A demon!" he and the rest of the Knights drew their swords, but were stopped once Morton raised his arm in front of them.

"Have the wounded treated and see what you can salvage. I'll see to this," the Captain of the Purge Inquisitors tried to protest, but Morton added. "As Cruxis' Representative, I gave you an order!"

The Captain gritted his teeth. It was true the Purge Inquisitors only answered to the members of highest position in the church and the Cruxis' Representative. The only ones that could negate their orders were Cruxis themselves. Clenching his teeth, he passed the order along and the Martel Knights went to help the wounded.

Morton then walked, not to Amelia, but to Colette, who was still knelled over Maki's corpse. The mayor stopped near her and said:

"You. Get out," Colette made a confused noise. "Get out of our city. Now!"

Colette got up in one motion, covering her mouth with her hands. Amelia walked to her daughter and said:

"Wait. She was just…"

"Shut up, demon!" Morton spat back to Colette's mother, who stopped on her tracks. "The only reason why I don't hand you over to the Purge Inquisitors is because the Faith forces me to repay my debt for you driving the Desians away, but if you push your luck I'll have no qualms with opening an exception this time. I'm sure Cruxis will understand.

"And you!" he pointed to Colette. "We gave you a roof, food and that's how you repay us? Stirring trouble with the Desians. Haven't we told you a thousand times? The Faith clearly states: _thou shall not meddle with the demon's business._"

"Morton. Please," Phaidra said, Frank following behind her as she tried to plead with the mayor. "She's just a child and…"

"Silence! I've already opened too many exceptions for your sake Phaidra. Now look at what it's done!"

"Yes. Do you have any idea how many people died because of her?" a man nearby said.

"Because of her my son is dead!" a crying mother said. Others also voiced their anger at Colette and she could identify the voices of Lilla's parents between them.

"I… I'm… so sorry…" Colette said, lowering her head as she felt more tears coming.

"You think apologies can fix this?" Morton reprimanded. "By all that you've done we should have you executed. Because of you, my niece is dead! DEAD!" Colette looked up at that and could see some tears at the corner of the mayor's eyes. It was then the reality of everything that happened hit her.

Maki and Lilla were dead and it was all her fault. Her mother was a demon, but she saved them. Even so, Amelia had to reveal herself because Forcystus was targeting her. She, Colette Brun… no, just Colette. Phaidra and Frank didn't deserve a disgrace like her. She was the responsible for all this disaster.

"You take your demon mother and get out of our city. I hereby banish you two!" Morton yelled in a tone of finality.

Colette couldn't hold it anymore and let her tears flow freely.

"I'm… so sorry!" with that, she turned and ran, crying all the way.

The crowd around only voiced their approval at seeing Colette going away and turned, starting to leave without sparing a second glance. Amelia tried to call Colette back, but Morton spoke to her:

"And you. You better never show your face around here again."

"It… it was never our intention…" Amelia said, in an apologizing tone. "I… I just wanted to give a good life to Colette."

"The only good life you two could possibly have is besides other filthy scum like you."

With that, the Cruxis' Representative turned and left. The only ones left standing in the plaza as the rain now subsided were Amelia, Frank and Phaidra. Amelia turned to the Brunels and said in her wrapped voice, with a tone of deep apology:

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused for you. If I could make time go back…" she lowered her head to them and didn't dare to look up.

Phaidra approached the resigned demon woman and put her hand on Amelia's scaled shoulder. The demon-turned mother looked up as Phaidra only smiled at her as said:

"Thanks for saving us all."

Amelia then looked at Frank, who nodded with approval. The demon woman couldn't help, but smile at the family that had helped Colette and her during the last six years. She closed her eyes as tears ran down her face, tears that resembled liquid gold.

From their hiding place, Alice and Decus peered at the scene, having hid as Colette passed near them, but the girl was so distressed she wouldn't have noticed them anyway. Alice then stood on a thoughtful pose. Decus asked what she was thinking and the honey-eyed girl said:

"I'm thinking… what could be the reason for Forcystus wanting to get that Colette girl?"

"Could she be some kind of runaway experiment? Her mother is a demon after all," Decus suggested.

"I don't know…" a smile then came to Alice as she thought of something. "Oh, I got an idea! How about we capture Colette ourselves and bring her to Lord Nebilim? She seems important, so maybe Forcy got this mission from Lord Nebilim himself."

"Yes. That way he might even forgive us for letting Emil escape," Decus said. He then reverted to his usual flattering tone as he spoke to Alice. "Oh, your brilliant intellect never ceases to amaze me, my dearest Alice," he knelt near her, taking her hand and preparing to kiss it, but Alice took it away with a bothered expression and gave some space between him and herself, trying to get out of the range of Decus' now wet form. The smell was simply impossible to stand now.

"Shut up, Decus. And stay away from me," she added. "Now let's go. If that fails, then I'll just have to keep little Colette as my new toy," she added with her malicious, fanged smile and a giggle…


	22. The three of Mizuho

Here we go back to Lloyd and Emil's group's perspective and close this part about the Iselia Incident.

July vacations are coming here for me. For those that don't know or don't have it in your country, here in Brazil we have the mouth of july as a middle-year break. Though middle and high school stundents just get one week vacation in general, college ones get virtually the whole mouth! Well, whatever works for each culture, are they say.

Anyway, here's another skit to open the chapter, with Lloyd, Emil, Ratatosk, Marta, Lumen, Sheena and Raine:

Travelers 2

Lloyd: Hey Emil, can I ask you a personal question?

Emil: Um… ok. What is it?

Lloyd: Do you like girls that are cute like Marta or mature ones like Raine?

Emil: W-what? W-why are you asking that?

Lloyd: It's just that I never had a buddy guy to talk about things like that. Plus, you and Marta have been traveling together for quite some time right? Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you.

Emil: Um… I'm… n-not really... I mean...

Ratatosk: Man, you're so pathetic. What are you, a schoolgirl? Anyway… I can't speak for this wimp, but I don't mind either. Females are beautiful, each on their own way.

Lumen: You should listen to boss. After all, he dated Celsius and almost dated Luna.

Ratatosk: If just it wasn't for that stupid, overprotective bird-brother of hers…

Lloyd: You sound like you have a lot of experience on it.

Ratatosk: More than you can imagine. If you're into curves instead of cute, let me say this: women like Sheena and Raine tend to be quite assertive about what they want. Thinking now, most women that are worth are like that.

Lloyd: Oh. So you mean Celsius led you around in your relationship like Marta does with you.

Ratatosk: I don't let her lead me around! Emil is the one that does! I, for myself, when don't want to do something I simply say I don't and that's the end of it.

Lumen: Yep. Boss is like that. He likes to be obeyed.

Lloyd: You mean he's the dominant one in the relationship?

Ratatosk: I'm a high ranking Summon Spirit, what so of course I'm not going to bow my head for just anybody.

Lumen: Um… boss.

Ratatosk: Besides, girls sometimes need to be called to reason. Not that I don't respect their feelings, but they might not see the bigger picture when it comes to…

Lumen: Boss.

Ratatosk: What? Can't you see I'm talking here?

Marta: Hello… Ratatosk…

Ratatosk: … she is right behind me, right?

Lloyd: Yep.

Ratatosk: And she heard what I said before… right?

Marta: Pretty much, yes.

Ratatosk: … fuck…

Marta: So, you like being the big dog, huh? Thinks girls should bow to you, right?

Ratatosk: I-I never said that.

Marta: Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to scold you or anything. Your head is too thick for any lecturing to sink in. So, I'll just have to bring in heavy artillery.

Ratatosk: W-what kind of artillery?

Marta: Hey, Sheena! Ratatosk said girls are sentimental and thus inferior and was saying he thinks they should be submissive.

Lumen: Is she crying?

Lloyd: No, I think its fake.

Sheena: What? He said that!

Marta: Yes… and he said if they don't hear him and ask him for anything, he scolds them and tells them they are being stupid.

Ratatosk: I never said that!

Sheena: Y-YOU CREEP! I always knew you were an insensitive jerk at times, but I never thought you were also a stuck up, abusive pig!

Ratatosk: I-I-I-I-I… !

Sheena: I'm not going to allow domestic abuse here, so prepare for a lecture in pain!

Ratatosk: No! Please! I didn't… !

Raine: What's all of this ruckus ab… oh, I didn't know a body could bend that far and that certainly might not be very healthy for Ratatosk if Sheena keeps twisting his arm and leg like that.

Lloyd: I think you are going to need to get your first aid kit Raine and maybe some Life Bottles just in case.

Raine: Definitely, travelling with all of you is quite an experience.

Ratatosk obtained the title *Dominant Spirit*

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**The three of Mizuho**

Forcystus was barely able to hold onto his anger. He was so angry that the urge to shoot something just to vent out some of the frustration was near to impossible to ignore. Good thing his subordinates knew better than to disturb him in such situation.

He was outsmarted by a demon woman and deceived. Yes, deceived. He found it simply impossible for his employer not to have known about Colette having elven blood and Amelia being a demon. He swore the next time he saw that guy's face he was going to…

"You failed," Forcystus thought that maybe lady luck had started to smile to him once more as he turned and saw the very same person that had employed him for that mission. His troops stopped at hearing the voice. "And here I was, thinking you actually meant what you said about being the most efficient of the Grand Cardinals. Seems that having a conflict-free zone has made you soft."

"SHUT UP! This is your fault! You didn't say anything about that blond woman being a demon and the girl having elven blood," Forcystus yelled, pointing an accusing finger to his acquaintance.

"I had my suspicions about the mother having turned into a demon according to what Nebilim had told me and, yes, I do know they descend from a particular half-elf. But I thought that you would actually be able to adapt to the situation and capture them. Instead, you simply played with the two," the figure shook his head, speaking in the tone of a teacher displeased with his student's latest stunt.

"So you're going to simply throw the blame on me?"

Forcystus was two steps away of transforming into his demon form and mauling the person in front of him in the bloodiest way he could think of. His former employer sighed in what sounded like disappointment and gave his back to him, saying:

"It seems I'll have to do it myself after all. You Desian ranks are just too into making humans suffer to even stop and consider the bigger picture."

At that, Forcystus finally snapped, his eyes reducing to the size of dots as he raised his arm-cannon, quickly charged and shot at the offender. However, the person soon turned half way and raised his hand, stopping the shot in a fashion similar to what Amelia had done, absorbing the energy and closing his hand to dispel it in the end. Forcystus' rage turned into surprise when the figure disappeared from his field of vision and reappeared near him, with his hand centimeters away from the green haired marksman's neck, pointing to it like he was going to pierce the Desian's throat.

The figure had a deadly, serious look on his face. Forcystus finally realized why this guy was given the command of an entire different section of the demonic invasion troops. The person then said:

"Attacking your superiors is considered treason, or did you forget that? I could report you or simply execute you myself, but…" he retracted his hand and Forcystus let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "You're from a different division, thus outside of my jurisdiction. However…" he then shot his hand to Forcystus' left before the Grand Cardinal could react and brought it up. The grip was so strong Forcystus' face twisted as he tried not to let out a scream of pain at feeling his muscles and bones being strained very near to their limits. "Attack me again, and I'll make whatever way you lost your arm look like a mere tap on the shoulder."

With that said, the figure let go of Forcystus' hand, who immediately brought it near his body as he tried to blot out the pain. His former employer then turned and left. One of the Desians that had stayed behind him dared to ask what they should do now. After two minutes, Forcystus sighed and said:

"Let's just… go back to the ranch. I want to forget this ever happened…"

- / - / - / - / -

Marta peered out of the tent she and the other women were staying in. She then pointed out that the rain had stopped. The boys also came out of their tents as they saw that she was right. Raine looked at the skies, as Ventus and Aqua appeared. Both Centurions said this would be a good time for them to go to the city.

"We're going to Iselia, right?" Lloyd asked as he and Emil starter dismounting their tent. "I've heard the city is very strict about letting outsiders in, even if they have business with the commerce there."

"Strict isn't the word I would use," Marta said as she helped Sheena and Raine with their shelter. "Those guys are downright fanatic. The city also serves as the headquarters for the Purge Inquisitors of Sylvarant."

"The Martel Knights?" Sheena inquired to which Marta nodded. "Ugh, I can't stand those guys. There was once a division training near Asgard and they stayed in the city. Thing is they _demanded _us to give them lodgings and food _for free_, since they are the forces of this world chosen by Cruxis to defend and blah, blah, blah."

"Sounds like you had an unpleasant experience with them," Tenebrae pointed out.

"Let's just say some rookie soldiers tried to convince me to accept their _faith. _I swear I would have castrated them then and there if that wouldn't have caused problems to Asgard and mother. Thankfully, Tanny and I came up with something that could pass as a 'training incident'," Sheena gave a malicious smile as she recalled the memory.

Lloyd and Emil thought it was better if they didn't ask what Sheena and her friend had done. Lumen seemed to be about to ask, but Tenebrae anticipated that and held the cheetah-like Centurion's muzzle with his hand-like tail, making Lumen only able to mumble incoherent words.

Raine called their attention back to another problem that they would face:

"Our main concern will be to pass by the test they pose on entrance to the city. I've heard it's able to pick up the signature of chaos energy. It'll already be hard to convince them to let a half-elf enter in Iselia, a chaos user half-elf would probably warrant you all an immediate death sentence."

"Even so, there must a way or Iselia would be considered an isolated city, closed off for commerce," Ventus said.

"I've heard people have to bribe their way into the city to not get interrogated by the Martel Knights," Lloyd said.

"Bribe?" Ignis asked.

"Oh, you mean like buying tickets?" Lumen asked in his typical, innocent tone. The group shot another look at the Centurion of light before disregarding his comment.

"And that's another thing I don't like about the church," Sheena said. "Speaking about salvation and redemption when they demand things like that."

"It's easier to blame the other than to accept your own guilt," Ventus recited in his wise tone.

"Hey, do you all hear that?" Marta asked. Everybody turned to her and Emil asked what she meant with that. "This… sound. Like something flying through the winds."

"Your senses are probably getting better thanks to receiving the other half of your soul," Aqua pointed out.

It was then Sheena, Raine and Emil felt four distinctive presences in the forest. One of them was above it, the chaos energy it emits making it clear it was a demon. The other three in the ground of the forest were what worried them. Emil and Raine recognized Decus' unmistakably unstable aura right next to Alice's. The fourth one, however, they had trouble making out. It was clearly a human aura, but none that they recognized.

Sheena's eyes widened. She recognized that aura. It was one she hadn't felt in six years. One she never thought she would see again. And it seemed Alice and Decus were en route to find her.

"Strange…" Ignis said. "I think I just felt a familiar aura, but I don't which one it is," the draconic-woman Centurion said.

"Wait. I know! It's…"

Before any of them could say anything more, Sheena darted out of their camp site in lightning speed without a word. The expression she had on her face told Lloyd that whatever she had sensed had greatly disturbed her.

"Let's go after her!" the red clad swordsman said. As the group ended packing everything and ran to the direction Sheena was going…

- / - / - / - / -

She stopped just when her legs had finally lost all their strength and forced her to go all on fours. Colette was panting. She looked absolutely miserable. Her clothes and hair had stains of dried blood all over while having already turned into a rusted red. Her eyes lost all gleam and her face sported just the deepest sadness.

_I'm… I'm a monster… _Colette thought. _No. A monster is even better compared to me._

When she left Iselia, her only thought was to run, run until she couldn't anymore. Run until she disappeared or something came to finish her off. Her mother, Frank, Phaidra, Lilla, Maki… all of them suffered because of her.

"I would be better off dead!" Colette spoke in frustration.

"If that's your wish, I can make it come true," a familiar giggle and baby voice sounded, making Colette stand at once and turn back to the path where she had come from.

She saw the honey-eyed, blond, Desian girl that was with Forcystus. Alice was her name, wasn't it? Right behind her was the blue haired man with the iron maiden. Alice smiled with glee as she saw Colette seemed ready to run and spoke:

"What's the problem? You looked so desperate a minute earlier. Guess survival is the most dominant of instincts," Alice said. Her sweet smile then turned into a fanged, malicious one. "After all, it was your instinct to survive that caused this entire trouble, isn't it?"

Colette stopped dead in her tracks at hearing that. Yes, it was because she fought back to live and refused to give herself to Forcystus that he launched the Exbelua and Maki ended up being killed. Alice saw her physiological tactic had effect and pressed it:

"Oh, poor, poor, pathetic Colettie," she sang. "Her best friend, killed by the Exbelua. Demon mommy had to save your back. Banished from Iselia you were. And now, everybody's sad," Alice continued singing with a visibly happy smile.

Colette brought her hands to her head. It was true. It was all true. All of that was her fault. She sank to her knees as her face showed an expression of horror and shock at having all the memories of the last events come back to her.

Alice could say she had never felt this excited at having a prey that she could do whatever she wanted with. Nebilim generally demanded her to end her targets as quickly as possible, so she never had the chance to revel in their pain, see the pathetic and shocked expressions in their faces as they begged for her to stop and have mercy. Colette was a pool of misery right now and Alice would drink and swim in it as much as she liked.

Decus didn't know what to do in this sort of situation. As much as he liked to see Alice smiling, he had to admit he was feeling jealous she did it just when she was inflicting pain on _others_. He wouldn't mind if she asked something of him. If it was her wish, he would happily strip, tie and gag himself and let her have her way with him. However, Alice never even once asked him anything like that and reserved that treatment only for their targets and adversaries.

_Oh Alice. What wouldn't I give to at least once be the one to put a smile on your face. _the blue haired man thought. It was then he was taken out of his thoughts as Alice spoke:

"Decus, patrol the perimeter and warn me if anybody comes."

"We aren't going to turn her in to Lord Nebilim?" he asked.

Colette looked up in absolute terror. These two were going to take her to the lord of all demons and Desians on Aselia. Just the thought of seeing the one that was responsible for all tragedy and suffering the world was facing made her heart stop.

"Of course we are. But I want to have some _fun _with her first," Alice said, putting emphasis on the word "fun" as she beamed a smile. Decus seemed to get a little unsettled by that.

"I think we should just hand her over at once," he said, trying not to let his jealously become too obvious.

"Don't be a Dumbo-Decus and spoil my fun," Alice protested in a pout.

"Why, thank you my dear Alice. Your compliments absolutely flatter me." Decus said in a flustered tone as he gesticulated with his hands in his typical, flashy manner.

"What part of that was a compliment exactly?" Alice asked in confusion. Sometimes she simply couldn't understand how Decus' brain worked.

"Well, it's clearly obvious that when you call me DUMBO as it's the short for Dashing, Undaunted, Majestic, Brilliant and Oh-so-sexy."

"What the… ? NO! I'm calling you dumbo because you're dumb, you idiot!"

"Ah… really? Are you sure it isn't…"

"Shut up and do what I told you!"

If Colette weren't so terrorized with the perspective of being taken to the Head-Lord of the Demonic Troops, she would have found the exchange between Decus and Alice quite comical. Decus decided to do what Alice said and save what little face he still had in front of his beloved.

Alice mumbled something about how moronic her companion was and turned to Colette, resuming her previous, gleeful smile.

"Now, where were we? Oh yes," she said in mock remembrance as she started approaching Colette. The other blonde crawled back as Alice approached.

"N-no! G-get away!"

"Resisting? And who are going to use as a shield this time?" Alice taunted with a clear piercing tone in her voice. Colette stopped at that. "C'mon. We both know that whoever defends you either end up dead or something terrible happens."

The blue-eyed blonde looked to the floor with a sorrowful expression. Why should she resist? Just for her to cause more pain and death? Didn't she just say she was better off dead? It would be better if she just let herself be caught by Alice.

"That's right…" Alice whispered, now very close to Colette. On any other situation, the girl would have scrambled out of Alice's range. The honey-eyed Desian then brought one finger to Colette shirt's collar. The finger became an ice claw as it tugged the other girl's shirt. "Don't resist. You know that deep inside…" Alice's finger ripped Colette shirt's collar, exposing her collarbone. "that you want somebody to punish you," she then grabbed Colette's face in an icy-grip as her hand transformed completely. "So, just accept your punishment and become my plaything."

Alice's face was drawing closer to Colette's, the Desian girl's lips parting as her grip on Colette's face tightened. Colette didn't react, nor tried to defend herself. She didn't have the will to do so. Not even when she started to feel Alice's teeth close to her, which she could swear now turned into fangs.

Suddenly, Alice stopped, her senses flaring in warning as she stood straight and turned, charging her whip-rapier just in time to intercept a powerful, light-charged punch from Amelia. Hadn't Alice reacted as quickly as she did, she was sure the punch would have sent her flying at least two kilometers away.

Grunting, she pushed Amelia away and jumped to the side as the demon woman assumed a protective stance near Colette. Alice pouted as she spoke, stomping her feet on the ground:

"Aw, no fair! Right on the good part too. I could almost taste her!"

"Stay away from my daughter, you sick girl," Amelia said in her twisted and wrapped voice. Her expression a fierce one as Colette behind her just seemed to be trying to regain her bearings.

"So, your demon mommy came to defend you," Alice said, recovering her sweet smile and baby voice as she spoke to Colette. "I wonder what will happen now. Hmm… oh, maybe she'll finally be killed."

Amelia looked from Alice to her daughter, taking in Colette's reaction at that line as the girl turned to her with pleading eyes. The demon woman let out a snarl as she looked at Alice again:

"So, you've played mind games on my daughter!"

"What can I say? She was just so easy. As easy as causing you all to be exiled because her mommy is a demon," Alice added with malice.

"Try as much as you want. Your words won't affect me. I did what I had to protect my little girl."

"Well, can't say I didn't try," Alice said with a sweet smile.

Amelia then stood in a fighting stance. Colette's heart jumped at seeing her mother would try to defend her again. In her mind, she couldn't let her mother continue to do that, or Amelia would end up getting hurt. She didn't deserve to be defended like that.

"Mom, stop. Stop it!" Colette exclaimed. Amelia looked back at her daughter. "I don't want anybody else to die trying to protect me."

"You should hear your daughter. After all, she knows what she's talking about."

"Shut up!" Amelia yelled, going after Alice and ignoring the calls of her daughter to stop.

Alice merely smiled as she raised her hand and snapped her fingers, two portals appearing beside her. The honey-eyed girl smiled maliciously as she said:

"Time to say hello to some old friends…"

From each portal came a Savage Slasher. Amelia was so surprised she turned when the creatures passed by her and one of them used its tail to snatch her from behind. The demon then spun on his place and used its claws to pin her on the ground by impaling on her arms and legs while the other grabbed Colette, who didn't resist, being petrified at seeing the nightmarish creatures again.

Amelia tried to struggled, but the claws of the spider-like demon kept her in place as she was left with just glaring at Alice as she pointed out:

"So, you're the one who control these creatures."

"Of course," Alice said in her typical sweet tone. "After all, what would be the use in me being a summoner if I can't control my summons?" her smile turned into a grin as she walked to the demon-turned mother. "I didn't plan on taking another toy home, but since you showed up…" Alice then knelled near Amelia, eying the demon woman. "I bet we'll have _lots_ of fun. Even if Lord Nebilim keeps Colette, I'll at least have one toy to myself."

Alice stood and was about to order the demons when she sensed something approaching fast. The familiar aura was the only warning she had before someone punched her in the face, light glowing on the attacker's fist and burning Alice's aura slightly.

The girl was rocketed to a tree and the attacker quickly drew a fan of seal cards, which glowed with light, turning as sharp as a blade, and used it to slice the Savage Slasher's head off. Amelia was freeing herself as the other demon advanced against the newcomer.

The Savage Slasher threw its claws against the guardian user, who expertly dodged the sharp claws with only some minor scratches on her clothes. When the demon tried to hug her in a death grip, the figure jumped above it and threw several seal cards on the demon that circled the creature like angry bees. After some quick hand signals, the attacker shouted:

"Demon Seal!" light bombarded the demon, burning its aura out of existence as the cards dissolved into ghost-like figures of light. The demon then dropped to the ground, its smoking and burnt corpse soon turning into ashes and fading.

Colette looked at her and her mother's savior and was faced with brown eyes and dark-violet hair. Those eyes gave a feeling of familiarity to Colette, like she had seen them before, but couldn't remember. The violet haired woman looked back at Colette and her eyes widened. Colette thought it was because of the bloodstains, but when the woman spoke, her tone suggested it was because of something else:

"It… it's really you… Colette," the voluptuous female said.

"Oh no. Not you again!" Alice's pouting tone sounded as Sheena turned to her. "Why do you and Martmart always have to get in my way?"

"For one, we're enemies. Two, I don't stand sadistic bitches like you. Three, nobody attacks Colie without having to answer to me!"

That nickname brought back a memory to both mother and daughter from before they lived in Iselia. They had been to another village. A hidden city which held an unique and interesting culture. A city they lived ever since Colette was a baby.

Understanding dawned on Amelia as Sheena charged at Alice, who looked angry at being interrupted yet again and tried to swing her whip-rapier against the older woman, just for her weapon and Sheena's card fan enter in a deadlock, elemental energy seeping around them like electricity.

Sheena brought her free hand back and Alice froze hers, the two throwing a punch at the same time, charging it with their respective elements of affinity. There was a backslash and the two were repelled backwards. Alice wasted no time in summoning a line of ice stalagmites, but Sheena jumped above it and threw her seal cards at Alice, who destroyed them with a swipe of her whip-rapier after charging it with chaos energy again.

Alice scowled and summoned more Savage Slashers. Sheena decided to get serious and entered in her spirit form as the demons advanced against her.

"Take this," Sheena raised one hand and several, spectral, seal cards made of light appeared, forming through the symbols in the ethereal rings around her wrists, and organized in a circle above her, standing in the horizontal. "Dawn Beacons!" the cards shoot light beams on the earth, forming a cage around Sheena, which started to spin and expand. The demons collided with the cage, the light burning their energies and forcing them away. When the cage expanded and spun, the beams cut through the demons, burning their auras away with the strong light.

Alice pouted again, looking at Sheena in her spirit form. It was then Decus came running. He stopped near Alice, appearing to be out of breath as he said:

"Alice, Emil and the others are coming!"

"I know. Thanks for the late update, Dumbo-Decus," Alice said, meaning Sheena with her head.

"I-I'm so sorry, Alice. I tried to get here as fast as I could, but she was simply too fast and…"

"Quiet. We're leaving," Alice cut him. She threw a look at Sheena. "You've got lucky this time, Sheeny..." Alice then looked over to Colette and smiled her malicious evil expression. "I wonder how long you will live with this walking disaster Colettie around you."

The Desian girl then stood in a casting stance, a white runic circle appearing below her. She and Decus glowed and turned into two dots of white and violet light before disappearing in a flash.

The rest of the group then arrived. The first thing they saw was the demon-looking Amelia going to Colette and immediately drew their weapons. However, before they could spring into action, Sheena shouted for them to wait. She then turned to Amelia, throwing a serious look at the demon woman.

"It's been a while… Sheena," Amelia attempted, with a smile that showed her now fanged canines.

"A... Amelia, is that you?" Sheena asked, eyes going wide in surprise.

Said woman only nodded. Lloyd and the others were beyond confused at that point. Raine decided to first check Colette, asking if she was alright. Colette nodded and Raine helped her up. When that happened, the half-elf saw the ripped collar on Colette's shirt and, in turn, her collar bone.

"What the… !" Raine exclaimed.

The Centurions appeared and approached Raine. Lumen looked at Colette and saw the symbol in her collarbone, which was impressed there like a birthmark. The Centurion of light grinned as he said:

"I knew I felt a familiar aura. Hi Gnome!"

"What?" Lloyd, Emil, Sheena and Marta all exclaimed.

Amelia looked surprised too and Raine sighed. Ventus looked to everybody around, taking in the situation, and decided:

"It seems explanations are in order…"

- / - / - / - / - / -

The group set a campfire and Amelia had finally managed to calm her daughter down, although Colette was still in a sour mood. Sheena shot worried looks every now and then to the blond girl. Lloyd and Emil were finding the suspense unbearable and the Centurions were trading ideas between themselves.

Finally Colette and Amelia sat over the campfire with the others. There was silence for some minutes until Raine decided to start the conversation:

"Why don't you two start explaining to us how you know each other?" the silver haired woman regarded Sheena and Amelia. The guardian user was the first to speak:

"You all heard about the massacre of Mizuho, didn't you?" she asked the younger members in their group, who nodded. "Well, the reports said there were no survivors, but they were wrong. There was a survivor of the massacre, or rather, survivors…" she looked at Amelia and Colette before returning to the subject. "I am from Mizuho. I'm Sheena Fujibayashi, granddaughter of Chief Igaguri, the leader of our community. My mother was the next in the succession line."

"Wait. You mean you're like, a ninja leader?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes. I was…" she gave a pause at that, which everybody understood. "Anyway, I've met Amelia and Colette roughly eighteen years ago. They were outsiders who my father and his squad found in the forest."

"We were fleeing from the demons," Amelia explained. "Colette was but a baby at the time and I was not like… this," she meant her demonic body. Lloyd and the others were surprised by the statement, but realized that if Sheena knew her and looked surprised at Amelia's state, it was probably true. "Her father died when the demons attacked and we ran to the Gaorachia Forest in hopes of losing them. However, we were almost caught, that is, until Sheena's father arrived and saved us," she flashed a thanking smile to the ninja.

"We were quite aware of the two at first and tried to decide what we should do with them, since we simply couldn't let them walk away knowing where our village was located. Itwas then Amelia here proposed to let them live in the village. If I'm not mistaken, you said you were ready to do anything to prove that you wouldn't betray us.

"Grandfather asked her why we should simply let her live in our community when she had nothing to offer in return and what could she possibly do to earn her place since she didn't have any combat or intelligence-gathering skills. And you know what she answered?" Sheena asked with a smile.

The group shook their heads and Sheena let Amelia answer as the woman said:

"I answered: 'Whatever it takes to give my daughter a place to live. Even if I have to directly put myself in the line of fire, I will do it if it will grant her a peaceful life.'"

The others couldn't help, but feel admiration for the woman. Marta had her eyes shining at the display of motherly dedication. Lumen and Ignis seemed surprised too, while the other Centurions kept a neutral stance. Raine seemed to reflect about that, lowering her head. Marta then spoke:

"So amazing… I hope someday I can become such a great mother like you."

Amelia blushed by the compliment and stuttered in response:

"I-I just said what any mother would."

"And I bet that's what convinced Sheena's grandfather," Lloyd guessed with a smile.

"It was," Sheena confirmed. "He just laughed and decided to give her and Colette a chance, lending them a cottage in the limits of the village, saying he would give her work that would provide her living, but the rest was up to them. Needless to say, Amelia took it and applied herself wholeheartedly to her work, so much the others started to ease around her and accept her.

"As for Colette, Amelia often took her where she worked, since she couldn't leave her alone in the cottage. One of those days, I was training near where she worked and Colette saw me. I think you were two years old at the time, right?"

Colette nodded to Sheena. Hearing that story, she started to recall her days in the village of Mizuho, little by little. It felt like it had occurred in another lifetime. Over the course of the story, she felt her mood getting better. She felt something stir in her heart when she saw and heard Sheena. Now she remembered that she knew her and looked up to the young woman.

"I… walked to her and asked what she was doing," Colette timidly said. "And she said she was training to be stronger. I asked if I could train too and she said when I got older I could."

"Actually, I just didn't have the heart to tell her she couldn't, since she was an outsider," Sheena admitted. "Anyway, from that day on, Colette would watch me train and spar with my instructors, always cheering on me. Amelia got really happy when she saw that, since Colette didn't have many friends in the village. My parents also didn't mind, since they were on good terms with Amelia too."

"So she's the one you told me that was like a little sister to you?" Raine inquired. The others looked at her and then at Sheena.

"Oh. So that's what Colette meant when she came home the other day calling you 'onee-chan'," Amelia recalled with a giggle. Sheena blushed at that.

"I just wanted to know who taught her that word…" Sheena whispered to herself. "Anyway, yeah, Colette pretty much acted like that around me."

"I remember now," Colette said. "I looked up to you and said I wanted to be just like when I got older. And you even called me Colie."

"'Colie'? Isn't that a dog's race?" Emil asked in confusion.

"I don't know, but she really liked dogs, so I thought that suited her," Sheena admitted. Marta, Ignis and Aqua giggled at her. "Oh, don't give me these looks. I was just seven when I thought it up."

"But what happened then?" Ventus asked.

"When Colette was around ten we started thinking about training her, since she and her mother had been living in our village for quite some time. If I'm not mistaken, my father even caught you training some warming exercises with my mother," Sheena looked at Amelia, who blushed, thought the green color of her skin and the night time made it impossible to see.

"I thought it would be interesting to know how to defend myself," the demon woman said, looking down.

"Anyway, Grandpa had to unite with the other elders to discuss the subject. They decided to open an exception and that Colette would begin with the basics in one year," she gave a pause at that. "It was in that year that Mizuho was attacked by Nebilim and destroyed."

Sheena went silent at those words and Colette felt another memory coming back at her. This one made her feel a pain in her heart. She recalled feeling it before, when Iselia had been attacked. The group didn't seem to notice as Raine asked:

"So, was it true the demons attacked you due to your support to the Renegades and the Vanguard?"

"Yeah. We were the best at gathering intel all over Aselia, so it was obvious the demons couldn't simply ignore us. I remember some things about the attack. It was a complete chaos. Father and mother took me away from the village and into the forest as fast as they could and I didn't have time to go check on Colette or any of the others.

"We were chased by the demons and the entire squad, including my parents, were killed. I was knocked out and when I came to myself I was in a wagon with Asuka, already bandaged. She said she found me in the forest and she went back to the village, but found nobody alive."

The group stayed silent for one moment, not pressing Sheena on the subject. Amelia also lowered her head in respect for her departed old friends. Tenebrae then turned to Amelia and asked about her part of the story. The demon woman sighed before saying:

"That is the reason why I… turned into this… during the attack, I tried to flee with Colette, but those that protected us were quickly killed by the demons. We found Igaguri when the entire village was already burning in flames.

"He was fighting against Nebilim," the youngsters in the group, save Colette, gulped at those words as Amelia continued. "I will never forget that smile… Nebilim was having fun tormenting Igaguri in a battle that he knew he couldn't win. Eventually, Nebilim attacked him and all I remember was that he struck his hand inside his chest and it came out with blood."

At that, Colette, felt like her consciousness was slipping away and suddenly she wasn't in the meadow with her mother and Sheena anymore, but back at Mizuho:

_Amelia hugged her daughter as Nebilim noticed_ _and looked at them._ _The red haired, demonic leader smiled a malicious smile at seeing the two and started to approach, his metal, clawed boots making his footsteps echoes in the grim scenery._

_"Just who I was looking for. Hello Amelia," Nebilim said in a soft tone, as if he was trying to attract Amelia. "So… ready to come with me? Don't worry. Your adorable daughter will come with us, of course."_

_Amelia hugged Colette with even more strength as the little girl in her arms trembled, tears coming to her eyes. She heard her mother, the elders and other people talking about that man; that he was a terrible person, responsible for all the bad things going on in the world. _

_However, what scared her more was that aura he had about him. It was so heavy it seemed to suffocate her to the point that breathing became difficult. She knew he would kill her mother and her without a second thought._

_"Come with you? After all this bloodshed you caused? Stay away from me and my daughter, you monster!" Amelia hissed._

_"That's just plain rude, coming from you," Nebilim said, adopting a neutral expression. "And here I was, thinking we could do this the peaceful way…" he then looked at Colette and the girl had to avoid her eyes from his. There was something about those blood-red orbs that made her shake to her very core. "You should know your chances of getting away from here without my protection are none. We wouldn't want anything to happen to your lovely daughter, would we?" he said with a grin, showing pointed canines._

_In that moment, Amelia snapped. She wouldn't allow that monster to threaten her only daughter. She saw a nearby fallen ninja and a kunai laying near him. She quickly let go of Colette and picked up the weapon, ignoring her daughter's cries for her not to go and lunged at Nebilim, who stood motionless, his expression now turning emotionless as he calmly saw the blond woman coming for him. _

_There was a moment of silence and then the sound of metal being broken. The point of the kunai flew in the air and stuck in the ground. Amelia could just look in utter astonishment at her stretched arm still grasping the other half of the kunai near Nebilim's right cheek. She hadn't even touched his skin before the weapon broke like it had been forced through a wall of mythryll. Near Nebilim's face, she saw a flicker of what appeared to be a barrier of flames._

_"I guess you really are _her_ daughter after all…" Nebilim said in an emotionless voice as he shot his hand up and grasped Amelia's right wrist in a powerful grip that made her grit her teeth in pain. "She would also defend her loved ones with equal fierceness. However…" he smirked at that. "it never stopped me from taking them from her."_

_"Colette, run!" Amelia said to her daughter. If she couldn't even harm Nebilim, maybe she could stall him long enough for Colette to leave._

_The little girl seemed torn between obeying her mother or staying and make sure she would be alright. She knew she couldn't do anything against the Head of the Invasion Troops, but she couldn't leave her mom with a monster like that. Nebilim shot a look at the little girl and suddenly Colette found her legs shaking, completely unable to obey her. _

_The red head then looked back at Amelia, and quickly changed his hold from her wrist to her chin, lifting her from the ground easily as she tried to struggle, grabbing his gauntlet clad arm with her hands, but to no avail. He then brought his other gauntlet clad, free hand back, the crimson crystal on its back glowing as he spoke:_

_"A pity that body of yours have been tainted so much by human blood it makes you unable to tap into the legacy of our people. However…" his smirk turned into a malicious smile. "that's something I intent to remedy now."_

_Without as much as a warning, Nebilim thrust two, clawed fingers into Amelia's throat, who could just widen her eyes in surprise and pain, unable to produce any sound. Nebilim's hand then glowed and started to pump some kind of energy into Amelia's neck by her wound. The woman seemed to have recovered her voice in time to let out an unearthly wail of pain as she felt like her insides were being burnt by pure acid._

_Colette could just observe with wide eyes as her mother started to change: skin turning green, scales protruding from hands, feet and shoulders and one, big, black wing sprouting from her back and ripping her dress. All the while, Nebilim smiled._

_The fearsome red head then ripped his two fingers out of Amelia's throat, blood flying out as the demon-turned mother fell limp to the ground. Colette could just stare at the gruesome scene, looking at her mother, or what that monster had transformed her mother into. She just came back to reality when she saw a pair of metal-clad boots in front of her. Against all the warnings going on in her head, Colette looked up and met Nebilim's eyes._

_"You see now, child?" he said in a surprisingly soft voice. However, Colette felt like something was emanating from his eyes and invading her. She felt like she was being crushed from the inside out. "This is the only thing you will meet in this world: suffering and pain…" Colette fell to her knees. Her heart felt like it was painfully shrinking, being squeezed until nothing was left. "One with a pure heart such as yours have no place here, but don't fear…" she could barely make out his words now, feeling like her mind was shutting off from the indescribable pain she felt. "I'll make it all go away…" the last thing she remembered before darkness started closing in where those blood-red eyes and the attractive, yet dangerous smile._

"Colette. Colette!" the blonde shook her head and looked at who had called her. Marta was at her side. "Are you alright? You're shaking like crazy."

It was then Colette noticed her entire body was shaking and that she had hugged herself, like she was feeling cold. She stuttered that it was nothing, but the lie was easily seen through. Amelia seemed distraught by the look in her daughter's face. Raine turned to her and asked:

"So, what have you been saying, again?"

"Oh, yes. When I woke up I was like this. Colette was next to me, paralyzed and appearing to be in shock. I also saw Igaguri's body near us and realized we were in a different location, away from the village," Amelia said.

"Grandfather probably was still alive and used one of the Guardians to transport you two away, before he…" Sheena said, but didn't manage to end the sentence. The group didn't press her.

"Well, after that, I had to carry Colette to the nearest city, since she couldn't move. We were ambushed by some monsters in the field and I was forced to slay them. It felt… strange. I've never fought before, but when I did to defend Colette in this form it was… like my body knew how to react. I felt like I could control the energy around me with just a whisper."

"May I look at where Nebilim injured you?" Tenebrae asked.

Amelia seemed a little uneasy at the request of the Centurion. The others hadn't explained to her what Tenebrae and the other Centurions exactly were, but if Sheena was traveling with them then surely they would do her no harm. The dog-like entity floated closer as Amelia exposed her neck. He soon came to a conclusion and said:

"As I suspected. Nebilim inject pure chaos energy on you, effectively casting a curse."

"A curse?" Colette asked, not liking the sound of that.

"Yes. The chaos energy courses through your mother's body, but thankfully it isn't as corrosive as a demon's blood. However, I cannot tell what side-effects it could have. Professor Sage, it would be best if you examined her."

"I will. I'm also curious about this curse myself," Raine said, putting her hand under her chin. "Maybe I might find a way to dispel it."

"Please, don't bother yourself for me," Amelia said.

"Now that's just like you," Sheena commented with a smile. "You never want to worry others even when your own life is at stake."

Amelia blushed again and decided to continue her tale, going onto that after she defeated the monsters, she realized she couldn't approach the city looking like that and tried to concentrate on returning to normal. It worked after a certain effort, but her throat wound started bleeding again. Strangely enough, it didn't bother her and soon she found the Brunels on the road.

The demon woman then proceeded to tell them Colette had been diagnosed as having post trauma amnesia and briefly resumed their life of peace in Iselia, until the most recent incident involving the Desians. She tried to leave Colette's role in that out, but Raine asked:

"And what would be the motive for the Desians to suddenly invade a city blessed by Cruxis without getting caught right away?"

Amelia gulped. She thought that woman looked smart, but it seemed she had underestimated her. Colette couldn't help it anymore and said:

"I-it was my fault…" the entire group looked at her. Sheena seemed surprised. Colette was in tears once more. "Me and a friend of mine went to the ranch… th-they spotted us and I had to fight them off. They went to the city to arrest me because of that."

There was silence at that statement. Nobody in the group knew what to say and the regret in Colette's voice made it clear she had beaten herself over it enough already. Ventus was the one to break that silence:

"Just because of that they attacked an entire district of the town and promoted a bloodshed? A simple incident like the one you caused hardly seems to be motive for a Desian Grand Cardinal to mobilize troops and personally oversee the offensive himself. Pardon my words, but something like this is hardly worth the presence of a Grand Cardinal."

Amelia and Colette looked confused at what Ventus said, while the Centurions and the others considered that. Emil then said:

"Yes, that's very strange. This kind of thing could be dealt with a cover operation to not call so much attention."

"What are you saying?" Colette asked.

"What we mean is that the Desians probably had some other motive to invade Iselia," Aqua said. "They wanted to arrest you, right? So they probably found out you're a reincarnated Summon Spirit and used that as an excuse to capture you."

"But what is this story of reincarnated Summon Spirits?" Amelia asked. "What does my daughter have to do with it?"

The group looked between themselves and decided that since the Desians probably already knew, keeping Colette and her mother in the dark would not be fair with them. Lloyd was the one that told them the whole story behind their journey. At the end, Amelia seemed incredibly surprised and Colette shocked. The demon-turned mother then asked:

"So, what's going to happen to Colette now?"

Colette looked from her mother to those strangers. She simply couldn't believe that. How come somebody that only brought pain as her be a Summon Spirit, one of the guardians of that world? It simply didn't make any sense.

"We're going to restore her powers and she'll turn into a Summon Spirit," Lumen said with his goofy grin on. "Like boss and everybody," he motioned to Emil and the others.

"You're all Summon Spirits?" Amelia asked as they nodded. "I… I don't want to sound ungrateful for you saving my daughter's life and mine, but we simply can't do it."

"What? Why?" Ignis asked.

"All that I did until now was to keep Colette safe. If she turns into a Summon Spirit she certainly will be constantly targeted by the demons. That's not the kind of life I want for my daughter."

"Really now?" a harsh-sounding voice said. Lloyd, Sheena, Marta and Raine turned to Emil and saw his eyes were now a crimson color. "And what exactly is the kind of life you want for your daughter?"

"A peaceful, happy life," Amelia answered, even though she found it a little strange that the blond boy's voice and eyes suddenly changed.

"Then you're dumber than you look," Sheena exclaimed a "WHAT?" and Amelia leaned back in surprise. "Do you really think it's possible for anybody to live a _'peaceful and happy life'_ the way the world is now. If you really do, then not even being turned into a demon has opened your eyes."

_"Ratatosk!"_ Emil protested. The Summon Spirit ignored him, weakening their connection.

"How can you say that?" Sheena said, standing up to him. "She just wants what's best for Cole…"

"What she wants is an illusion!" Ratatosk yelled, also standing. He then turned to Amelia, his gaze seeming to pierce her glowing, yellow orbs. "You think the world is going to be gentle to you simply because you want it to? Let me tell you something, this world isn't a gentle place! There are people who will use you, even if you never did anything against them. The demons will kill you simply because you are what you are and you and your daughter will be targeted anyway. Do you really still think you can have that kind of life in a world like this?"

Amelia lowered her head at that. She realized that he was right. The reason she was always on the run was because she was trying to find a place to settle down and raise her family, but her husband was killed by the demons and until now disaster seemed to be a constant companion for them. It was then Colette spoke up:

"Stop talking to my mom like that! It's not her fault!"

"When did I say that?" Ratatosk replied. Amelia looked up again and Sheena did a double take. "Man, you're all just too stupid…" he said, shaking his head. "I just said what you hope for isn't going to happen because you're simply just sitting back and waiting for it to happen," he looked at Amelia. "That's why we, Summon Spirits, are here. We're going to change this world. But we can only do so much. You need to do your part if you really wish for something to happen."

With that, Ratatosk walked away from them. The group stood agape at the Lord of the Monsters' speech. Emil was dumbstruck and blabbered through their connection:

_"You… just… what… why?" _

_I don't have to give any explanations to you. _Ratatosk replied.

Amelia stood silent at what she heard, not knowing how to answer. Raine decided that it was the time for everybody to go to bed and called Amelia to her.

"Can you return to your human form?" the blond woman closed her eyes in concentration, but after a few seconds she opened them again, saying she couldn't do it. "Hmm… just as I thought."

"Is my mom going to stay like this?" Colette asked.

"Let me see…" Raine took out her staff and pointed it to Amelia's throat. She murmured a chant in demonic and Amelia's body glowed. The scales started to recede and her hair and eyes ceased to shine. Soon Amelia was back to her human form. "I don't know for how long this will keep you human. It would be best you don't try to use your demon form before we can analyze it further."

"Um… Raine…" Marta said, seeming a little unsure.

"Yes dear?"

"Can you give her something to wear?"

Raine seemed confused for one moment, but when she looked to Amelia, she let out an "oh" of understanding. Amelia was naked. The mother's cheeks heat up in a blush as she tried to cover herself with her arms. Lloyd's face turned a shade of red deeper than his coat as he hastily looked to the side. Sheena was frantically searching for something in her bag as Marta and Colette couldn't help, but feel embarrassed and very conscious of their own figures as they looked at Amelia's.

"Sometimes, I almost forget how amusing it is to travel with them," Tenebrae said with a chuckle. Aqua glared at him…

- / - / - / - / -

The sun was barely appearing in the horizon when Colette woke up from the sleeping bag she had been in. Carefully, she tiptoed her way out of the camp so as to not alert the others that she had woken up. The blonde girl looked back one last time to her mother and the people that saved her. She sighed, wondering if that it was the right thing to do.

_Of course it is. I can't let more bad things happen to mom and Sheena already has too much to deal with this whole Summon Spirit thing. _Colette thought to herself. _They're better off without a disaster like me._

Nodding to herself again, she walked away from the camp. However, she didn't get farther than entering in the woods when a soft and gentle voice sounded behind her:

"Where are you going?"

Colette almost yelped and turned around, meeting the blond boy that had talked back to her mother yesterday. If she remembered correctly, his name was Emil. He seemed calmer and nicer now and his eyes were back to a green color.

"Um… I…" Colette mumbled, not being able to come up with any excuse. She was never good at lying.

"You were leaving, weren't you?" the question sounded more like a statement. Emil's tone was serious.

"I am," deciding denying it wouldn't work, Colette decided it was better she was honest about it. "You're not going to try and stop me, are you?"

"No," Emil said. "But what about your mother? She'll be worried sick about you and Sheena, from the way she reacted when she noticed it was you, is probably going to be heartbroken. She thought you were dead for six years."

Colette saw what the boy was trying to do; convince her to stay. She couldn't back out now.

"They don't deserve to be around a pathetic person like me…" Emil tilted his head to the side in an inquisitive way. Colette sighed and decided to elaborate. "What happened in Iselia, it was my fault," Emil was about to counter it, but Colette pressed. "It might not have been by me going near the ranch, but it was because of me anyway. I don't want mom and Sheena to suffer. My mom was even turned into a demon trying to defend me."

"It wasn't your fault. Your mother would stop at nothing to protect you. That's the sort of person she is. You're lucky," Emil offered Colette a smile at that.

The golden-haired blonde looked away, feeling awful that her mother had to suffer because of her and was exiled from Iselia, a place that had been their home for the last six years. She had to get away before something more happened.

"You don't understand…" Colette pitifully said. "everybody close to me either suffer or end up dead. Even… even the person I loved…"

Colette's voice died in her throat. She hadn't thought of Maki since she was rescued by Sheena. That just made Colette's heart ache. She wanted to hide some place far away and rot to death. Even so, Emil was still there, looking at her with those emerald orbs in an understanding gaze as he said:

"I do understand what it feels like," Colette looked up at him as he continued. "The demons found out I was the vessel for a Summon Spirit when I was still a child. They killed almost everybody that protected me. Because of it, I had to leave my family behind to protect them."

"But… they're still around, aren't they?" Colette asked.

"That doesn't mean they are safe. As long as I am alive, the demons will try to find them so they can use them against me, or my friends. I left my parents to protect them, because I knew they couldn't defend themselves should Nebilim come for them," the mention of the red haired monster brought shivers to Colette, but she refrained from showing it to Emil. "But your mother and Sheena, they're willingly and capable of defending you. Do you think it's fair to them to just throw it all away by leaving?

"Plus, think about this person that you loved. Do you think he would want you to go away just to possibly get captured or worse?"

That made Colette remember Maki's last words: to never lose her smile. Should she really just ignore it and go on to protect the others from herself? Suddenly, the blond girl didn't know what to do anymore. It was then she felt Emil put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up, her sky-blue eyes meeting his green-emerald ones as he tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"I… I honestly don't know _exactly_ how you feel, but I do know what it is like to feel like you will be crushed by the weight of everything that has happened."

Emil felt a little uneasy as he saw tears coming to Colette's eyes. He never considered himself to be very good at cheering up a girl, considering he barely could utter two phrases near them without Ratatosk stepping in to "save his pathetic face" and he really didn't know what to do to calm down a crying girl. However, Colette suddenly hugged him in quite a desperate way.

It was clear she was seeking comfort. With everything that she went through and considering the kind of person she was, Emil knew she wasn't the one to simply get up and go on after facing tragedies like this one. He suddenly started to think that maybe Marta was right when she said he was a lot stronger than he gave himself credit for. Anyway, Colette was in need for somebody that understood the pain she was in.

_"Hug her and pat her back," _Ratatosk half-whispered mentally to him, as if to make sure Colette would not hear him. Emil sent back a mental "What?" _"Isn't that how you console someone? And they say I am insensitive… just do it, dumbass, or let me take care of the situation."_

Knowing what Ratatosk's _methods_ for cheering people up were like, Emil decided to take the initiative for Colette's sake. The whole mental trade and reflection occurred in less than a minute, so Colette never noticed Emil's hesitation before he wrapped his arms around her and gave her reassuring pats on her back as she sobbed.

Unknown to the two of them, a brunette girl with long hair had been observing them and put her back against the tree which she had been hiding behind as she analyzed the scene with a sad expression…

- / - / - / - / -

"Has anybody seen Lord Emil?" Ventus asked while Amelia was cooking them breakfast. The group looked back at the bird-like Centurion and shook their heads.

"I don't remember him coming back the other night," Sheena said. "Thought Ratatosk was probably taking him somewhere to think or whatever the hell he does when the two of them are alone."

Amelia took the time while she waited for the pancakes to cook to grab the notebook Raine had given her last night and wrote down a question:

_Has anybody seen Colette?_

Before going to sleep, Raine analyzed Amelia after the blonde received some clothes to wear from Sheena. Predictably, it consisted of a plain white t-shirt with a low cut that showed some cleavage of the blonde's fair-sized bust and black pants. Amelia asked (with the help of Colette) if Sheena didn't have something a little less revealing, to which the voluptuous woman replied with a "what do you mean with revealing?". Colette's mother decided to just forget it after that.

Raine diagnosed that Amelia's transformation to demon form was linked to her wound on the throat and was activated whenever her vocal cords were stressed. That explained why at one time, when Amelia had tried to talk, she entered in demon form unwillingly. Seeing this, Raine lent Colette's mother one of her spare notebooks. The silver haired half-elf still insisted on Amelia not transforming without necessity for she still have to study a little more about it. When Raine said "study", most of the members of the party cringed and looked between themselves, worried for Amelia's welfare should Raine suddenly decide she was a "fascinating", study subject.

"Don't worry. Lady Marta went looking for her," Tenebrae said in answer to Amelia's question.

"Shouldn't we help?" Lloyd asked.

"That won't be necessary. Lady Marta's powers have been developing accordingly. She is now able to hear the whispers in the winds if she concentrate."

"Wow. So you mean if we whispered a secret she would be able to hear it?" Lumen asked.

"Like what kind of secret?" Ignis asked the Centurion of light.

"Well, like the fact she is kinda like Colie. Both have cute looks but don't have any curves and…" before Lumen could continue, he was hit on the back of his head with enough strength to send him to the ground. Standing behind him was Marta, a vein throbbing in her forehead.

"Is that another joke about my figure?" Marta said in an angry tone.

"Did you do that on purpose?" Aqua questioned Ignis, raising her eyebrow.

"What?" the Centurion of fire replied.

"Make Lumen talk about Marta when she was right behind him."

"She was?" Ignis asked, looking surprised. A sweatdrop ran behind Aqua's head.

Sheena asked Marta if she had seen Colette once the brunette calmed down. Marta sat and said in a rather sad tone that Emil was talking to Colette in that moment. The violet haired woman noticed that and was about to ask what was the matter when Emil and Colette came back.

Lloyd noticed Colette's eyes were a little red, meaning she had been crying again. The young man asked if she was alright and the blonde girl simply nodded, saying she was much better now. Her mother looked at her, clearly questioning if it was true. Colette went to her mother's side and held her hand, giving a smile to the woman. Amelia seemed to have settled down after that, for she also smiled to her daughter.

The group settled to eat after the exchange between mother and daughter. Lloyd dug in the pancakes like a hungry wolf, saying they were delicious. Sheena also commented Amelia's cooking seemed to have gotten better from what she remembered. Amelia smiled to the two in thanks.

Once Raine and most of the group were done with their meal, the half-elf brought their current situation to light:

"Now that we discovered Colette is Gnome, we will need her to come with us in our journey. However, the problem is the same doesn't apply to Amelia. In fact, it would be better if we found a place where she can hide," Amelia replied to that by writing "Wherever my daughter goes, I will!" in her notebook with a serious expression on her face. "I'm actually speaking this for Colette's own sake, as well as yours."

Amelia shot a confused look at Raine when she heard that. Tenebrae was the one to explain:

"Some of the demons that are chasing us are expert trackers. They will be able to pick out the chaos energy in your aura with ease."

"Can't we hide Colie mother's aura like Shee-luni and the others do?" Lumen asked.

"I would like to, but I know nothing about manipulation of chaos energy," Sheena said, throwing an apologizing look to Amelia, who smiled a sad smile at her, saying it was alright.

"What about you Raine?" Lloyd asked to the half-elven woman.

"Considering this chaos energy was introduced in her aura through a curse, it would be dangerous to attempt to manipulate it without knowing the exact nature of the curse. I could end up forcing her to assume demon form permanently if I committed a mistake."

The group stood silent at that. Amelia wrote that she didn't mind if she had to turn into a demon, if that was what she had to do to protect her daughter. Ratatosk was impressed, not just by the words, but also by the gleam of determination he saw on that woman's eyes. She was serious.

It was then Lloyd came up with the solution:

"How about we ask the Vanguard or the Renegades to protect her? They are already protecting Emil and Marta's parents." Raine and the Centurions looked surprised at seeing Lloyd had actually proposed a good solution for the problem. The young man looked at them in confusion. "What?"

"That was actually a very intelligent suggestion coming from you," Tenebrae jabbed.

"Hey!"

"What do you think Amelia?" Sheena asked the blonde adult.

The cursed woman thought about that. Colette then held her hand in a firm grip, passing a message through the gesture. The mother looked to her daughter, who nodded. Amelia sighed, writing in her notebook and showing to the group:

_If my presence is really going to cause trouble to you, then I'll hide. _She then added. _Just let me know that Colette is alright and promise me you all will watch over her._

"Don't worry, we will," surprisingly, it was Raine who said that, making the entire group look at her.

"That's the first time I heard something like that coming from you," Sheena said. "Generally you're all about 'not making any guarantees.'"

"I just so happen to know what it is like to be in Amelia's position."

Everybody looked at Raine with curiosity at that phrase, but the silver haired woman didn't go into any details. Sheena sighed, deciding to leave Raine's obscure statement aside and spoke to Amelia:

"Well, I am forced to agree with Raine on this. Don't worry Amelia. I swear on my ancestors that I will watch over Colie."

The blonde woman smiled at her as she wrote another sentence and showed to the voluptuous woman:

_Is that one of those Mizuho-styled promises?_

"Yep. So you know what happens if I don't hold it up."

"What does happen?" Ignis asked to her brethren.

"If I remember correctly…" Tenebrae said. "The one who breaks the promise has to shallow a thousand needles."

Lloyd and Emil gulped at hearing that and clutched their throats protectively. Marta then spoke up:

"Anyway, there isn't any Vanguard or Renegade cell in Iselia, so Amelia doesn't have to leave right now. We can take her with us to Meltokio and leave her at Cape Fortress. The Renegades established a base there."

"But... how are we going to Meltokio? Mom and I were banished from Iselia," Colette said with some sadness in her voice.

"Don't you have somebody we could contact to get a ship?" Emil asked the blond girl.

An idea came to Amelia and she was soon inscribing on her notebook. The group looked anxiously to the blond woman as she showed:

_I think I might know of a way._

* * *

Note: Yep, I think a sadist of Alice's level (at least here) would rape someone just for the fun of doing it. Doubt she didn't think of doing it to Marta, just so she could break and beat the brunette into submission, literally. But that's just my opinion.

Review, or else Alice might turn you into her new _toy _(though I think her fans might not even mind).


	23. Standing up

Before starting...

Dr. Bob: No, I didn't commit a mistake when I wrote "Nebilim". I'm not talking about the race of half-angels, the Nephilim, I'm talking about the character/name mentioned in the two ToS games; Nebilim, Dark Lord and Lord General, though I'm not sure if the two talk about the same Nebilim. (for future refence, do or check the sidequests of the Devil's Arms, which leads you to fight the most powerful sideboss in the entire 1st game, and the "Mysterious Swordman" Katz quest in the second)

Anyway... about what Alice meant... I'll leave that to your imagination. It's true you need to get into the characters mind to know how to write about them, but I don't want to get _that deep_ into Alice's mind. The outer parts are already distrubing enough, believe me.

Anyway, here comes the chapter that will close the group's passing in Iselia, though we might return to it some other time, you never know.

Oh and also, a surprise: next chapter a character that I'm certain many of you have been wondering what have been doing during all of this time will appear.

Ten cookie points to whoever guess who it is!

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Standing up**

Lloyd and Sheena approached the entrance of Iselia's south gate. The signs that it had been busted open were visible, though the guards tried to give off the sensation that everything was still in order. Lloyd was a bit nervous while Sheena was calm.

"C'mon, no need to look like that. You're with me and I'm not going to let them do anything to you," Sheena tried to reassure her love interest in her calm voice.

"Isn't it generally the other way around?" Lloyd asked.

"I don't know, but why are you so nervous anyway? It's pretty simple. We're going to bribe our way in if they suspect anything and open the sewer gate near the west end of the south wall for the others to enter. Piece of cake."

"Wait, wait. What was the part about the sewer?" Lloyd asked, seeming confused.

"You weren't paying attention when Raine was talking about the plan, did you?"

"Well, with the way she explained it I started to get sleepy. What's up with that woman anyways? Can't she use normal words like any other person?"

Sheena sighed. She truly did love Lloyd, but his short attention span would be his fall someday. The two then approached the gate guards, who, like Amelia and Colette had told them, asked what their business within the city was. Sheena spoke:

"Me and my boyfriend here are visiting an old friend. He works in a boat workshop here," Lloyd tried with all his strengths not to blush when Sheena said it. That line wasn't in the plan.

"His name?" the guard simply asked.

"Frank Brunel."

"Wait a moment."

The guard then gave signal for an armored soldier to come. This one brought some kind of device in his hand which he passed near Lloyd and Sheena. Once the analysis was complete, the other guard reported:

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with them, but it did pick a strange energy though…"

Lloyd looked to Sheena, but the ninja was as calm as before. It was just as Raine said. The device wouldn't be able to categorize them due to their Summon Spirit aura. Sometimes, Sheena really hated when that woman was right.

"Look, we're kinda in a hurry. Is this going to take long?" Sheena asked in an impatient tone.

"Hold on. The Accuser doesn't seem to be able to classify you," the guard said.

"But that doesn't mean we're demons, does it?" Lloyd asked.

"Maybe not, maybe yes."

Sheena faked a sigh.

"Does this _demonstration of faith _convince you that we are devoted to Cruxis?" Sheena asked, showing a bag full of gald for the guard. The armored man besides him immediately took it and seemed to weight the content. He smiled to the other, who nodded.

"Alright, you can pass," the gate guard said with a smile on his face.

After Sheena and Lloyd left the gate behind, entering in the south district, the two commented:

"I can't believe that actually worked. I never thought that the church could be like that," Lloyd said.

"Honestly, I expect anything like that coming from those guys. They once tried to stage an investigation on Asgard to brand it as a 'heretic community'. The mayor and mother had to unload a huge amount of cash when the inspectors started to get cranky because we had half-elves in the city."

Lloyd stood silent at that. He was never really faithful to Cruxis to begin with, but he never thought the church was that corrupt. Threatening good people just so they could get some extra money.

_It's because of people like that that the world is in this state. _Lloyd thought, closing his fists.

As the couple walked into the district, they noticed that most houses were being rebuilt and the people had a somber expression on their faces, they were still recovering from the recent attack of the Desians. Lloyd and Sheena then took a turn near some buildings and walked between the houses near to the wall that surrounded the city. Between the houses and the wall was a depression and on its bottom were some pipes. They followed those pipes and found they passed under a steel gate on a thicker section of the wall.

As Amelia said, the gate was locked, but Sheena was quick to pick the lock and open it. She then motioned for Lloyd to come as the young man smiled at her abilities. The two entered in a small tunnel, which forced them to walk crouched.

"Is picking locks a ninja ability too?" Lloyd asked, conversationally.

"Not really, but it's very basic. The ideal is you would just need it to arrive where you want and not to free yourself from a jail cell. For a ninja, being caught means death," Sheena said.

"Sounds kinda harsh," Lloyd said.

"Believe in me, it is. The life of ones that works in the shadows isn't easy Lloyd. Not everybody can manage the kind of life that we had. We're trained since we're kids to be strong, fast and to completely hide our presence even from those with spiritual sensitivity."

"I suppose you couldn't teach me some ninja techniques, could you?"

"What? You want to learn my people's fighting techniques?"

"It's just that you're very fast and everything. I think I could become much stronger if I knew how to fight like that," Lloyd scratched the back of his head at saying that.

"I don't think that would work for you, Lloyd. You're more of a frontline fighter; a fencer. I'm pretty strong alright, but that's mostly thanks to my manipulation of light. Take that away, and I don't have much to fight with," Sheena said. "Besides, we can only teach our secrets to those that belong to our clan."

Lloyd lowered his head in disappointment at that, but his curiosity picked up again and he asked what Sheena meant with that. The ninja started to explain:

"Well… you know. To make a person apart of our clan, he or she could… like… try marrying someone from our village," Sheena said, founding that the topic wasn't that easy for her to discuss. Asuka never talked about marriage with her.

"Marrying… you mean…" Lloyd then blushed as he caught on what she said, his mind wandering on how Sheena would look like in a wedding dress.

_Stop that! We're not even dating yet. Besides, who has the time to arrange a marriage nowadays? _Lloyd scolded himself.

The two then arrived at where the tunnel made a sharp turn to the right. There was another opening in the wall, this one leading to the forest at the foot of the mountains at the east of Iselia. Sheena again picked the lock and made the signal for their friends to come. Emil, Raine and the others appeared while the Centurions materialized in plain sight.

"So, how are we going to sneak in with Colette and Amelia? The two might be recognized by the townspeople," Emil asked.

"Leave this to me," Tenebrae said.

"You? What are you gonna do?" Sheena asked.

"Just watch," the dog-like Centurion said in a proud tone of voice.

Tenebrae floated over Colette and Amelia and hovered his tail above them, showering the two with energy of darkness. The blondes closed their eyes as they were enveloped in a cloud of the dark element. When it cleared, mother and daughter opened their eyes and looked at each other in surprise.

Amelia and Colette's golden-blond hair was now a violet and chocolate color, respectively. Their eyes also changed color to wine-red and brown. If it wasn't for their faces and clothes remaining the same, Lloyd and the others might have thought Tenebrae had replaced the two with other people. Colette read in her mother's eyes something that resembled "amazing".

"You… transformed them?" Marta asked.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about T-dark one thousand faces," Lumen said.

"One thousand what?" Marta asked.

"That's one of my several talents, Lady Marta. As darkness is an element which doesn't have a fixed form and is very malleable, I too am able to transform into several forms or, as my powers are returning, transform others. That is, if they give me their permission," Tenebrae said with pride in his voice.

"That's incredible Tenebie! You're truly an amazing doggie," Colette said, clapping to the dog-like Centurion happily.

"'Tenebie'?" Lloyd repeated.

"Uh, sorry, but my name is Tenebrae, Lady Colette. Not Tenebie, neither doggie," the Centurion of darkness said.

"Oh. Ok then. Tenebie it is then," Colette said with one of her typical radiant smiles.

"Tenebrae."

"Hey, you two! We're gonna leave you behind," Marta called from the entrance of the tunnel as the others had already entered.

"Coming. Okay, let's go Tenebie," the now chocolate haired girl said, running to catch up with the others.

"Tenebrae!" the Centurions of darkness called, although she hadn't heard him.

- / - / - / - / -

When the group arrived in the city, the Centurions hid away from view (though Tenebrae didn't stop mumbling as Lumen now used the nickname Colette had just given him). Amelia and Colette guided the group in the direction of the docks, taking care to not call too much attention.

However, when they entered the central district, the group noticed a big commotion near the Cruxis Cathedral, a great structure built of polished, white stone and several windows with murals depicting angels fighting demons. Amelia squeezed her daughter's hand as Colette nodded to her. The rest of the party stood curious at what was happening, until Colette said:

"Let's find a place at the edge of the plaza, so they won't notice us."

"Why? What is happening?" Emil asked.

"A public sermon. If we're seen anywhere else while it's happening and the Purge Inquisitors find us, they will question us. It's law that everybody, even travelers, has to attend to the public sermons when they are held."

"What kind of law is that?" Sheena asked in disbelief.

"Actually, this is one of the reasons why Iselia is regarded as the strictest of the cities protected by Cruxis," Raine said in a lecturing tone. "There are variants of this law in other cities protected by Cruxis, such as mandatory attendance to Sunday's sermons."

Lloyd and Sheena thought that was crazy, but knew if they voiced their opinion and somebody else heard, they would probably be maimed by an angry mob. Whenever Cruxis and the church were involved, most people tended to be very touchy in regards of following its orders and teachings.

The group found a place near the edge of the plaza and stood near one of the buildings. The entire plaza was crowded, like the entire city had come to attend the sermon, which was a very likely possibility. All attentions were turned to a great stage mounted near the entrance of the cathedral.

Colette and Amelia saw the mayor in the stage, his face expressionless and serious, just like every other time when he took his place near the heads of the church. However, there was a heavy air around him. It seemed he was still grieving the death of Maki. Phaidra was nowhere to be seen and, for one moment, Colette felt guilty that Phaidra may have been forced to retire because of her.

A relatively young priest walked to the podium mounted on the stage and made motions with his hands for the crowd to stop talking. Soon all conversations died down and the plaza was silent as the citizens of Iselia waited for the priest to start the sermon:

"_Every man lives carrying the weight of their sins. All men are born already carrying the sins of the past generations._ Those are the words passed down to us by Cruxis. It is true that we live in a world that reflects the consequences of our actions and the actions of our ancestors. To change this world, we must atone for the past sins of our ancestors.

"To reach atonement, we must follow the only and true path to enlightenment, the path set to us by the Faith!" the priest said, elevating his voice. "Temptation is at every corner, the demons will try and make us stray away of our path to salvation, be it by sending their agents to delude us or corrupting those near us.

"Remember: each and every one of you must not falter. The failure of one will affect its family, its community as a whole. Do not hesitate to take down those corrupted by the demons, for they will not hesitate to take you with them in the path of damnation. Follow the path shown to us by the heavenly saviors, Cruxis, and we all shall…"

The priest suddenly stopped speaking, for in that moment lights started to shine from the skies, bathing those in the stage and part of the crowd in its glow. Amelia and Colette looked surprised. They never saw that happen before.

A sphere of light came down from the lights in the skies. It seemed to absorb the energy around and emit it back in a pulsing flash, blinding most of the people present. When the light died down, many gasped and let out "oh"s of admiration. Lloyd, Marta, Sheena and Colette had their mouths agape. There, hovering a few feet above the stage was a figure garbed in a green robe with golden details and white wings; an angel.

Raine looked surprised too. She had never saw one of Cruxis' agents and had to use all of her will power to contain her curiosity at seeing the being. Amelia looked as shocked as the youngsters. Emil, however, was shaken out of his stupor when he heard Ratatosk speak on his mind:

_"So that's an angel? Interesting…" _the tone of the Lord of the Monster's voice was strange, like he was musing. Emil wanted to ask what he meant with that, but the angel started talking at that moment:

"I am Remiel. I am one of Cruxis' Oracles and its voice," people started to bow to the heavenly appearance. Even the members of the church and Morton bowed before the angel. Emil and his group decided to follow the suit, though they merely crouched in the ground to not appear suspicious. "I have come here today to announce that it has come to Cruxis' attention that some of our most devoted followers were sheltering an agent of the demons."

Amelia swallowed dry at that. They were talking about her. She prayed that the angel would be merciful enough not to punish the city because of her. Many people seemed to exchange glances from their positions too. Remiel continued:

"However, it seems you were not aware of said agent's true identity, so we of Cruxis decided to be merciful on this fault. But, the infiltration of one of the demons' followers can only mean you mortals have been faltering on your commitment to the teachings we passed down to you."

"But… great angel, we weren't…" one woman in the crowd tried to say, but Remiel continued to speak, ignoring her.

"As such, Cruxis decided that from now on, we shall keep a closer eye on the communities under our blessing. The demons are everywhere, under different disguises and even though our protection prevents their most powerful agents and armies from attacking, that doesn't mean the ones that succumbed to the temptation of their powers will be kept out.

"If you truly wish for the salvation of this eroding world, you must devote yourselves entirely to atone for the sins committed by your predecessors during the war. We Cruxis will do our part and hunt down the agents of the demons infiltrated in the communities that pledge themselves to follow our words. You must do yours and entrust your lives to us, which we shall protect, but we can only do so if you can devote yourselves truly and entirely to the path of atonement and enlightenment."

Remiel spread his arms as he spoke that last line and, with that, transformed into a small sphere of light and shot to the skies, leaving ethereal, yellow feathers behind. The crowd finally got up and the priest resumed his speech, which he seemed to have cut short to reinforce the words of Remiel.

After the sermon was done, people went back to their daily chores, all commenting about how they had been graced with the presence of Cruxis' Oracle, though most also commented it had been because they had been sheltering "that Amelia demon". Said woman looked down in sadness. Colette did too.

"Hey. Don't let their words get you two down," Lloyd said, offering a friendly smile. "Anyway, who knows if that angel was really talking about you."

Colette and Amelia knew that was just wishful thinking on Lloyd's part, but both smiled to him in appreciation for his feelings. Marta decided to change the talk to a less stingy subject:

"You know, it's kinda funny that though you two are with a different appearance, you still look just like before," Amelia and Colette tilted their heads in confusion, the latter asking what she meant with that.

The group finally arrived at the staircase to the docks. Raine suggested they booked rooms in one of the Inn's nearby first. They nodded and went to a two story building. When they entered a door bell rang and a man with graying hair appeared in the counter.

"Yes?" he asked

Raine approached and spoke, while tipping her travel, adventurer hat lower:

"We would like to rent some rooms for…" she never got to finish, because when the man's eyes fixed on her silver hair and facial features, his gaze switched from inquiring to one of absolute terror.

"A-a-a… half-elf!" the clerk spluttered. "What's a h-half-elf doing here?"

"Oh-oh…" Colette let out.

"G-guard…" the man stopped mid-sentence and his eyes rolled to the back of his skull as he slumped forward over the counter, unconscious. Behind him stood Sheena, her arm still poised after the attack she applied on the man's neck.

"Let's get out of here before anybody else comes," Sheena said in a commanding tone.

The entire party exited the Inn and went down the stairs to the docks, getting as far away from the scene as they could. When they decided they were at an acceptable distance, Lloyd was the first to speak:

"What the hell was that? Did you really have to knock him out like that?" the swordsman asked as he turned to Sheena.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to get locked up for interrogatory by the Martel Knights."

"I should have expected that kind of reaction. I'm sorry, I was careless," Raine said. Sheena was really surprised to hear those words coming out of the older woman's mouth.

"There's no need for that," Colette said. "We should have warned you about how the people here view half-elves, I'm sorry."

"Ok, now. You all stop apologizing, it's no one's fault," Marta said in an assertive tone. "Some people are just like that towards half-elves. And considering the Desians just attacked the other day, they probably are still very wary."

"Yes… you're right," Colette said, lowering her head. "I'm sorry."

"Wait. I-I didn't mean it like it's your fault or anything."

"Pardon me, but shouldn't we go on our way to meet Amelia's acquaintance who can loan us a ship?" Ventus inquired while still hiding away of view.

The group nodded at him and stopped all the chatter. Lloyd was still mumbling something about how that guy treated Raine like she was some kind of demon. Said half-elf tried to not pay too much heed to that, trying to act regal as always to hide her blush. She would never get used to Lloyd defending her.

They arrived near a big, boat hangar, which was beside what looked like a workshop. Raine said she would wait for them outside to not cause any more trouble with the locals. The group simply nodded to her as Raine tipped her hat lower to conceal her elven features.

The group entered the workshop and Sheena went for a bell in the counter and ringed it. A brawny man in a sailor attire appeared, asking what was it. Sheena asked:

"Could we speak with Frank Brunel? He works here right?"

The sailor replied with a grunt-like "yes" as he yelled for Frank, going back to the depths of the workshop. Frank came, cleaning his hands with a rug as he greeted the newcomers with a smile:

"Hello. How can I help you?"

"Hi… dad," Colette said.

Frank looked at the girl for a moment. Realization seemed to dawn on him as his eyes widened. He looked around, making sure nobody was paying attention to them and asked:

"Colette? What… what happened to you?"

"It's just a disguise, don't worry," Sheena said.

"And you are?" the blond man asked.

Colette presented the whole group, saying they were friends who saved her from some demons when she was banished from Iselia. Amelia chose that moment to take out her notebook and inscribed in it:

_We need a favor._

"Not here, let's go outside," Frank said.

The group exited the workshop and saw the sun was already setting in the horizon. Frank was about to ask what Amelia wanted when Colette decided to ask first, not being able to hold her curiosity any longer:

"Da… I mean Frank. Is Phaidra doing alright?" Colette decided she didn't have the right to call them family anymore, after everything she caused. Frank sighed.

"I'll be honest; things aren't easy since you two left. Nobody on the church is openly blaming Phaidra for sheltering a demon, but you can feel the tension every time she interacts with one of the priests. I think it won't take too long before they finally decide to 'ask' her to 'consider' retiring."

Amelia and Colette lowered their heads with a pitiful expression on each of them. Frank's heart ached at seeing mother and daughter like that and quickly added:

"But it's not like we blame you or anything. Besides, it was bound to happen one day or another. The heads at the cathedral already didn't like the way Phaidra preached about the Faith, always saying she's too soft to actually occupy a position of such power as high priestess."

"What a bunch of narrow-minded jerks," Marta said with an angry expression. "So, just because somebody does something different from the way they do, they find they have the right to fire the person."

"That's the way the church is. They say sometimes changes can make people rebellious."

"Wait. That Desian Cardinal Magnius once said something like that," Lloyd pointed.

"Don't let them hear you say that, or you might be arrested by the Knights for heresy."

Emil decided to get back at topic and asked Frank if he could lend them a boat for them to cross the sea to Meltokio. The blond haired man took some seconds to think. Colette and Amelia thought he might reject their request, since they were causing so much trouble for him and his mother, but Frank said:

"A friend of mine owns a boat big enough for you all to fit in. I think I can convince him, as long as you maintain your disguises."

_No problem. And thanks a lot, Frank. _

Amelia wrote on her notebook with a smile.

"It's nothing. And, Amelia…" the woman looked at the boat craftsman with inquiring eyes as he continued. "I honestly don't think that you are really a demon and neither does Phaidra."

"She isn't. She was cursed by Nebilim," Emil said.

"Nebilim?" Frank said with fear on his tone, a common reaction whenever the name was mentioned to somebody. "Really?" Amelia merely nodded her head. "What did he do to you?"

"Raine could explain that better and…" Lloyd started and looked around. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

- / - / - / - / -

_Today definitely isn't my day. _Raine thought as she was shoved to the wall behind her, her travel hat dropping from her head as three armored man glared at her.

From the smell of alcohol coming from them, she could tell they were drunk. However, it was the design of the armors they wore that was her biggest worry. The green and golden armor had the symbol of the Cruxis Church on it, meaning they were part of the Martel Knights. And to just top all of it, the guys seemed to have thought it would be fun to go around town with one of their chaos-detecting devices, the Accuser, and discovered she was a half-elf. Raine was really close to utter a swear which would make Ratatosk proud.

"So, you half-elven bitch thought it was a good idea to stroll around our city, heh?" the head of the trio of Martel Knights said. "So it wasn't enough all the destruction you cause the other day, heh?"

"I don't recall being here the other day," Raine replied back, her face a mask of neutrality. She faced situations like this before and knew how to proceed. "Are you sure you're not actually so drunk that you decided to go around finding culprits for you own ineptitude at defending this city?"

"Shut up! We know you are a Desian, whore!" he then brought out the device, which was beeping like crazy. "The Accuser is never wrong and it is detecting demonic energy coming from you."

"If that is really true and I am a demon, then you all should know better than to come at me like this. Don't you fear for you lives?" Raine said. She didn't see any point in correcting them about who she was, they wouldn't listen. Besides, she was never one to lecture ignorant pigs who had a very short sight about how things worked.

"Oh, iz 'at a confezion?" one of the other Knights drunkenly asked.

Raine didn't answer that, instead she released the spell she had been charging. A great pool of chaos energy appeared at the feet of the three knights and sinew-like tendrils of energy shot out of it, wrapping around the knights. However, in the next instant several of them were dispelled as their energies were burnt out of existence. Raine was surprised to say the least.

"Nice try, scum," the head of the group said. "But our armors are blessed by the angels themselves. Your demonic tricks are useless."

Raine simply couldn't hold it back anymore and cursed her luck. She should have seen that coming. At least, they were in a less populated area of the city and it was night, so nobody was around to see the scene. The three Martel Knights drew their swords preparing to kill Raine.

"Any last words, Desian bitch?" one of them said.

"Pathetic…" a new voice sounded. The knights turned around on their heels. Raine also looked and saw a boy at the other end of the street they were in. "And you actually call yourselves protectors? You humans are so self-conceited."

Raine saw the boy's aura and found he was a half-elf, his speech confirming her suspicion. The boy reminded her a little of Emil and maybe a masculine version of Colette, but his blond hair was of a darker tone than the latter and his voice and eyes were different from the former. His eyes seemed to almost glow in the night.

"What was that, brat?" one of the knights asked.

"What? You have hearing problems too? Then let me say it loud and clear for you, ignorant fool…" the half-elven boy replied.

Raine couldn't tell if the half-elven young was brave or just foolish by defying the Purge Inquisitors like that. Didn't he see that magic attacks were useless against those armors of theirs? However, the way he glared at those men, like they were nothing, but the most disgusting kind of filth he had ever seen, made her wonder what exactly the boy had in his mind.

"That's it! You're going to get arrested for heresy smartass! Right after we deal with this half-elven scum here," the knight said, turning to her.

"Touch her and I'll make the demons look like saints to you," the boy replied in a cold, threatening tone. Raine had already heard that tone. The boy intended to carry out that threat.

"What? You wanna die?"

"On the contrary…" the boy said, closing his eyes for a brief moment before snapping them open. "The only ones that will die are you."

Raine felt a slight change on the boy's aura as the Martel Knight decided they had enough of being insulted and lunged at the boy. Raine felt torn between shouting for the boy to run or flee the scene herself. Before she could decide though, something occurred.

The soldiers were close to the half-elven boy, when he suddenly moved in great speed, passing the knights with his arms stretched at his sides. Raine was so impressed by the move she didn't register what he did before he stopped at the back of the knights, who seemed frozen on their spot. The boy smiled and suddenly blood spilled from the three men as they fell to the ground, several gashes on the gaps of their armor.

_How… ? A hidden blade? Even so he hit them expertly on the weak spots of their armors, so this boy must be somewhat experienced in combat. _Raine thought. Her mind was working at full steam, trying to come up with an explanation for what she had just witnessed.

The boy then turned to her and she could see his expression was neutral and somewhat concerned as he approached her, asking:

"Are you alright?"

"Yes… I'm fine…" Raine said. She saw her hat resting on the floor and went to take it. Placing the accessory on her head, she then turned to the boy. "What did you just do to them?"

"Nothing that these pigs didn't deserve," the boy replied coldly.

By looking at the quantity of blood that gathered around the knights, Raine knew they were probably dead. And from the way the boy spoke, without an ounce of regret on his voice, Raine could tell it wasn't the first time he killed somebody.

She was about to ask more when she heard Sheena and Lloyd's voices. Turning, the two half-elves saw the couple coming to them. Lloyd was the first to notice the blonde near Raine and spoke:

"Mithos, is that you?"

"Hello again, Lloyd," the half-elven boy offered, his tone now lighter and sounding more like the prepubescent he appeared to be.

"You two know each other?" Raine asked.

_Well, if Raine is seeing Mithos too then that means I wasn't hallucinating the other times I met him. _Lloyd thought.

Sheena looked at the three dead knights and the blood on the concrete. She looked back at Raine and asked what happened. Mithos was the one to answer instead:

"Raine was being assaulted by those bastards and I finished them off."

"You… did this?" Lloyd asked a little uneasy at hearing Mithos' cold tone.

Sheena looked back at the corpses and then at Raine with a look of who asked for an explanation, Raine sent her back a look that said "later". The ninja then looked to Mithos and said:

"You do realize what will happen if they discover you did this."

"What? Are you going to ditch me to them even though you have some of our blood?" Mithos countered.

"No, I just…"

"As far as I know, you three are the only witnesses here. Are you just going to give in to your urge for acceptance just because…"

"Mithos," surprisingly enough, the warning tone came from Lloyd. "I know and I understand that you don't like humans and all, but accusing Sheena for something she didn't even do doesn't make you any better than them."

Mithos looked like he was about to talk back, but he held himself for a moment, as if thinking. The half-elven boy then sighed. Sheena felt her insides get warm when she heard Lloyd defending her like that. She always found it aspiring how he defended his friends. Mithos turned to her and said:

"I'm… sorry… for accusing you," though his tone made it clear he didn't really regret what he said.

"Actually, I shouldn't have said all of that," Sheena said, deciding to give in just this once. After all, the boy had just saved Raine. "I apologize."

"Good. Now could you please introduce yourself and tell us how you know Lloyd?" Raine inquired.

Mithos looked from Raine to Lloyd, saying:

"So she's the half-elf friend you told me about," Lloyd gave a smile as he scratched the back of his head. Mithos shook his head as he also smiled. "I'm Mithos. Pleasure to meet you," he said to the two females, offering a smile to Raine and a polite look at Sheena.

"Professor Raine Sage," Raine said, offering her hand to Mithos, who shook it.

"Sheena Fujibayashi," Sheena said, doing a polite bow.

"What are you two doing here, by the way?"

"We came looking for you, Raine," Lloyd said. "When we didn't see you in the docks, we thought you were in trouble," he casted a brief glance at the remains of the three Martel Knights. "And by the looks of it, you were."

"As you can see, I'm fine."

"Yeah. Thanks, Mithos."

"That… was nothing," the younger half-elf said, appearing to be a little flushed by being thanked. "I just did what any other, decent half-elf would do for his sister-in-blood."

That phrase made Lloyd look again at the men Mithos just single-handed killed. He didn't even want to wonder what would happen if the blonde hadn't arrived in time. He wondered what would drive people to kill a half-elf who did nothing to them. Looking back at Mithos, he remembered the boy's words from before, on their second meeting:

_"The ties of hatred between our two races are stronger than those of friendship…" _

It made Lloyd's stomach curl whenever he realized how true those words were. Raine was the one to make the red clad young man come back to reality once she said:

"We should meet the others and let them know I still alive," there wasn't a hint of humor in Raine's voice, like she was just stating the truth on the situation. An attitude that showed she wasn't fazed by the recent attempt at her life.

"You mean, your other traveling companions?" Mithos asked.

"Yeah. I bet they will like you when they hear that you just saved Raine's life," Lloyd said.

Mithos smiled to him as they started walking to where the others were. During the walk, Raine decided to question her fellow brethren about the motive for him being in a city that viewed half-elves negatively such as Iselia. Mithos answered:

"I'm looking for somebody and I think they passed through this town."

"Is that why you were at Izoold and Hima?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah. I think I might have found a clue about them."

"Are you looking for a family member of something?" Sheena asked.

"You could say that..." Mithos said in a kind of ominous tone that only Raine and Sheena caught.

"Oh. Then maybe we could help you find them," Lloyd offered, but Mithos shook his head, saying he didn't want to be a bother for them.

Before Lloyd could reply, they heard Marta calling for them as the rest of the group approached them. Lloyd waved for them and was about to talk to their other friends when suddenly Colette's and Amelia's bodies glowed and their disguises were dispelled, Amelia also turned into her demon form out of nowhere, the chaos energy dormant in her aura flaring as her body grew scales that ripped part of her clothes.

The entire group's eyes widened at that. Emil let out an "What the... ?" as Amelia frantically looked around, seeming confused as she spoke in her twisted and wrapped voice:

"I-I didn't do anything, I swear! I-it wasn't my intention to transform..."

"Forget about it! Go back to your human form before somebody sees you!" Marta alerted, as she and the others tried to shield Amelia's form from view, however, it was useless due to the woman's great, black wing.

"I-I'm trying... b-but I can't!" Amelia said as she tried her hardest to concentrate, but it wasn't working in the least.

"Oh, for the love of..." Raine muttered as she stepped towards Amelia and pointed her staff to the cursed woman's throat. She found some resistance from the curse, but eventually managed to make Amelia go back to human form. Luckily, Sheena's shirt survived the transformation, although it had holes in the shoulders and back and part of the pants Amelia had been wearing was ripped. Her shoes were completely destroyed in the transformation.

Lloyd, Sheena and Colette let out a sigh of relief. Lloyd then looked back to Mithos, but the young blonde was once again gone. Raine and Sheena also noticed that and the ninja showed a worried expression as she asked:

"Do you think he got scared of Amelia and ran away?"

"Strange... I thought I sensed some kind of energy, like a spell being cast, but it was too fast for me to pick it up," Raine said, her hand on her chin in a thoughtful manner as she looked at where Mithos had been. "I think someone is following us. We should hurry and find someplace to stay."

Emil and the others agreed. Tenebrae appeared and again disguised Colette and Amelia, this time together with Raine, turning her hair the same color as Sheena's so she wouldn't call the attention of the locals. Together, the group went to another Inn and managed to rent two rooms, one for the boys and other for the girls. Raine reminded them to stay alert and leave everything ready in case they needed to suddenly leave.

As Lloyd laid on his bed, Emil asked him who he and Sheena had been talking about.

"Oh, just a friend of mine I met in some cities. His name is Mithos."

Emil felt Ratatosk's consciousness stir when Lloyd said that. He then inquired a little about this Mithos and Lloyd said he didn't know much about him, just that he was a half-elf and was traveling from city to city, looking for someone.

"He also seems pretty smart. Actually, he kinda looks like you."

"Really?" Emil asked.

"Um... I think I already heard that name before, but I can't remember?" Ignis said. She and the other Centurions were staying with the boys.

"Yeah. I don't remember too," Lumen said.

"About this, or in general?" Tenebrae inputted.

_"Do you even need to ask?" _Ratatosk commented.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The group went back to the docks and saw Frank already there with a brown haired man who was wearing a coat and common, blue pants. To Amelia and Colette's surprise, Phaidra was there too. Frank greeted the group and introduced his friend, Max, who greeted them back with a nod and a smile.

"Gran... Phaidra, why are you here?" Colette asked the elderly priestess.

"Why, can't a grandmother come and say her farewells to her granddaughter anymore?" Phaidra replied with a smile.

"But... I'm not... I mean... we just brought trouble to you and Frank and..." Colette said, also in behalf of her mother, who was squeezing her hand, passing her feelings through the gesture.

"Are you speaking about my situation with the church? Don't bother yourself with it. They had been trying to get me to retire ever since I ascended to this position."

"Yes... but we only gave them a motive to do so."

"Colette... Amelia... listen," Phaidra said, her smile gone and her tone turning serious. "I love you both as if you were my own daughter and granddaughter and nothing is going to change it. Don't let other's opinions about who you are affect you. You have done nothing wrong, so you don't have to bow your head in shame.

"So please, listen to this old woman and show once more those beautiful smiles that always made our hearts lighter."

Amelia and Colette couldn't contain the tears that came to their eyes, as both wiped them at the same time, Colette thanked Phaidra for both she and her mother. Phaidra smiled again at them, serious demeanor gone. She looked to Lloyd and the others and asked:

"Please, take care of them. You all seem decent people, so I ask of you to treasure these two as I have all these years."

"Don't worry, we will," Sheena promptly said.

"Yeah. We're going to protect them no matter what," Lloyd claimed.

After that, the group gave their farewells to the Brunels and boarded Max's ship. Amelia and Colette waved to Frank and Phaidra as the ship gained distance from the docks. When they couldn't see their surrogate family anymore, both turned to their travel companions.

"Um... thanks for everything you all are doing for us," Colette said. "I still don't know if I am really capable of becoming a Summon Spirit like you all, but I promise I will do my best."

"So, you have decided," Emil stated. Colette nodded to him.

"It's just as you said; we can't simply sit around and wait for things to happen and... there are several people suffering because of the demons and the Desians. Those people will just continue to suffer and die if nothing is done. As Summon Spirits, you all are going to change this, right?"

"That's the idea," Sheena said.

"Yes. We're in this journey to defeat Nebilim and the Desians and then restore the world," Marta said.

Colette then turned to her mother and asked if she was alright with her decision. She knew her mother only wanted what was best to her, but... ever since she talked with Emil, she felt that she should give this a chance. That maybe, just maybe, she would be able to make a difference and change the world into a gentler, better place with the help of Sheena, Lloyd, Emil and the others.

Amelia smiled to her daughter and took out her notebook, scribing in it:

_If that is your decision, then I'll support you in whatever way I can, Colette. My sweet daughter._

Colette gave one of her so-common radiant smiles at that, feeling lighter at having her mother's approval. As the blond girl and the other reincarnated spirits looked towards the horizon, she thought:

_I'll try my best... for mom, for everybody… and for Maki._


	24. The Power of Union

For those that pointed out about the transformation thing with Tenebrae (a.k.a.: Dr. Bob), I just supposed that since he could transform himself, he could also do that to others. And I don't think Solum's powers limits to only transform others.

If you all remember, the game mentions his power is the ability to deceive his enemies and that cover a wide variety of things, not only transformations. Considering the differences between this reality and the canon, you will discover there are some differences between their powers. That will be mentioned when Solum appear.

Now, about my little "contest"; unfortunately, none of you got it right, although Maurice A. Nigma got close. So, no cookie points this time. Sorry.

Anyway, prepare for the debut of the one that carries the name of the God of War himself. Yes, that's right... HERE COMES KRATOS *frikin'* AURION!

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**The Power of Union**

Cape Fortress, once a Tethe'allan outpost that guarded the coast of the Fooji Continent against naval attacks, now an advanced post of the Tethe'allan Renegades. The fortress had resisted during the Kharlan War and assured the security of the Royal Family in the capital Meltokio, however, it soon proved to be useless against the demons, who could simply open portals to anywhere in the world.

Now, the fortress was once again challenged. The attacks of the demon army on the region had been going for one mouth, however, in the last weeks, with the coming of a demon general to coordinate the troops of Niflheim, things have escalated to a point where the Renegades could lose their footing on the Fooji continent. To reverse that situation, special help had been called.

Kratos Aurion, the General of Unity of the two organizations opposing the demons of Niflheim, surveyed the defense plans for Cape Fortress by what seemed to be the third time while the other commanders discussed the situation, which was worrying to say the least. The demon general leading those troops, Narom'Kriaar if Kratos had caught the name right, was nothing like what these soldiers had dealt with before.

Sure, Kratos had experienced combat against competent generals, both demonic and Desian, and he had said that it could be quite challenging for someone used to fight with just a bunch of lower hierarchy demons. Unlike their brethren of General rank, the only battle tactic they knew how to execute was overwhelming their enemies with their sheer strength and numbers. Demon generals actually knew strategy and logistic, putting the abilities of their other brethren to good use.

_It's no wonder why they stand out from the other demons._ Kratos thought each time he faced such an opponent.

The general leading the army that was cornering the Renegades in the Meltokio region was exceptionally cunning. He had at his disposal demon spell casters, frontline fighters, artillery and one species of demons that had one of their arms' scales shaped like a shield, which was able to cover all of his body. Tyrants were their name, if Kratos recalled correctly.

Lately, the auburn haired swordsman was only able to apply hit-and-run tactics, since the troops at his disposal were with a low moral and scared to say the least. He managed to eliminate the Tyrants on Narom's army, reducing its defenses. However, they still have the spell casters to worry about and the sheer number of infantry the demon general had at his disposal outnumber them seven to one. Even if they hadn't had as many losses as they had in the last days, they would still be outnumbered three to one.

To surmise the situation, Kratos was worried. When they had been battling out in the fields, Narom would hit them hard, employing each of his brethren's abilities and talents to reduce their attack forces to half of its number, while they tried to eliminate the demonic foot soldiers. Kratos managed to hold well until now, shortening their losses, but it still wasn't enough if they were to drive the demons out of the Meltokio region.

Narom alone was a force to reckon with; an intimidating, five meters tall, blue, living armor, carrying a bluish broadsword the size of two adult men. Not only could the spiritual demon slice five to seven of their soldiers with one swipe, it could also cast spells without even having to charge them. Worse even, none of their weapons seemed to have an effect on the armor, so even if they somehow managed to destroy the entire demonic troops, they would still have to deal with the powerful general.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to the planning room opened. A scout entered, his armor had visible bloodstains in it and he had bandages around his arm and legs. In all honesty, the man was lucky to have come back alive, since most of the scouts have been already killed by the ruthless demons. The soldier saluted, beating his chest with his bandaged arm as he spoke:

"General Aurion, we've come back from recognizance. The enemy is ten kilometers away to the west, camping in the plains. They mounted camps around the perimeter of the fortress, effectively cutting us off, except by sea," the soldier reported in a neutral tone.

"However, we don't have any boats..." Kratos mused. "Well, I can't say I didn't expected a strategy such as this. The demons are known for not letting their opponents alive."

"How about the number of demons in each camp?" the Vanguard commander that had arrived two weeks before Kratos with reinforcements asked.

"Approximately fifty on each," the soldier answered.

"We could attack one of the camps and make a break for it," a general of the Renegades said.

"And how do you propose we transport the injured during the attack?" Kratos inquired.

"Well... unfortunately, they would have to..."

"That's not an option, General," Kratos said in a tone full of authority and resolution. "Each man counts in this war. There are no expandable ones and I won't accept any solution that involves the sacrifice of a comrade, is that clear?"

The entire room murmured a "yes, sir", though the scout there was the only one that said it with admiration in his tone. None of them would dare to question Kratos on that. Not only the man outranked everybody present in that fortress, but he was their only hope of getting out of that alive.

Ever since his debut in his first, field mission, Kratos showed that he was more than capable of handling the demons, even under dire circumstances. Not only was he the most powerful swordsman in all of the two resistance groups (maybe save by the High Commander of the Renegades, Yuan), he was also a good strategist. During the battle on the coast of Flanoir to rescue a group of survivors from the raid in the now devastated city on the icy continent, Kratos had lead the entire fleet and managed to counter the aquatic demons in the waters by commanding the Renegade spell casters to cast high-level lightning spells on the water, which stunned the Kristhers around the coast and other naval forces.

However, that wouldn't have been possible if some of them weren't wearing Expheres. For some reason, Kratos disliked the power-amplifying stones, but he knew they were necessary for that mission. Some people said he wore one, for he was once able to fight hand-to-hand with a demon, when it disarmed him, but whenever that was said Kratos would flinch and get in a somewhat foul mood, asking why they were chit-chatting when there was work to do.

Here, on Cape Fortress, there weren't any Expheres to help the troops and Kratos was forced to admit the power-amplifying stones would be a great help on defending the fortress. He sighed as he thought on a solution for their problem. If they tried to leave they would have to leave the injured behind, plus, they didn't know in which camp the demon general Narom was staying, so an attempt to break through could be disastrous. There was only one solution he could think of, even if the chances of success were minimal:

"We'll have to send a request for reinforcements," Kratos finally said. The generals in the room looked at him. "We have a cell in Triaar, they could send us some help."

"But how are we going to do it? None of our riders would be able to pass the demons and arrive in the city in time," one of the men there said.

"I wasn't thinking on sending a rider, specifically..."

- / - / - / - / -

Kratos passed by the troops on his way to the stables. He greeted some of them with his typical nods, trying not to let his apprehension show. After telling the other generals what his plan was, some of them pointed out it could still be too late when the help arrived.

_However, it is the only plan we have for now._ Kratos thought.

As he entered the stables, one of the boys that kept it came running to him and started speaking:

"General Aurion your... um... pet has been very uneasy lately. I'm afraid of getting close to him. He keeps growling all the time."

"He probably sensed the demons nearby. Don't worry, he would never attack you, unless you give him a motive to do so," Kratos said as he approached the mentioned animal.

It looked like a cross between a dog and a wolf. Actually, to be honest, not even Kratos knew his mascot's species. He just knew that the green and white creature in front of him was his father's and was passed down to him when he was born. Kratos also wondered how come it was still looking the same way it was when he received it as a child.

"Hello, Noishe," Kratos greeted his old companion, who whined back to him and approached, licking his face. "Yes I missed you too," Kratos said, wiping off the saliva after his loyal companion was done greeting him. Noishe growled a little. "I know. You can sense them closing in, don't you?"

Kratos had a basic understanding about what Noishe said sometimes. The green and white creature didn't like demons or monsters in the least and tended to run away whenever one was close by. Kratos knew of an incident that could have triggered this fear on Noishe.

The auburn haired general once thought about leaving Noishe with Lloyd, after all, the overgrown dog/wolf would be his son's mascot one day. However, Lloyd needed to learn to defend and live by himself and Noishe was extremely smart and could even bring food if his owner was alone in the wilderness, so, in a way, Noishe would be a commodity and Lloyd needed to learn to not depend on others.

It pained Kratos to separate those two, after all, Noishe had always been watching over Lloyd since he was a little boy, much like how he did with Kratos when he was that age, often playing the babysitter whenever Kratos and Anna wanted to have some time to themselves (Noishe would latter growl at them for the entire day). Now, his old mascot was playing messenger whenever Kratos wanted to send a message to the nearest Renegade/Vanguard cell.

"Listen…" Kratos said to his good companion, as Noishe perked his head up. "I need for you to send this request for reinforcements to the Renegade cell at Triaar…" Kratos took out a message he wrote and signed. "Think you can do it?"

Noishe whined in confirmation. Kratos smiled and took a nearby collar that he tied to Noishe's neck whenever he wanted to send a message through his animal friend. Sealing the message in a cylinder attached to the collar, Kratos went to the doors of the stable that opened to the courtyard of the fortress. He stopped when he felt something pulling at his purple, swallow cape and saw it was Noishe, who had a worried expression on his canine face. Kratos could see why his friend seemed so worried.

"Don't worry. I will be fine," Kratos tried to reassure his mascot. Noishe only whined again, this time with some sorrow. "You know I won't abandon my duties for with my subordinates, even if it leads me to death. We are here to correct our mistakes of the past and I have to give the example, so I refuse to abandon those that need me," Noishe howled. "Have a safe journey, my friend."

With that, the green and white companion of the General of Unity dashed through the courtyard in incredible speed, soon turning into a green blur, which some people barely registered. Kratos gave a half-smile at seeing Noishe dashing at the distance. He was serious and his animal friend knew that. Kratos would stay and fight until his last breath, so Noishe decided that, instead of wasting precious time, he would go to the city and call for help.

Kratos then looked around the base and suddenly found himself reflecting how he had arrived at this position. He had walked a long way from being a standard recruit to somebody his peers admired. He even had met the leader of the Renegades, Yuan, who seemed surprised at his abilities and his beliefs. He even had gotten to talk to the famous Goddess of Victory of the Renegades, a woman who they said could inspire and lift the spirits of an entire troop just with her gentle, kind words. Kratos admired her. She was what this world needed; someone who fought because it was needed, not because she thought it was a solution.

Well… time to get things ready for the defense. I hope those demons at least haven't called for reinforcements, or we will be in severe trouble… Kratos thought, his half-smile turning into a frown as he thought of the possibility.

- / - / - / - / -

In one of the small camps established by the demonic troops, Narom'Kriaar, the spiritual demon of General ranking, was reviewing his attack strategy. The loss of the Tyrants had left him without defenders, but he could manage it, after all, it was only a bunch of human trash without any special abilities against several demons with experience in other invasions.

_The only problem will be if they have more of those subversive half-elves with them. But with the Savage Slashers, it should be no problem bypass their defenses and eliminate them._ Narom thought.

The only obstacle to his victory was that auburn haired human. He had once heard the name of Kratos and, according to the reports, he was a high-ranking commander of the human resistance that had been causing some headaches to the other generals. Narom smiled at the thought of what the others would say once they heard he had eliminated the human that they hadn't been able to kill.

_Incompetents, that's what they are. This Kratos human is just one man trying to stand against a raging storm, nothing more. Well, that will just make my image better in the eyes of the Great One._

Before Narom could think further, he felt something; a presence approaching their camp very _fast_. He didn't recall having seen anything that moved at that speed. The great demon armor then exited the space he had set for himself to plan in time to see a green blur passing by a group of his troops, who were flaying around uselessly trying to catch the blur. Narom was able to identify the aura. He was surprised to see one of those creatures still existed, even after mana was burnt out of existence from this world.

_A Micarnios… now that's certainly a surprise_. Narom thought.

One of his lieutenants, a scaled demon of the high species, approached, bowing before him as he spoke in demonic:

"My lord. I'm sorry, for we weren't able to intercept that strange…"

"Spare me of your useless excuses, lieutenant," Narom cut him. "You wouldn't be able to catch it anyway. It seems it was Micarnios in its beast form."

"A Micarnions, sir?" the demon asked.

"Anyway, I know how to deal with it…" Narom then snapped his fingers and soon two Ravagers growled and appeared before him. "Chase down that remnant of the world's first creatures and show it the fate of those that defies us!" he ordered the demon beasts, which growled in understanding and dashed in a speed that seemed to match the one of the Protozoan that had just passed. "Now…" he said, turning to his second-in-command. "Send the word for the troops to advance. If those humans are already trying to send for help, that means they are in a desperate situation."

Narom could have smiled once more if he had lips. He still didn't have the faintest idea of how that human Kratos managed to hold against him for so long, but now that little filth's luck seemed to have finally ended. He would feel great pleasure in breaking the bones in that little man's body for his defiance, one by one…

- / - / - / - / -

The port city of Triaar was once a naval base during the Kharlan War, but now was known as the stop point of any travelers that wished to pass by, enter or leave the Fooji continent. Having lost its military utility in the end of the war, Triaar was soon converted into a port for cruise and merchant boats to stop for re-supplying.

Lloyd and the others didn't spend much time in the city, just enough to re-supply and rest from the boat travel. They planned to contact the Renegades at Cape Fortress and arrange for Amelia to be hidden by the resistance groups. From there, they would continue their travel to the Temple of Earth to awaken the next Centurion and Colette's powers as a Summon Spirit.

However, when they were in the fields outside of the city, Sheena, Emil and Raine felt a demonic presence approaching. The three alerted their companions as they drew their weapons, ready for battle. When they looked to the direction the presence was coming from, the group saw what looked like several blurs approaching in a fast pace. Narrowing their eyes, they could identify the creatures behind as being Ravagers, pursuing something that looked like a giant, green and white dog. Lloyd recognized the leading creature immediately:

"Noishe?" the red clad young man let out and took only one moment to jump into battle to defend his family's mascot.

"Lloyd, wait!" Emil said, going after him with Sheena on tow.

Noishe noticed his younger owner running to the rescue and unconsciously reduced his running speed. That gave the chance the Ravagers needed to jump in the air, ready to pounce and tear the ancient life-form to shreds. However, the demons never got close to do it, for in that moment a cry of "Flaring Tempest!" followed by flames enveloping Lloyd's body, changing his attire and weapons as he jumped into the air and curled in a ball.

The spinning, flaming, red blur hit the Ravagers, pushing the demons back in the air, slicing those directly in front of him and burning the others nearby. Before the tiger-like demons could get up, Sheena and Emil were already upon them, ending the creatures with attacks charged with elemental energy, burning the demon's aura out of existence.

As the creature's bodies dissolved into chaos energy, Lloyd sighed in relief. He was then pushed to the ground by a big, green mass that started to promptly lick his face with whines of happiness. Sheena and the others were quite surprised.

"ACK! Noishe, cut it out!" Lloyd protested, trying to get up as his mascot was still leaving trails of saliva over his hair and face.

"Wow! You never said you had a dog, Lloyd," Colette said, smiling one of her radiant smiles at seeing the pet. "He's so big."

"I'm not sure if that is a dog…" Raine thought aloud.

Lloyd finally managed to free himself from Noishe and got up, trying to get his hair back to its usual spiky position. He then went on to explain:

"Well guys, this is Noishe. He's an old friend of mine and something like a family mascot," Lloyd said with a smile. Then realization came upon him. "Wait. If you're here then that means… is dad around here too?"

Noishe barked and turned to the side. Lloyd then noticed there was a collar with some kind of cylinder to hold messages around his neck. Emil and the others approached. Colette looked like she wanted to pet Noishe and Amelia looked equally captivated by the exotic creature. Before any of them could say anything, Lloyd went to the cylinder in the collar and opened it. Inside was a message.

Tenebrae and the other Centurions appeared. Noishe tilted his head with curiosity at the beings as Ventus and Tenebrae approached him. The two Centurions then started to "speak" (that was the only word the group could find to describe the exchange between the servants of Ratatosk and the mascot) with him. Noishe barked in return and expressions of realization and surprise came to the Centurions.

"Impressive. I thought all of your kind would have vanished with the burnt of the mana," Ventus said. Noishe whined in response. "Hmmm… I see."

"You understand what he is saying?" Colette asked.

"Yes, we do," Tenebrae said, before talking with Noishe once again. The mascot of the Aurion family then replied something that made Tenebrae start to laugh.

"What?" Marta asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Hahaha!" Tenebrae said, although he wasn't able to hold his laugh.

"C'mon, what is it? Aqua?" Marta asked turning to the female Centurion.

"It's nothing too important. Hehehe, though it is kinda funny," the Centurion of water said.

"C'mon. Tell us," Emil urged.

Before the group could press the Centurions further, Lloyd looked up from the message and said, with a serious and hard gaze on his eyes:

"We have to get to Cape Fortress. Now!"

"Why? What does the message say?" Sheena asked.

"Dad is there. And he is being attacked by an army of demons that are about to wipe them out!"

The entire group's eyes widened at that. They then nodded to Lloyd and together sprinted to the direction of Cape Fortress.

- / - / - / - / -

The watcher on the fortress' tower finally yelled that the demons were in sight. The skies were clouded that day, an atmosphere that fitted the mood of those in the fortress. The Renegades and the few members of the Vanguard stationed in Cape Fortress shook in apprehension. Soon they would be facing a fierce attack, one that could mean the end of their lives.

Kratos, who was standing above the entrance to the interior of the fortress, could see the nervousness in his troops as he caught some comments in the air:

"Can we really survive this?"

"This is crazy. We should have left when we had the chance. Damn those demons!"

"There's just too many of them. We won't stand a chance."

Kratos frowned. Their morale was low and they were starting to lose their faith. If he didn't do something soon, this battle would be lost before it even began. One of the other commanders approached and whispered to him:

"General Aurion. We and the others talked and we thought that, at least you, sir, should leave here alive. You are too important for the Renegades and the Vanguard to die here and…"

"Don't complete that sentence," Kratos said in a warning tone. He then turned and looked to his troops. "Listen up!" all attention turned to the General of Unity as he began to speak. "I know you all are worried about the situation we are facing right now and that our chances of survival are minimal. I won't force any of you to fight if you feel you can't. There is no space for doubts or hesitation on the battlefield. However, consider this for one moment: how do you fight against the demons?"

There were murmurs between the soldiers assembled as they thought on Kratos' words. As nobody seemed to find an answer, the auburn haired swordsman continued:

"I'm not talking about taking in arms or revolting, but about truly defeating them. If you ask this question to a person on the street, he will say it is impossible. If you ask it to a follower of Cruxis, he will say that only the angels can fight against the demons, for we are powerless to do so. In another words; the majority of people think that what we are doing, what we are proposing, is impossible to achieve."

The murmurs intensified and, for one moment, the others generals questioned where Kratos was trying to get with that speech and if he was realizing that it could just lower the spirits of the troops even more.

"But if it is impossible, how come we are still here, alive and defying the demons?" all talks stopped at that. Kratos continued. "How can somebody do what is impossible and still standing? Very simple… it is because fighting the demons isn't something only angels can do. Fighting the agents of Niflheim is much more than a simple matter of strength or courage. It is a matter of faith and will. Faith in what you are doing. Faith in yourself, that you can the difference. And will to protect those that are close to you. Will to right the wrongs of the past and, above all, will to prove that there is no such thing as 'the impossible' when you have an ideal to fight for.

"Look at us. We did the impossible. We challenged the demons, the ones that are trying to destroy our world, and we are still here. Think about what made you arrive at this point, think on why you are doing this, why you aren't simply sitting back and letting the angels do all the work," Kratos gave a pause to recover his breath before continue, letting his words sink in. "You all came here with the desire to fight to free Aselia, to rebuilt this world, to protect your loved ones. The demons will try everything in their power to force you to stop fighting, to make you give up.

"They claim they can even devour the souls of those that stand against them, but let me say this: death isn't the end. Your souls are yours and nobody can control them unless you allow them to do so. That's why the demons try to install fear on us, that's why they try to make us give up, because they fear the strength that pushes us forward, knowing that it is something they can never take away or destroy."

People started to nod and cheer at Kratos' words. The other generals were impressed that the frightened soldiers were now showing more conviction and confidence. Kratos continued:

"If we die today, we die as men that fought to protect their world. We die fulfilling our duty towards this world, with our hearts light and our souls free of regret. But, only if they _can_ really kill us," more cheers came as the men started to pump their fists in the air. "We will show these demons that we, humans, are not to be taken lightly. We will show that we can fight back and we can be victorious!"

The crowd shouted Kratos' name in euphoria as he raised his fist in the air too. The auburn haired swordsman smiled. Now they were ready to battle. Maybe there was still a chance, if they could keep that spirit up and hold back the demons long enough for the reinforcements to arrive…

It was then a voice echoed in the air:

"Listen up, pathetic humans!"

The voice seemed to come from all sides, but Kratos quickly recognized it as being magically amplified. He looked to his troops and ordered:

"At your posts! Archers and spell casters on the walls with me!"

The soldiers and generals quickly took their predetermined posts, ready to execute their defense strategy. The General of Unity looked to the fields around the fortress from atop the fortress' walls. The demons had the building surrounded.

- / - / - / - / -

Narom was looking at the puny fortress with his two hands crossed on the top of his swords' handle, which was plunged in the earth. Besides him, his lieutenant spoke, his voice amplified by a spell:

"We are the children of the Great Ones, the bringers of the end for this chaotic universe of yours. Your futile resistance has already gone for long enough. Surrender now and we promise a quick, painless death. Defy us and we will make you beg for the death of even your spirits!" he then turned to his general with his voice now normal. "A truly brilliant speech, my lord. Those humans must be cowering right now."

"I wouldn't be so sure. They can be incredibly stubborn even when their defeat is clear," Narom said with his neutral, deep voice.

Before his second-in-command could say something more, several dots seemed to come from the fortress and fly in the air. Narom looked curiously at it and saw it was burning arrows. He chuckled at the pathetic excuse for an attack as his troops avoided the projectiles easily, just to look back with curiosity at the arrows. It was then that it happened.

Energy seemed to gather around the arrows and suddenly all of them released powerful explosions of flames, which incinerated those closer and burned others in the vicinity. The demons tried to put the flames in their bodies out, but they only seemed to spread. It was clear those flames were of magical nature.

"Arrows charged with spells timed to trigger…" Narom mused as his lieutenant was trying to put order on their troops. "Very cunning of you," the giant, blue armor said, looking at the fortress, with evident sneer on his voice. "But I wonder for how long you will be able to keep up with these tricks."

- / - / - / - / -

Kratos complimented the archers and spell casters. He then asked to a nearby watcher what was the damage they managed to inflict. The man said:

"I counted at least thirty demons caught in the center of the explosions, sir."

"That's not much, but at least it will give us some time until they have to reorganize," Kratos mused. He then turned to the nearest spell caster. He learned soon that the majority of the members of the Tethe'allan Renegades was composed of half-elves. Not that it mattered to him anyway. "Are the walls ready?"

"Yes. We prepared them as per your instructions, General Aurion," the half-elf answered.

"Good. They have climbers in that army and will use them certainly. But meanwhile... bring the cauldrons!"

The Renegade spell casters nodded and hurried to prepare the next phase of their defense plan. Meanwhile, Narom had reorganized his troops and ordered the attack to begin. The demons ran to the fortress as another rain of enhanced arrows rained down upon them, triggering spells that decimated some of them, but their numbers were just too great to be affect by something like that.

The demons finally reached the gate of the fortress as the archers on the walls tried to take them down. Some arrows enhanced with the power of the wind even pierced through the demonic attackers, but they just kept going. It was then three demons with overgrown fists, which seemed to be made of rock, steeped near the gate and started beating it, intent on reducing it to pieces. The demon's bodies were somewhat soft compared to the rest of their bodies, but resistant enough to stand the rain of magical arrows.

It was then cauldrons were put in position and Kratos ordered the troops to drop their contents. A blistering, red-hot liquid was turned over at the nearest demons. Those beating the gate were covered in it and not only were their bodies burnt by the liquid but their arms seemed to have turned heavier, making them unable to move them. The other demons with less resistance were burnt alive by the wave of hot liquid.

"What was that?" Narom's second-in-command inquired in demonic. Said general seemed to chuckle.

"Liquid iron. He probably had his spell casters heat it up," it was then the temperature seemed to drop several degrees as a giant Ice Tornado spell was cast. The liquid iron soon started to solidify and freeze. "Oh, and now he's going to virtually immobilize any of our soldiers that weren't killed by the liquid. Very smart."

"Are you commending him, sir?"

"Not really. But I have to admit the rumors about him were true. All the more motivation for me to end his life," he then turned to a row of Bone Archers that had stayed behind, waiting for his orders. "Archers! Fire and take them down!"

The demons with bone masks complied and prepared their bows. Soon, arrows were also sent flying from the demon's rows. Some managed to pierce the Renegades and members of the Vanguard in the walls, who were not prepared for that attack.

Kratos ordered the archers to fall back as he saw one of his man fall from the wall and into the crowd of awaiting demons down there. The body was torn to shreds in mere seconds. Narom saw them falling back and quickly ordered with a gesture of his hand, maintaining his sword plunged in the ground the entire time:

"Savage Slashers! Go up the walls and tear apart any on your path!"

The spider-like demons replied with growls and started to climb up the walls. One soldier that was watching the battle from a narrow window in the wall was almost attacked by one of the bloodthirsty creatures when it located the opening and it tried to reach him with his claw. The others that were too close to the windows at the time didn't have the same luck and were grabbed, just to be stabbed several times by the fast claws of the demons or simply cut into two.

"G-General Aurion they are climbing the walls!" one of the soldiers said, trying to keep his wits at seeing his companion being stabbed to death by the demon's sharp claws.

"Spell casters, NOW!" came Kratos' command.

A chorus of "YES, SIR!" was heard as the half-elves charged and casted several Thunder Blade spells. The blades made of pure electricity hit the now abandoned top of the walls, tearing some Savage Slashers apart. However, most of those in the walls were not affected.

Narom looked at that and chuckled, thinking Kratos must be quite desperate to try such an inefficient counter-attack. It was just when the swords released their energy in a circle around them that the demon general realized what had happened. The energy the swords conducted to the ground spanned across the entire wall, turning it into a giant, electric wire, electrocuting any demons too close to it or the now solidified iron on the gate. All of the Savage Slashers on the walls fell like flies after the spell passed, their bodies smoking and burnt from the strong discharges.

_How did he... ?_ Narom thought. He then looked more attentively at the wall and caught something. In the gaps between the bricks, where them cement that held them together was visible, were several silver lines. The spiritual demon understood what had happened. _It seems they were really prepared for our coming._ "Impressive..." Narom said in demonic. "he filled the gaps between the bricks with steel. Probably did it to the entire wall, virtually turning it into a electric wire."

While Kratos smiled at seeing his plan had worked, the second-in-command of Narom's army was sweating. How come those humans could come up with such strategies? Narom seemed to sigh as he finally gripped the handle of his giant, bluish broadsword and pulled it from the ground. The high demon besides him looked at him with a look of "sir?"

"I wasn't expecting to be forced to take part into this battle directly, but it seems he actually managed to force my hand," Narom then held his sword with his two hands, the point still turned to the earth. "Shatter at my command. Thera Menser!"

The living armor then plunged his sword on the ground, this time making half of the blade sunk. Two fissures came from where the sword had been plunged and propagated to the two towers on the ends of the front wall. The Renegades didn't like the look of that, but were too slow to do anything as the fissure reached the foot of the wall and suddenly started to go up the tower, resulting in several cracks. The entire wall then started to collapse under itself as the cracks spread over it. The earth under it seemed to open as it sunk and broke apart.

Kratos' eyes widened. He had never seen that kind of spell before and could only think of one demon in that army that would have enough power to bring the entire wall down. Narom'Kriaar have finally decided to move his hand. When it ended, there was no wall any more, just a large opening from which the demons could see all of them united in the courtyard of the fortress. Kratos could swear that giant, blue armor was snickering at his face.

"TAKE NO PRISIONERS!" Narom ordered, pointing his sword at their direction. From there on, all hell broke loose.

"FOR ASELIA!" Kratos shouted, drawing his sword as his soldiers let out a war cry, advancing against the incoming waves of demons.

Vanguard and Renegade soldiers both fought against the demons, who tore apart anything in their path. Both sides clashed with equal ferocity, arrows and spells flew in the air, hitting enemy and allies alike regardless of which side casted. Kratos cut down all Niflheim's agents around him, using his shield to defend from the strong blows. Luckily, most of the demons there didn't have any armor-like scales, which made both sides evenly matched to some degree.

Narom smiled at how things were going, the sheer number of his troops was enough to bring down more than half of the resistance fighters, though the remaining ones were taking as much demons as they had casualties.

_It won't matter soon enough. Time will teach these rebels the price for their defiance and..._ Narom stopped when he felt something coming. It was an aura unlike anything he had felt before.

The living armor turned in time to see a giant column of fire pass near him and hit his troops, incinerating any on its path. He was so surprised by the sudden attack that he barely registered someone shouting:

"Flaring Tempest!"

Narom just had a second to take out his shield with a dragon's face on it and bring it up to defend himself from the red wheel of fire that was intent on colliding with his side. The giant armor shoved the flaming blur back in time to see pillars of light rushing to his troops, burning the chaos energy of everything it touched. Things that looked like wind blades flew around and took down more of his soldiers.

The demon general then saw who was causing all that trouble: a group of kids and women. He recognized the aura of the blond boy with them. It was one that no demon would ever forget.

"So, you are Ratatosk's group. Seems today is an interesting day indeed," Narom said, more to himself than to the reincarnated spirits in front of him.

"Emil, Marta, go help the Renegades. Colette and Amelia go and help those in fortress," Lloyd instructed.

The four just nodded to him and the Centurions appeared, immediately invoking their own little army of monsters to the battle. Narom's lieutenant tried to stop them, however Sheena moved at lightning speed and stood in front of the demon, already in her spirit form, grabbing his face and bombarding him with light and burning his aura out of existence as he let out a howl of pain.

Sheena let the corpse of the demon fall as Narom didn't even spare it a look. The demon general was then left alone with three of the reincarnated spirits. A chuckling sound came from the armor's empty helmet as he said:

"Well then... I was planning on requesting permission to take on the mission of hunting you down, but since you were so kind as to come to me..."

"I'm going to make you pay for what you are doing," Lloyd said, anger written all over his face. Nobody threatened his family.

"What do you care so much about these humans? Did you already forget they are the reason why you are in this pathetic situation, instead of having your full powers?"

"You seem to be thinking you are talking with Efreet, Luna and Undine, right?" Raine inquired, her tone regal as always. "Let me correct you on that point; we are not them. We are new beings, who have inherited their souls."

"Is that so?" Narom questioned in a sneer. "You think of yourselves as being the same as them?" he made a motion with his hand to the fortress and those fighting on it. "Let me say that you are not. You are different, even if you deny it. I think the human term for what you are would be _freaks_. Now, if you truly wish to become something greater than mere guardians for these ingrate filth, you could join us and together we would make this entire universe know of your name and power."

"As tempting as it sounds, we have to refuse it," Sheena said. "Besides, I really can't stand staying around beings with such a stained and oppressive aura as yours."

"A pity..." Narom said, seeming to sigh as he raised his sword. "You really are like your past selves. In that case, I will do what our Great Lords always dreamed of doing: crush your pathetic spirits!"

With that, Narom ran to them, making the ground shake on his awake. Raine backed away as Lloyd and Sheena had to avoid an ample swing of the spiritual demon's bluish sword. The couple was about to counter-attack, however, they were surprised when Narom quickly turned his blade and swung again in a speed that didn't match his size, managing to hit the two of them, though the wounds weren't so serious thanks to their Summon Spirit defense.

_Damn, he's fast!_ the two thought at the same time as they avoided a series of slashes.

When Narom noticed they were out of range for melee attacks, he brought his sword up. There was a rush of magical energy for one moment and in the next Lloyd found himself being attacked by several thick wind blades that beat him in the air like a punching bag.

Sheena was about to go and help him, but Narom raised his sword again and a sphere of electricity formed at her feet, electrocuting and pulling her closer to the ground as a dome of spiked stone closed around her. Sheena used her power to break free from the prison, only to find Narom already over her, his sword poised to cleave her in two.

Thankfully, Raine had finished charging her Brilliant Shackles spell at that moment, temporarily binding the giant armor and attacking it with light. That gave Sheena the chance she needed to form light cards and attack Narom with a sequence of quick combos. The attacks of the reincarnated Luna, however, didn't seem to make much damage, as Narom soon recovered and tried to bash Sheena away with his shield. She crossed her arms in front of her, manipulating the cards so they would form a shield in front of her, however, the mere strength of the blow was enough to push her back in the air.

Narom prepared to run his sword through Sheena when something collided with his back. He turned and noticed Lloyd had tried to cut his shoulder using his swords, which seemed to be made of flames now. The attack didn't have the intended effect, though. Lloyd tried again, enveloping his blades on fire and swung them in the air in front of him, forming a flaming X as he cut Narom's back, except that he didn't make even a scratch on the living armor.

The demon general counter-attacked, quickly turning to Lloyd and swinging his giant sword, which Lloyd tried to block with his own, but the strength of the blow made him lose his equilibrium in the air, which gave Narom the chance he needed to bash at Lloyd with his shield, sending the dual swordsman to the ground. Narom raised his sword once more, instantly casting a spell. A pointed stalagmite came from the ground, hitting Lloyd with great strength and sending him to the air just to, when he fell, others come and almost impaled him.

Sheena came back and charged light energy on her feet and hands, unleashing a sequence of combos on the living armor. Narom was stunned due to the strength of the blows, which allowed Raine to cast Ray on him, bombarding the giant demon with several beams of light.

Lloyd got up again and unleashed a Blazing Fang on Narom. Sheena flew away as the fire hit the demon general and flames consumed his body. The three smiled at their work. That was, until they heard a chant in the demonic language:

" Gargan kerass, aisht lis rerssip roweir ent koulun meor en gehar... Lincri Caish!" before any of them could react, clouds of darkness formed around them as blades of the same element cut the reincarnated spirits from all sides.

The clouds then enclosed around them and seemed to turn into solid spheres. Sounds of something heavy impacting on bodies were heard coming from the spheres as their surface suffered distortions, as if someone was trying to break them with a spear from the inside. The spheres then shrunk and imploded into several, purple, light dots. Sheena and Lloyd fell to the ground, panting. Raine went unconscious with several bruises on her body and blood coming from her forehead and mouth.

The other two transformed spirits looked at where Lloyd's attack had hit Narom and saw the spiritual demon standing there, completely unscathed. Narom laughed at them as he said:

"You honestly thought that was enough to destroy me? I am a demon general, I cannot be killed that easily. You would do well to remember that," he then pointed his sword to Raine. "And now... to reduce the number of combatants..." he rose his sword again, preparing to cast another spell.

Lloyd and Sheena's eyes widened as the two flew in high speed to Raine's body. There was a release of magical energy coming from Narom and three spheres of electricity formed a triangle around Raine, all connected by lightning. Sheena and Lloyd used their own bodies as shields when several lightning bolts rained down in the center of the triangle. The two went down and their bodies started to glow, their clothes flickering between those of their human and spirit form, like they were fighting to stay in their current forms.

Lloyd looked with hatred at Narom. He wanted nothing more than to rip that overgrowth piece of equipment to shreds, but it seemed Narom was immune to fire so his swords on his spirit form did little to no damage to him. The red clad swordsman knew that his normal swords would be just as useless against that demon. Raine once said that normal weapons couldn't do any kind of damage on high-ranking demons.

"And to think you are the reincarnation of those that were our biggest adversaries on this world," Narom chuckled. "You are probably hating those humans right now, don't you? After all, it's because of them that we are able to hurt those that are the closest thing you could have to a family..." he seemed to briefly glance at Sheena and Raine, though Lloyd couldn't tell since the demon didn't have eyes. "and lovers," Narom chuckled again.

"Don't you dare..." Lloyd said, slowly getting up and almost falling in the process. "Talk about my friends."

"Ah yes, you are angry, are you not? You probably want to rip me to shreds right now, don't you? Very well... embrace this feeling. Let it be your drive and you will be closer to us than never before. Close enough to even defeat me."

Lloyd felt his whole body treble with rage. Narom was mocking him and he could do nothing, but feel just what that demon was telling him to feel. It angered him all the more to see that he could do nothing to defend even his father against these demons, who played with the lives of people as they saw fit.

"Honestly, that was the most clichéd thing I ever heard," Marta's voice echoed.

Lloyd looked up and Narom was about to look behind when two boots connected with his helmet with such strength that it made him reel back. Marta (on her spirit form) landed near Lloyd and offered her hand for him to stand up. Lloyd smiled at the brunette as he accepted her offer. The reincarnated Sylph then casted a Cure spell on Sheena and Lloyd, the former waking up and looking at the situation around her.

"Don't let that guy trick you like this Lloyd. He just wants for you to lose it, so he can kill you easily," Marta said.

"Yeah. I noticed it," Lloyd said.

"Then I think it's time we teach him a lesson," Sheena said, as she made two fans of light cards appear in her hands. "Nobody plays around with my man and gets away with it," Lloyd blushed at that while Marta merely giggled, going to help Raine as the two flew to Narom once more.

The demon general swung his sword in an attempt to cut them in half, both avoided the blow and Lloyd went for the head, unleashing a sequence of sword blows at Narom using just his strength. He smiled at seeing the blows connect and stun Narom enough for Sheena to attack his legs with a Demon Seal Arte that forced him to kneel.

The couple then leveled with the demon's head and attacked at the same time, Sheena kicking and punching in a deadly, aerial dance that would have knocked out any other opponent. She applied a string of Artes on him, ending with a Power Seal Absolute. The Radiant Maiden then threw a quick look to Lloyd, which he understood and nodded. The red clad swordsman ignited his swords and flew to Narom's chest.

"Ravaging Stream!" Lloyd applied several fast slashes on Narom's chest, leaving trails of fire behind.

Thanks to Sheena's Arte, the defenses of the demon had been lowered enough for his fire to affect him. Lloyd ended his attack with one downward, strong slash and an upward one, rising in the air to the level of Narom's head. The Wielder of Victory's Flame spun in the air and applied another downward slash on the demon's helmet, a blow that would have sent any other adversary rocketing to the ground. The blow was strong enough to force the giant, spiritual demon to lower his head.

The demon general suddenly attacked again with his sword. This time, Sheena and Lloyd were caught with their guard lowered and were hit by the bluish broadsword, which threw them to side. Their spirit forms flickered yet again after having absorbed the damage of the attack that would have cleaved them in two.

Narom'Kriaar slowly stood, seeming a little shaken as he brought his hand to his head. He felt a groove on his helmet, meaning Lloyd's attack had actually damaged his shell. He turned to the two reincarnated Summon Spirits and said, in a tone of controlled anger:

"Well, well, you actually managed to injure me. Not bad. However..." he brought his sword to the level of his head. "It is time for me to show you the true power of a demon general!" he pointed his sword to the clouded skies, raising it above his head.

There was a sudden rush of chaos energy in the environment and lightning fell from the skies, but instead of it being a natural phenomenon, it was brimming with chaos energy. When the lightning hit Narom's sword, Sheena and Lloyd could feel his aura vibrating with pure chaos energy as his sword started to glow and crackle with it. Narom positioned himself, putting a foot in front of his body and the other behind.

"One!" Narom yelled as he scarred the ground with his broadsword, sending a great wave of energy the half his size. It was so fast Lloyd and Sheena barely had the time to avoid it. "Two!" the second one came right after the first. This time, Sheena couldn't avoid and tried to create a barrier to block the oncoming energy, however, she was already exhausted, so the barrier shattered once the wave of energy impacted, forcing Sheena behind. "Three!" this one was meant for Lloyd, who looked at Sheena and that instant of distraction was enough for the wave to hit him dead on, launching him up. "Four!" Sheena was sent in the air. "Five!" this wave was wider than the others and caught the couple, sending them both to the ground and dispelling their spirit form.

Narom returned to his initial stance, stretching his arm behind as he gathered chaos energy on his sword again, a white glow completely covering the bluish blade.

"Dragon Slash!" Narom scarred the ground again with his sword, this time, the pillar of energy released was much more powerful, taking the form of a frightening, dragon's face. Lloyd and Sheena looked up and closed their eyes as the terrifying attack came closer to them.

In that moment, two cries of "Barrier" echoed in the air as two prism-like shields appeared in front of Lloyd and Sheena just as the draconic energy was about to hit them. The shields withstood great part of the attack before shattering and the energy hit the two lovers, reducing part of their clothing to shreds as their bodies were launched in the air. The energy soon passed and Lloyd and Sheena hit the ground with a thud, both greatly injured and incapable of moving a finger, but still alive thanks to Marta and Raine's efforts.

The silver haired woman and the brunette girl ran to their friends and stood between them and Narom in a protective stance. However, both were sweating as they saw the demon general looking down on them. They knew they had as much chance of defeating him as Sheena and Lloyd had. Narom was about to take a step forward, but he heard another cry coming from behind him:

"Ain Soph Aur!" this time he turned completely in time as he felt the blast of multicolored flames being released. The giant, blue armor raised its shield to block the attack, which pressed against his defense in an attempt to break through. Narom grunted as he fought back until the energy blast dispersed, his shield was still smoldering.

The demon general looked up and saw Ratatosk standing there, his monsters around him and ready to attack Narom. The demon general would have laughed at the pathetic attempt to eliminate him if a detail hadn't caught his attention: behind Ratatosk, all of his troops had already been decimated by the combined efforts of the reincarnated Summon Spirits and the resistance groups. The Vanguard and Renegade soldiers were coming from behind Ratatosk, shouts of victory echoing in the scenery.

Narom weighted his options in that moment. He could try and slaughter all of them alone, but that last fight with the reincarnated Efreet and Luna had already worn him down. Even if he slaughtered all of the humans, he would still have to deal with Ratatosk and his little army of annoyances and by that time he would be completely out of strength. Plus, his shell had been damaged and he couldn't afford for them to discover that.

_Damn! I was so close, yet... whatever. It is best that I live to repay them for this humiliation later._

Narom thrust his sword on the ground and put his hands on the point of the handle, uttering an enchantment. A runic circle appeared below him as he said:

"Don't think I will forget this. You all will perish in my hands soon enough!" with that, the demon general turned into a sphere of blue light and disappeared in a flash.

Raine and Marta let out a sigh of relief as Ratatosk dismissed his monsters. The Renegade and Vanguard forces, or what was left of them, arrived near the party. The commanders then asked to Emil and the others if they were the ones responsible for those monsters that helped them. It was then Kratos looked at the two fallen members of the little group that had helped his men and his eyes widened at recognizing the spiky hair and red attire one of them was wearing.

The General of Unity approached the couple and eyed the young man more attentively. There was no doubt about it. That was, Lloyd, his son and, somehow, he had fought back a very powerful demon general. Marta and Emil (back to the control of his body) approached him and the girl asked:

"Are you Lloyd's father, General Aurion?"

"Yes... and you are?" Kratos replied.

"Marta Lualdi and this is Emil Aster Castagnier," Marta said.

"Lualdi... I see. So you're Commander Brute's daughter."

"Brute? The leader of the Sylvaranti Vanguard?" Raine inquired, going to check on Lloyd and Sheena when she caught their talk. She threw a look at Marta, who scratched the back of her head.

"Well, yeah... you see..."

"Um... excuse me," Colette said as she and Amelia arrived in the scene. "But how are Lloyd and Sheena?"

The group then turned their attention said couple. Deciding to postpone the explanations to later, Kratos called for two members of the Vanguard to pick them up and bring them to the medical wing at the fortress...

- / - / - / - / -

That night, the soldiers of the two resistance groups were commemorating their victory, making cheers for their saviors who, they later got to know, were the famed Emil "Ratatosk" Castagnier and the daughter of Commander Brute.

In the medical wing, Raine, Colette and Amelia were doing all they could to help the injured. With her knowledge in healing arts, Raine was able to heal most of those in critical state. In a corner of the room were two beds where Lloyd and Sheena were resting in. They had most of their injuries cured by Marta and were sleeping to recover their strength.

Noishe and Kratos arrived after taking a quick pass by the commemorations in the central hall. The medics scrunched their noses at seeing General Aurion's mascot entering the medical wing and tried to convince him to get it out, but Kratos was categorical in saying Noishe would stay. Besides, his animal companion was as apprehensive about Lloyd's state as he was.

Marta and Emil were sitting in two chairs near the beds of the couple while Kratos was standing beside his son's bed. Several thoughts were running through the head of the General of Unity, who tried to organize them:

_What is he doing here? Did something happened at Luin, or did he decided to search for me? And what is he doing with Brute's daughter and Emil?_

Like many others in the Vanguard, when he started, Kratos had heard the rumors about a boy that supposedly was a reincarnated Summon Spirit. According to them, this boy was currently traveling with the daughter of Commander Brute in search of some kind of objects that would restore his Summon Spirit powers. Kratos was skeptical at first about it, but after he heard that even from High Commander Yuan, who had seen the boy once, he was a little more inclined to believing it was true.

Now, after seeing monsters come to their rescue in the battlefield, led by a blond boy and a girl with _wings_, he started to think maybe he hadn't given the story enough credit. However, what worried him the most was his son's wellbeing.

Lloyd started to grumble and slowly open his eyes, making Emil and Marta look up at him. The young man then looked at them and slowly turned his head, asking where they were. Emil answered him, saying they had managed to stop the demon troops and beat back Narom. Lloyd let a tired smile grace his face has he let his head sunk on his pillow.

"Lloyd..." Kratos called and Lloyd immediately snapped his eyes open, sat up and looked to the side as his father approached, an unreadable expression on his face. The young man didn't even mind the pain from the sudden act.

"Um... h-hi... dad," Lloyd stuttered. He couldn't tell if his father was happy to see him or angry for him at throwing himself in the middle of that battle.

Lloyd was about to open his mouth, but before he could Kratos hugged him, stunning the dual swordsman for some seconds. Lloyd didn't know what to do, except hug his dear father back. Kratos then whispered in his hear:

"I'm glad you're ok, my son," Lloyd smiled as his father detached from him and crossed his arms. "Now, what are you doing here? And what were you thinking, fighting head on a powerful opponent like that. I thought I taught you better than this," Lloyd's smile vanished at that.

"Oh, c'mon dad... I just saved you and your men, didn't I?" Lloyd replied.

"True..." Kratos sighed.

"Um... mister Aurion," Emil timidly called. "Actually... we were the ones that... dragged Lloyd into this without thinking," Emil lied, trying to take the blame for Lloyd so his father wouldn't be angry at him. Lloyd and Marta looked back at him in surprise. Generally, Emil avoided trouble instead of putting himself on it.

Kratos looked at the nervous teenager. He then chuckled while shaking his head, making Emil even more nervous. It was then the General of Unity said:

"I guess the rumors about you were true. I admit I appreciate you trying to take the blame for Lloyd, but do you think I don't know my own son?" Emil's face fell as he looked down. "But, don't worry. I'm not really going to scold Lloyd for this."

Kratos looked at Lloyd, who then recovered his usual boyish smile as he thanked Emil. The blonde was about to say it had been nothing when he was suddenly caught in a tight embrace by Marta. The brunette girl said:

"Oh Emil, you're such a marvelous person. Trying to take the blame for a friend... I'm falling in love with you all over again," she cooed.

Lloyd and Kratos observed the scene, both with sweatdrops running behind their heads.

_That... I didn't hear in the rumors. Well, guess it's a common trend on women. Anna was almost the exact same around me._ Kratos thought.

"Lloyd, you're okay!" Colette's happy yell came as she and Amelia approached the boy's bed. "Thank goodness. I was starting to worry," she then saw Kratos. "Oh. Is this your dad?"

"I'm Kratos Aurion. Nice to meet you," Kratos said in a gentlemanly way.

"I'm Colette and this is my mom, Amelia," Colette said, as her mother politely bowed to Kratos, who returned the gesture.

While the exchange occurred, Lloyd was receiving attention from Noishe, meaning, the Protozoan was licking his face and putting his front paws on the reincarnated Efreet's bed, who tried to get his family's mascot down. When he finally did, Lloyd saw his father approach his bed from the other side and whisper to him:

"Is this young girl a friend of yours?" Kratos' tone was a knowing one, as if he had just figured something amusing. Lloyd didn't get that and simply said:

"Well, kinda. I don't really know her much. Sheena was the one that knew her better."

"Sheena?" Kratos repeated.

"Somebody called me?" said woman asked from her bed as she was sitting up. The whole group looked to her with relieved looks on their faces. "Hi there. Something happened while I was out?"

"Not too much," Colette said with her radiant smile on full potency. "We repelled the demons and got help from the Renegades and the Vanguard. Oh and that demon general armor ran away."

"Really? Damn, that thing sure was strong..." Sheena grumbled with a wince.

The reincarnated Luna then noticed Kratos looking at her. She traced the direction of his eyes and noticed he was looking directly at her face. She also noticed something familiar about his eyes and appearance. When she looked at Lloyd, she realized what it was.

"You must be Lloyd's father, Kratos, right?"

"Yes, I am," Kratos replied.

"Man, you two look a lot alike, do you know that?" Sheena commented to both. Father and son exchanged a glance. "Anyway, it's good to finally meet you, father-in-law."

That sentence made the entire group jump, except for Raine, who simply raised an eyebrow. Lloyd's eyes widened as his father looked dumbstruck, something really rare for him, as he repeated:

"Father... in-law?"

"Sheena! What are you saying?" Lloyd spoke.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Sheena said. "I didn't mean like your son and I are married or anything like that, though we could consider it latter. We're more like dating."

"SHEENA!"

"Oh c'mon. It's not a secret that you have the hots for me."

It was then Kratos started to notice some things about this young woman who allegedly proclaimed to be his son's girlfriend. One: she definitely wasn't somebody from Luin. Two: her figure was, to be frank, the picture of a wet dream of any teenage boy. Three: she was older than his son, though he couldn't point out by how many years. And finally, four: she talked with such freedom about their feelings and Lloyd wasn't even countering that, which meant it had to be true.

Kratos had to admit one part of him was proud. While the other, which was supported by his fatherly conscience...

"Lloyd..." Kratos said, his tone a neutral one. Said dual swordsman gulped. He knew that tone.

"Y-yes, d-dad?" he asked with a nervous smile on his face.

"I think it is time for me to have a talk with you."

The group decided that was their cue to ignore the two and engage in a conversation of their own, though their ears were still on the two swordsmen's talk.

"Is it about the 'birds and bees'? Because we already had that," Lloyd hurriedly said.

"You could say it is related. I want to talk man-to-man with you," the auburn haired general said.

Terror was written all over Lloyd's face. The last time he had a man-to-man talk with his father, he almost died from how embarrassing it had been. Kratos wasn't the kind of man to beat around the bush. He was direct when he needed to be and used the words he judged necessary to make himself clear. That didn't mean he was tactless, but he could be awfully blunt on some matters. For instance, the one they were about to discuss.

"Umm... I don't think I'm feeling well at the moment, dad. I'm sure the doctor must have said that I need rest and..."

"If you're good enough to invent excuses, that means you're more than well to listen," Kratos answered and urged his son up.

Lloyd thought about making a dash for it, but Kratos predicted that and grabbed his collar, pulling him to the room he was given in the fortress. Lloyd tried to fight back, but Kratos was skilled and strong enough to keep him on his grip even if he entered in spirit form.

"Wait, dad! Please! Somebody help MEEEEEE!" Lloyd screamed as he disappeared at the corridor that connected to the medical wing. Sheena and the others just looked at the two leaving. The nurses and medics tried not to pay attention to the scene. It was their General of Unity after all.

"You said that on purpose, didn't you?" Raine inquired Sheena.

"Well, I thought they would need some time to catch up and what better way to do that than a father-son talk?" Sheena answered.

The group couldn't help, but let sweatdrops run down their foreheads at Sheena's logic...

* * *

And to complete this chapter (which by the way was pretty hard to write), here comes a special skit with Lloyd and Kratos:

Father and Son 1

Lloyd: Dad, please! Before you start let me just say that Sheena didn;t mean that the way you're thinking.

Kratos: Oh, so you mean that young woman was lying when she said that you are attracted to her?

Lloyd: ... ok. Let's just get over with it.

Kratos: Is it that embarrassing to talk about these things with your father?

Lloyd: Not really. It's just that I already am nineteen. Don't you think I'm a little old for a lecture?

Kratos: So, you are saying you already know the basics about safe sex and all that entails this kind of act.

Lloyd: Well... hum... sure.

Kratos: Heh... it's obvious that you are lying, my son. Or do you not desire that woman's affection? I admit she seems a little older than you and...

Lloyd: T-THAT'S NOT IT! I-I really like her. I mean...

Kratos: Well, she does have the assets that most teenagers would desire on a woman...

Lloyd: That's not just it! Sheesh, you make it sound like I'm some kind of horny, perverted guy.

Kratos: I was just stating what I saw, nothing more.

Lloyd: Anyway... I missed you, dad.

Kratos: Likewise, my son. Likewise.

Lloyd: Hehe. You seem like you're doing well. Not that I didn't expect anything less from you. You always did excel at anything when you applied yourself to it. Even in those strange projects of mom's.

Kratos: ... I can't really say it wasn't amusing, at the least. But, as you can see, this is a dangerous job.

Lloyd: I would like to help you, but...

Kratos: You are already aiding Emil, Marta and the others I assume.

Lloyd: Yeah.

Kratos: I understand. You will grow stronger, Lloyd.

Lloyd: Uh, what does that exactly mean?

Kratos: Nothing really...

Lloyd: Ok then! Thanks for the talk, dad.

Kratos: Oh no. We're not through yet.

Lloyd: Dad... c'mon. I bet Sheena already know about this.

Kratos: That isn't an excuse. It is your duty as a man to know about such things. Now, we are going to discuss about STD's and move on to the use of condoms...

Kratos obtained the title "Zealous Father"

Lloyd obtained the title "Son"

I really love these father-son moments between these two. Hope this was good. Later!


	25. Penitence

This was one... was an stress to write! I mean, man! Talking about writer's block!

Anyway, Let's get on with this one. Sorry, but there shall be no skit this time, since I'm totally spent.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Penitence**

"I see... that's certainly an interesting development..." a voice said through a square device, which resembled the walkie-talkies used during the Kharlan War.

"'Interesting' isn't the word I would use," Kratos replied.

The General of Unity was alone in the planning room. After the end of the battle for Cape Fortress, most of the demons left the Meltokio region, which allowed the Renegades and Vanguard soldiers to transfer their wounded to Triaar. The other commanders and generals received others and were sent to other cells.

An order came from the High Command of both resistance organizations to pack up things and cease all operations in Cape Fortress. Kratos received it through the communicator he always carried with himself. It was an ancient device, originally designed to be used in the battlefield, but Yuan had modified it so it could transmit messages at great distances. However, it was one-sided, so just the Renegade leader could call Kratos, which he only did when he wanted a report or to give Kratos his next assignment. From what Kratos heard, Brute had a copy of the device, which the two leaders used to discuss minor subjects.

"Are you upset because your son had to save your back?" Yuan asked in a well-humored tone, which they used only when they were alone.

"Not really. I admit I was surprised at first, but I'm glad he came at the time he did."

Few knew Kratos and Yuan were friends. Kratos had ideals much like the founder of the Tethe'allan Renegades and that served to approach the two of them and, eventually, lead both warriors to establish a friendship. The fact that Yuan, or good part of the Renegades for that matter, was a half-elf didn't matter to the auburn haired swordsman. As he had once taught his son "your heart and actions will tell me whether you are good or not". When he said that to Yuan, the half-elf got confused at first, but as time passed he came to see that Kratos meant that.

If Kratos were to describe the friendship he had with Yuan, he would say it was quite "unique". Granted, he didn't know others half-elves or people that had befriended half-elves, for that matter. Brute sometimes would say the two looked like they had known each other since forever. Yuan also knew more details about Kratos' past, including about his son. The Renegade leader once asked why Kratos left Lloyd to fend for himself and the human swordsman said that if he wanted for Lloyd to survive and grow strong in that world, his son would need to know how to handle himself without anyone's help.

"And the 'girlfriend' factor?" Yuan asked.

"... that, you could say I wasn't prepared for," Kratos sighed.

"I can see, but really, of all the women in the world, the one I last expected your son to catch was Asuka's daughter. You should be proud," Yuan was acquaintances with Asuka, her being a supporter of the Renegades and the Sylvaranti Vanguard and knew how her daughter was highly wary of anything that wore pants.

"Believe me, I am. But also very worried. I mean, it is Asuka's daughter, after all."

"Isn't generally the mother the one that should be protective about this kind of thing?"

Kratos sighed again and heard a chuckle from the other side of the line. He then decided to speak:

"You didn't call me just to inquire about my only son's amorous life, did you?"

"No. In fact, what you just reported... it changes everything," Yuan said, playful demeanor gone, assuming the tone of the leader of the Tethe'allan Renegades. "It seems Ratatosk resurfacing was a sign after all. But, really... your son, a Summon Spirit," Yuan's tone was one of surprise and disbelief.

"Believe me, if there was anything at all that could indicate he was, it was hidden very well, so that the demons would never notice, or even those close to him."

"I highly doubt that wasn't their intention. We're not talking about mere people with special powers here, Kratos. They are the immortal guardians of this world. If they decided on such a drastic move right at the end of the Kharlan War, it meant they knew something like this would happen."

"You think so?"

"That's my theory."

Kratos then asked about Ratatosk, but Yuan couldn't tell if the Lord of the Monster's reincarnation was part of the other guardians' plan. Yuan didn't know much about the Summon Spirits, just the ones he had met before, but one thing he was certain of:

"I doubt he would have agreed to something like this. Not with the way he spoke in our last encounter."

"Are you going to tell him about your actual position?" Kratos questioned.

"I doubt he would care or feel pleased, even if me and Martel admitted he was right. Believe in me, he isn't very reasonable. It's a wonder Emil didn't get any more affected by Ratatosk's spirit being within him."

"I think he's more affected by it than any of us can imagine."

"What makes you say that?"

"Call it 'intuition'."

Silence fell between them as both contemplated on that. Kratos decided to move on to the next question:

"Are you going to talk with them?"

"No. I don't think any of us have the right to demand anything from them. They are probably following the path that was set for them and hopefully... no. It certainly _will _lead to the restoration of this world.The_ true_ restoration."

"You talk as if what we are doing is pointless," Kratos pointed out. Should anybody else have spoken that, Yuan would have reprimanded him harshly, but this was Kratos, he knew he could confide his friend with his innermost thoughts.

"Let's face it; even if we were to defeat Nebilim tomorrow and, somehow, close the demon's portal to this world, we would still be unable to restore the world's Equilibrium and would eventually be facing extinction. No mortal can ever hope to comprehend the inner works of the cycle of life," Yuan said, but quickly amended. "But, we owe them that much. The least we can do is to give them our support and help them in any way we can..."

"It's as much our duty as it is our penitence," Kratos finished for Yuan, who merely spoke a "yes"...

- / - / - / - / - / -

Emil and the others saw several Vanguard and Renegade soldiers packing weapons and other equipment as they walked through the interior of the fortress. Some rooms were being literally cleaned. Raine asked a Renegade soldier what it was and he said they had received an order to cease all operations in the fortress and evacuate.

The group was then approached by Kratos. Lloyd greeted his father with a smile, which Kratos returned. The auburn haired general said he wished to speak with them after they had breakfast in the common hall. Once the reincarnated Summon Spirits were done with their meals Kratos led them to outside of the fortress, to the woods near the base.

"I think this place will allow us to talk without any interruptions or eavesdroppers," Kratos started. "Now, how about we start with some proper introductions first? As you all know, I am Kratos Aurion. General of Unity of the Vanguard and the Renegades and Lloyd's father."

Sheena decided to be the first one to introduce herself as soon as Kratos did his formal greeting:

"I'm Sheena Fujibayashi from Mizuho. I was the last heir of the Fujibayashi house."

Marta then decided she should be next and presented herself:

"I'm Marta Lualdi, daughter of Brute Lualdi, the leader of the Sylvaranti Vanguard."

"WHAT?" Lloyd let out. "You're the daughter of dad's boss?"

Marta gave a half-smile to the red-clad swordsman while scratching the back of her head. Ventus gave a brief glance to her and Sheena and Raine looked to Emil, the former woman asking:

"You already knew it, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah... I did," Emil said, looking to the ground in embarrassment.

"Don't blame Emil. I told him not to tell any of you about that," Marta said. "It's just that..."

"You were afraid of how we would treat you in case we knew who you truly were," Raine suggested, to which Marta nodded. "That's understandable. After all, you didn't know our opinions in regards of the organization your father leads."

Lloyd and Sheena had to agree with that, but they couldn't help, but feel slightly offended that Marta hadn't told them that even after they showed they supported what the Renegades and the Vanguard was doing. Marta saw the looks on their faces and avoided her gaze, feeling bad for having to hide that from them for so long.

"Well, let's move on then," Kratos said, having just observed the entire exchange without as much as uttering a word. He then looked at Raine.

"I'm Professor Raine Sage. I graduated on Archeology at Sybak's Imperial Research Institute."

"A half-elf graduating in Sybak?" Kratos asked with disbelief evident in his voice.

"It was after the Renegades started to offer protection to the city and fund some of the researches. Though I obviously still faced some who didn't quite agreed with my attendance on classes. I suppose they didn't notice the vast majority of the Renegades were composed of half-elves."

"Sage... that name sounds familiar..." Kratos thought aloud. Not being able to remember where he had heard it, the auburn haired swordsman decided to go back to the subject at hand. "Anyway, it is true most of the student body didn't know the race of their protectors. If I remember correctly, just some of the staff members of the universities knew who the Renegades really were."

Emil then presented himself (Ratatosk choosing to not make part of that). With that, Kratos turned to the last human members of their group that were unknown to him. Colette flashed him a radiant smile and said:

"I'm Colette and this is my mother Amelia. We've lived in Mizuho and then in Iselia. It's quite complicated to explain it."

Kratos then looked to her mother, who only bowed her head to him with the same, identical smile as her daughter on her lips. The stoic general had to admit her smile was kind of captivating. He could remember just one other person with a smile like that.

"Is there any particular reason why she doesn't want to talk?" Kratos asked. From what he saw until now, Amelia hadn't uttered a single word.

"Um... mother was injured in the massacre at Mizuho. She was cursed with a mark on her throat," Colette explained, her happy and cheerful tone dropping a bit. Amelia pulled down the collar of her shirt and exposed her throat to Kratos. The General of Unity almost gasped at seeing the ugly scar on her neck.

"I see... I'm sorry."

Amelia simply smiled and wrote on her notebook:

_Don't worry. You didn't know._

"And these... beings with you are?" Kratos asked, referring to the Centurions.

"We are the Centurions of Ratatosk. His servants," Ventus said.

"I didn't know Summon Spirits had servants."

"Lord Ratatosk is a special case, due to his role in maintaining the Equilibrium and as the guardian of the pathway to Niflheim," Tenebrae said.

"And what is that that Lloyd told me about you all being reincarnated Summon Spirits?"

"You told him?" Ratatosk questioned, taking the control and casting a look at Lloyd.

"Why not? Dad's not going to tell anybody and..." the dual swordsman defended himself.

"How do you know? And anyway, who gave you the permission to..."

"Ratatosk, calm down. I'm sure Lloyd wouldn't have said that if his father was somebody that couldn't keep a secret," Marta said. "And, anyway, people are going to discover it sooner or later."

"But..."

"Come on. Trust him. For me."

The group looked between themselves. Ratatosk sighed in defeat and Emil took the control back. He then decided to explain to the General of Unity about their journey and about Origin's plan. At the end, Kratos had his eyes wide as he processed all the information.

"So, you say that mark you had was a Summon Spirit's crest?" the auburn haired warrior asked to his son.

"Yeah. Crazy, isn't it?" Lloyd said with a mild laugh.

"Yeah... it is..." Kratos said, however, his voice sounded unlike his normal tone, like something was deeply troubling him. Before Lloyd could ask, his father spoke, the previous voice tone giving place to his normal one. "Anyway, this is truly a very incredible story. I doubt anybody would believe in it."

"But it is true," Ignis said.

"I'm not saying it isn't, just that it is quite peculiar."

"Pe... cu... liar?" the Centurion of fire mumbled in confusion.

"It means it is impressive," Tenebrae explained.

"Oh, yeah. People do say Lord Ratatosk's is impressive," Ignis said with a smile. The group (save Colette and Amelia) had sweatdrops running down their heads at seeing Ignis, yet again, let the subject fly out of the window.

"Well, I guess he is. After all, he's a really special Summon Spirit, right?" Colette said with a smile, electing more sweat drops from the group, save her mother.

"Well, are you going to help Collie's mother then?" Sheena asked.

"Yes, I will. I think it's in our best interest to keep your families safe," Kratos said.

"There is one more thing you need to know," Raine spoke up. "The curse that was placed on Amelia gives her a demonic form and power, however, it seems that whenever she uses it, it gets more difficult for her to return to human form. From my observations, if we don't find a cure, she might turn into a demon permanently."

The younger members of the group gasped at that. Emil asked if Raine was sure about that, to which the silver haired half-elf nodded. Kratos thought about it and said:

"We have some doctors and spell casters that know about demonic magic and curses. I'll see if they can help. However..."

"You cannot give us any guarantees, since some curses cannot be undone, due to the risk they represent to the victim's soul, right?" Raine completed for Kratos, to which he nodded.

Colette and the others lowered their heads at that, but Amelia wrote on her notebook, showing a comforting smile to try and don't get them to worry:

_Don't worry. It's alright. As long as Colette stays safe, it is fine by me._

"Uh, you really are far too selfless for your own good, Amelia," Sheena commented with a sigh and a sad smile.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The sun shone brightly as the group of reincarnated Summon Spirits made their way to the Earth Temple. After a heartfelt goodbye between Colette and her mother and Lloyd giving his farewells to his father and Noishe, the latter promising he would look if they have any reincarnated Summon Spirits enlisted in the two resistance organizations, Emil and the others were back at the road. Colette was chatting amiably with the blond boy, who smiled as he answered. Marta cast furtive glances to the two every now and then.

Sheena raised her eyebrow when she caught the brunette eying her crush and their newest friend for the fifth time. The voluptuous woman took Marta's arm and dragged her to the front of the group, where only Lloyd and the Centurions were.

"Ok, what's up with you?" Sheena whispered the question to Marta, after she casted a quick glance at Lloyd, one that told "don't even think about eavesdropping"_. _The red clad swordsman gulped and fell behind the group, near Raine. "I know you're possessive about Emil and everything..." Marta was about to protest with her typical denial, but Sheena didn't give her the chance. "But I never figured you would stalk him when he's just talking with another girl."

Marta widened her eyes and assumed a meek pose, poking her indicator fingers on each other. All she could do was stutter:

"That... that's..."

Sheena sighed and looked at Emil and Colette again. It took only one second for her to catch on why that scene bothered Marta. The blondes looked almost like a couple with that friendly atmosphere around them. She then turned to Marta and said:

"If you're so worried, why don't you come up to Colette and say that you like Emil? Believe me, she's going to understand."

"That's not just it..." Marta answered with a sigh.

"Then what is it?"

"It's... complicated..."

Sheena sighed again. What was up with Marta? She wasn't normally that difficult. Sheena wondered if that had something to do with the fact the brunette girl just revealed to them that she was the daughter of the Vanguards Commander.

Before she could inquire further, Raine called the attention of the group by saying:

"We should stop at Meltokio for resupplying. And it's already getting late."

Sheena paled at the mention of the city. Marta noticed that and asked if Sheena was alright. The young woman didn't answer it immediately, darting her eyes to the sides. Sheena turned to the half-elf woman and asked, trying to disguise the nervousness in her voice:

"D-Don't you think it would be best we just go ahead to the Earth Temple?"

"It's one day of travel between Meltokio and the Earth Temple at foot. And we don't know if all of the demons really left the region. Colette will certainly have to pass by some kind of trial when recovering the other half of her soul, so don't you think she should be rested for when that happened?" Raine inquired in that wise and knowing tone that Sheena was starting to hate by now.

"Um, what do you mean by trial?" Colette asked.

"You're probably going to have to fight against some guardian or something," Lloyd answered. "Me and Marta had to fight two powerful monsters alone and Sheena faced Aska."

"Fight? But, I can't fight! The last time I did it, I... I..." Colette's voice died as the memory resurfaced. She felt a taste of rust on her mouth as she remembered the person she killed and started to shake.

"It seems we will have to take a break after all..." Raine sighed. "Colette seems to have some kind of trauma from a previous experience. It will take some time to treat it."

Sheena could only look at her surrogate little sister with pity as she saw Lumen and Ignis trying to comfort her in silence. She didn't have any idea of what the Desians made Colette suffer when they attacked, but from the look and the way the blond girl was trembling, Sheena could tell the damage had been great.

_I swear, someday, I'm going to kill them all. _the female ninja thought. The Desians and the demons already destroyed her home and now they hurt yet again a pure and innocent girl that would never harm anybody.

"Then, Meltokio it is," Lloyd said.

Sheena sighed, seeing she didn't have an opinion on the matter. She just hoped that what she feared the most wouldn't happen, but knowing her luck, that was just wishful thinking...

- / - / - / - / - / -

The once called Imperial City of Meltokio, home of the Tethe'allan Royal Family, was now a mere shadow of its former glory. The castle that once stood proud atop the city was now just a pile of rubble, having been destroyed along with the Royal Family long ago, when the city was raided by the demons at the end of the war. Most of the noble quarters was also destroyed, few of the once beautiful mansions was still standing and in conditions to be inhabited.

The representative body of the Cruxis Church was now the one that ruled the city and the Obelisk of Mana at the middle quarters was there to prove it. The Coliseum had closed its activities long ago, partially because it was damaged during the Second Invasion and because the church condemned the activities that once took place inside of the building, though executions of half-elves and heretic offenders were still being held there from time to time.

Like the other bigger communities, Meltokio had a Cruxis Representative. However, according to rumors, he was quite young when he took the role and his work relationship with the other members of the church was a bit turbulent to say the least.

The group arrived near the gate of the city. Predictably, they were stopped by the guards, who demanded to know who they were and what their business were. Thankfully, these Martel Knights also spoke the universal language of bribery. After Raine paid for their entrance, the group looked at her with wide eyes, as the silver haired woman asked an "what?", like she was genuinely confused.

"You know, it's kinda disturbing when you do things like that without even flinching. Makes me wonder how many cities you entered doing this," Sheena commented.

"Believe me, I had time to learn when I can pass an inspection with a simple 'donation' or not. When the matter in survival, you will use any means necessary to secure your life," Raine replied in a serious voice.

"Yeah, but still..." Marta commented.

"We don't have the luxury to afford being honest or follow hectic," Raine replied in a curt tone, one that said that was the end of the subject.

Lloyd and the others ascended the staircase to the middle quarters. There were still parts of the city that were in ruins and some building had been converted into houses, shops or Inns along the years.

When the group was almost at the top, they stopped at seeing a familiar figure coming. Emil and Marta's eyes widened as they quickly went to the person, calling his name:

"Richter!"

"Emil? Marta?" the red headed half-elf said, surprised at seeing his two friends there. "What are you doing here?"

"We could ask you the same," Raine said, approaching, her analytic and devious expression already on. "We thought that all of the demons have left the region after their defeat at Cape Fortress."

"Raine!" Emil and Marta said in unison with a tone of protest.

"So you were the ones responsible for that. I should have guessed," Richter said, though his tone said that he was actually glad they had defeated Narom. It was then he noticed a new face in the group. He looked at Colette with his usual stoic and analytical expression, before turning to Emil. "It seems each time we meet your group gets more members. Who is this one?"

"I-I'm Colette," the blond girl said in a nervous tone, feeling a little intimidated by Richter's glare, but bowed to him in greeting.

"Might I ask who you _were_?" Richter said.

"Um... I said my name is Colette," the blond repeated, not catching Richter's tone or question.

"That wasn't what I asked..." the older half-elf sighed. _She's as clueless as she looks. _"Well, that doesn't matter. Emil, leave this city immediately. Get as far away from here as you can."

"Wha... why?" Emil asked.

The tone Richter used gave chills on the couple of travelers. They knew that tone, it meant Richter had just found out something potentially dangerous.

"I can't say anymore than that, or I risk having to explain it to Nebilim when he asks. The Desian Grand Cardinals have been on my case lately and I'm sure some of them have spies tailing on me. I managed to lose them when I entered in the city."

"So, they're trying to get rid of you? That's awful, Master Richter!" Aqua said from her hidden position, though the members of the group with spiritual perception could still sense her. "Why can't you... ?"

"You know why I can't Aqua. Anyway, that's my warning. I have to go now."

With that, Richter threw his left, red bang to the side and started to go down the stairs. Emil wanted to call him back, but didn't know what he could say. He was just glad Richter hadn't appeared in the battlefield at Cape Fortress. Having to fight with his friend would literally tear at him.

_"You know that'll happen someday, right?" _Ratatosk inquired to Emil.

_I know... but I just hope it isn't soon enough._

_"You better prepare yourself for when that happens. If you chicken out, then I'll have to take the lead, though I don't have any problems with teaching him a lesson."_

_Can we... talk about this later? _Emil asked in an almost begging tone.

_"Huh... you're just too soft for your own good, wimp," _the Lord of the Monsters then weakened the link between their consciousnesses.

After that, the group continued their way and stopped near the steel fence that surrounded the Obelisk of Mana when they saw Raine was looking intently at it, almost as if she was trying to figure something out. Emil asked what it was and the silver haired woman said:

"There's something... different about this Obelisk. But I just can't figure it out."

"Yeah, I know," a new voice sounded. "I always said to them: why can't we at least let the people paint it, it surely would lighten up their mood. But nooo. 'That would be heresy'," a hand shot out of behind the obelisk, clad in a long, black glove with pink protection, making motions in the air as its owner spoke. The group could just stare. "But I'm sure that bores you, so..."

A person suddenly appeared, turning with his back still connected to the Obelisk so the group had a lateral vision of him. The man had bright, red hair and wore navy-blue pants, white shoes with details in gold and a pink, sleeveless, buttoned jacket with a high collar and without anything underneath. His forearms were clad in long, black gloves with details in gold and leather, pink protection. He had his eyes closed, but when he opened them the group could see they were a navy-blue. His smile was a charming one that made Marta immediately blush and Raine raise an eyebrow.

"Well, hello there, my lovely ladies and welcome to Meltokio," the man said, walking to them and passing over the fence. "I am Zelos Wilder..." with a flicker of his finger he produced three glass roses on his hand and handed them to each of the girls. Sheena was hiding behind the group, out of sight of the stranger. "Cruxis' Representative of Meltokio."

"You're a Cruxis' Representative?" Lloyd asked in a disbelieving tone. All the Representatives he saw until now were serious, strict and seemed to always take in everything the church said, but this guy seemed to be the polar opposite of them.

"Um, sorry, but was I talking to you?" Zelos said as he turned to Lloyd, his charming smile gone and replaced with a placid expression as he talked with the red clad swordsman. Without waiting for an answer, he said. "No. Now, no offense, but I don't talk to guys, so..." he turned to Raine and the girls, resuming his previous expression like he had never been interrupted. "If my lovely hunnies would allow me, I would like to be your escort and show the town to you. Maybe you would like to have some food, or book a room in the Inn. Whatever it is you desire, speak to me."

Zelos never once dropped his charming smile while speaking to them. Lloyd was starting to find the guy quite annoying and Emil had his mouth agape and his eyes wide in a comical expression at seeing Marta blushing profusely as Zelos talked to them.

_"I really hope they decline, because if I have to hear this guy talking for the rest of the afternoon, I'm going to kill him. Cruxis be damned!" _Ratatosk said, his irritation clear as he seemed to make a sound that resembled a growl.

Zelos then looked to Colette, who kept a confused and curious expression the entire time, not seeming fazed by Zelos' smile or suave speech the entire time. She simply found it funny. Zelos seemed to have noticed it for he approached the girl as he said:

"My, my, aren't you a vision of beauty. You know what, I bet you're as cute as button when you smi..." he never managed to complete his phrase, for in that moment something passed flying near his forehead, severing some strands of his hair and embedding itself on the pavement, some meters away. Zelos dropped his charming expression for a nervous smile as he looked to the objected that almost cut his face. It was a kunai.

"Get away from her if you know it's better for your perverted ass," a low, threatening voice said.

The group looked and saw it was Sheena, finally coming out of her hiding place behind the other girls. She had more kunais in hand and emanated a murderous aura. However, Zelos seemed to not pay attention to these details as he looked at her in surprise, with wide eyes, and asked:

"Sheena? Is that you?"

The entire group looked from Sheena to Zelos, Lloyd more surprised than any of them. She knew that perverted Cruxis' Representative? The voluptuous woman approached him, keeping her face completely devoid of any emotion.

"Wow! You've..." Zelos said, seeming to be choosing his words as he looked at her bottom-up, his eyes lingering on her bosom a little longer. "Grown up, heh?" he said in a mild suggestive tone.

Then, without any warning and before Lloyd could say anything, Sheena delivered a right hook on Zelos' jaw, effectively sending him on the ground. The group stood surprised when she proceeded to kick him in the chest, electing an "ow!" from the Cruxis' Representative.

"What did I said I would do if I ever saw your face again?" Sheena proclaimed, a vein pulsing in her forehead. She seemed absolutely pissed off.

"I think it was something among the lines of..." Zelos tried to say, just for her to kick him again, with more strength.

"SHUT UP!"

"Hey!" the group saw an armored Martel Knight coming. "What do you think you're doing to Cruxis' Representative?" the man said.

Lloyd and the others got worried. Attacking a Representative was considered a grave offense and could earn one a one-way ticket to a prison cell. Sheena didn't seem to care too much about that as she only glared at the knight, who seemed to flinch for a moment before going back to his previous pose and preparing to take his weapon when Zelos stood up and said:

"It's alright. I just tripped, that's all," the red head said while dusting himself, giving a carefree smile.

"Are you sure, Representative?" the soldier asked, clearly not believing in such a transparent lie.

"I already said it was my fault. You're not needed here," Zelos said, his smile suddenly turning into a warning.

The Martel Knight seemed a little indecisive, but knew better than to go against the Cruxis' Representative's word. Making a salute, he left the group. Emil, Lloyd and others turned to Zelos, surprised written in their eyes. Raine then asked:

"Why did you lie for us?"

"Well, I just think it would be a waste for such pretty faces to end up their days in a stinky, jail cell." he then looked at Sheena. "And, I kinda owed it to somebody."

"Don't think that changes anything," Sheena said in an acid tone. "Show your face around me again, or pick on Collie and I'm going to kill you, is that clear?"

Zelos looked from Sheena with a worried glance and then at the other females in the group. When he turned his gaze to her, he saw a kunai being pointed at his face. The red head gulped as he said:

"Crystal, ma'am."

Sheena collected the weapon and made motion for the group to accompany her. Lloyd and the others followed, giving a last, confused look to Zelos, who just stood there. When the group was out of sight the red head mumbled, while massaging his jaw:

"Man, she sure got stronger. Seems like it came back to haunt me after all..."

- / - / - / - / - / -

"Any special reason as to why you attacked a Cruxis' Representative in broad daylight?" Tenebrae inquired as soon as the group got into the rooms of the Inn, deciding it would be better to retreat for the day before Sheena decided to beat somebody else up.

"It's kind of a long story," Sheena said, appearing to be calmer now. She still didn't look like she would apologize for almost getting her friends arrested.

"Oh, ok then," Lumen said, giving his back to them and going to another corner of the room. Tenebrae sighed and grabbed the cheetah-like Centurion with his hand-like tail and dragged him back to his place.

"Go on, Lady Sheena," Ventus urged her.

Sheena sighed, collecting her thoughts, knowing her friends would simply not let the subject lay down. She then started:

"You all know I was raised by Asuka on Asgard ever since she found me, right? Well, during this time, a Cruxis Representative came to the city on a pilgrimage. At least that's what he said to everybody, I think it was just an excuse."

"And this Representative was Zelos?" Emil asked. Sheena nodded.

"At the time, I was a little naive and I couldn't quite _see_ what happened around me, mainly in what pertained men and relationships. Mother tried to teach me about it, but I never really paid much attention up to that point. When Zelos came, all women in city were immediately charmed by his suave words and his handsome smile."

"And that included you, I assume," Tenebrae said.

"As much as I hate to admit, yeah... at the time, I didn't really know what he did with them. I thought he was just flirting, but he actually brought them all to his room in the Inn and..." she stopped and looked at Colette. The blond girl was confused then, but she slowly started to get what Sheena meant.

"He... did _things_ with them, didn't he?" Colette asked, blushing at the mere thought.

"Yep. Though, I was the one that resisted him the most. I never let him convince me to get into a bed with him. I think that kinda made him pissed off, but he never showed it, always wearing that stupid smile on his face and spouting soft words to make me melt. Regrettably, it worked every time.

"Mother saw through all of it and tried to warn me several times that Zelos was just playing around with me, but I was so in love with that image of glamorous prince he sported that I didn't listen to her. Then, one day he promised that he would take me with him to Meltokio so I could live with him like a princess. I was so stupid…" Sheena gave a grim smile as she brought her hand to her forehead. "I told mother and she prohibited me, saying I would be throwing my life away.

"That was the only time we really got into a serious fight. She said I was being stupid and naive and wasn't realizing what was behind the mask of false prince Zelos was wearing. I yelled at her and... well, let's just say things got quite ugly.

"Long story short, I sneaked out of our house after it and went to Zelos to leave with him to Meltokio the next morning. However, when I got to the Inn, I heard moans coming from his room. The door was unlocked and... you can imagine what I encountered there.

"When I got the other woman out, I asked Zelos why he was doing that when he had already promised that he would take me to Meltokio. He laughed at my face, saying that I had was just too stupid for believing in that fake promise. I tried to argue back with him in a... well, you know those novel scenes were the girl speaks her feelings trying to win the insensitive guy and all that crap? Let's just say it was quite like one."

Lloyd closed his fists at hearing that. He always thought that the guy that had charmed Sheena and made her wary of relationships had to be a jerk, but he never thought it had actually been like that. What Sheena was telling him made he want to go and stab Zelos to death.

"He just laughed at me, saying I didn't have anything special aside from my body and that I was being too difficult for his tastes. When he saw I wouldn't loosen up, he decided that I shouldn't be that good. It was really... painful hearing all of that. Next thing I know, I was on him, mauling his face with my bare knuckles while crying. I just stopped when I heard somebody coming and I jumped out of the window and ran home."

Sheena went silent after the end of her story, crossing her arms over her chest and looking out of the building by the window. Lloyd had his eyes closed and teeth grinded, swearing the next time he saw Zelos he was going to give the heartless pervert a piece of his mind. Marta was the first one to talk:

"How awful, I can't believe him! That's so disgusting! Toying with somebody's heart like that!"

"I can't say I'm really surprised. I've seen worse during the war," Raine said in a nonchalant tone.

"What do you mean, Professor?" Colette asked.

"Think about it, humans are sinful creatures by nature. They were even given the chance to destroy this world and they took it. Sheena's story is just one of the many untold tragedies that humans inflict upon themselves."

"You talk as if that's the most normal thing in the world," Marta said, narrowing her eyes at Raine's attitude.

"When you see as much of life as I've seen, you will learn that people are as bad as, if not worse, than demons."

"That's kinda negative, Lady Raine," Ignis said. "I rather think there is good on everybody," the ditzy Centurion said.

"That's probably your perspective. After all, things like this are meaningless when compared to the state of the world."

"Oh, sorry then if my story is so meaningless in face of your vastly superior knowledge," Sheena sarcastically spoke, rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I meant," Raine said.

The two older women started another argument. Lloyd tried to calm himself down to not dash out of the door and get to Zelos right now, wherever he was. His father always said he was far too impulsive sometimes, but Lloyd found it rather difficult not to throw caution away for the sake of defending Sheena's pride.

Thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted when Ignis suddenly leaned her body on his shoulder, giving him an ample view of her bosom. She spoke with a smile:

"You would never do such a thing with Lady Sheena, right Sir Lloyd? After all, you love her too much to fall into temptation like that."

"Um... well..." Lloyd said, scratching behind his head as he blushed, achieving to avoid looking at Ignis's chest, just for his to wander back and he had to avoid them all over again.

"You shouldn't tempt him then, Ignis," Ventus commented with a sigh.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The sun rose in the horizon as the city of Meltokio woke for another day. The citizens went to the cathedral of Cruxis, built near the ruins of the ancient Tethe'alla castle. Sheena, Raine and the others decided to spend the evening in the Coliseum to train and see if they could convince Colette to do the same. Since the old structure was used just when there were executions, few people would be around there.

"You all go on. I have something to do," Lloyd said, surprising his amorous interest and the others.

"And that would be?" Raine asked with a raised eyebrow and her typical analytical look, as if she was trying to read Lloyd.

"Nothing of too serious. Trust me," Lloyd tried to smile, but it came out forced.

"Suit yourself," Raine said, seeming to dismiss that and went for the door.

"Be careful, ok? Meltokio isn't that much of a friendly city and I doubt you'll have enough money to bribe yourself out of every trouble that comes your way," Sheena recommended. "I really would hate to have to bust you out of jail, but it's better than you becoming the man-wife of the inmates."

Lloyd was about to ask what a "man-wife" was, but decided to let it be.

After the girls, Emil and the Centurions left, Lloyd took his twin swords and strapped them behind his back. Leaving the Inn, he tried to think on where to go. He didn't know any of Meltokio, but thought that he should probably start by the cathedral. Since a sermon was taking place, it was probable _he_ would be there.

Lloyd went up the stairs to the middle quarters and he saw Zelos walking in the direction of the living section of the upper quarters with his hands behind his head and a priest following him. Zelos didn't even notice the young man, for he seemed too busy ignoring the priest who was arguing with him:

"You should really try and stay during the sermon, Representative Wilder, not leave in the middle."

"I stayed in it yesterday, didn't I?" Zelos replied in a nonchalant tone, looking to the side.

"That was yesterday. The masses feel reassured when the voice between the church and the people attends to the sermons. Your commitment to work has been lax lately."

"Really? Don't I keep people happy and content, so they don't think about 'straying away from the path of enlightenment'?" Zelos asked as he looked at the priest.

"Yes... but... your 'methods' are… quite unorthodox," the priest said, seeming to try and choose his words very carefully. "And those women I've seen around you haven't even been behaving as it is proper for a follower of the Faith."

"Just because they don't come to the sermons everyday or don't _donate _themselves, doesn't mean they don't follow it," Zelos countered.

"I'm just giving you a friendly warning, Representative Wilder. There are several that are dissatisfied with your lack of devotion for with our noble mission," the two stopped as Zelos casted a glance at the priest. "You should show more dedication with your duties, or we might have to call this to Cruxis' attention. You haven't even been inspecting those that enter in our community as it is required for you. And those strange rumors..."

"Oh, c'mon. Now you're blaming me for some stupid rumors other people are spreading? I thought you guys were smarter than this. I wonder if Cruxis will even bother to pay attention to something like some unfounded suspicion about me having strange powers."

Zelos waved his hand and said goodbye to the priest, not even bothering to wait for a reply. The priest sighed in exasperation and turned around. Lloyd followed the red haired Cruxis' Representative to the noble quarters' mansions, or what was left of them. Zelos entered one of the old mansions and Lloyd waited sometime to not seem suspicious.

Inside the mansion, Zelos was greeted by one of the last servants of his family:

"Greetings, Master Zelos. How was the sermon today?"

"Same old, Sebastian. 'Repent and follow the Faith'and all that stuff," Zelos said to his butler as he sat down on the couch and Sebastian brought some coffee for him to drink.

"Did the priests complain?"

"Like always. Those guys just love me that way."

There was a knock on the door and Sebastian went to answer it. When the butler opened the door he saw Lloyd there and asked:

"May I help you?"

"I'm looking for Cruxis' Representative, Zelos. Does he live here?" Lloyd asked, trying to sound like he wanted nothing special.

"Just one moment..."

Sebastian turned to his master, who thought for a moment and decided to let the young man in. It was not like he had anything better to do for the rest of the morning. Might as well do one of his duties for a change and hear the pleas of the community.

Lloyd entered the mansion and looked at Zelos with a stony expression. The red head got up, giving a smile to the dual swordsman as he said:

"So, what can good, ol' Cruxis' Representative Zelos do to you?"

"I want to ask you something," Lloyd said in a serious tone.

"If it is for an autograph, than I'm afraid that I..." before Zelos could complete his phrase, Lloyd took three large steps forward and drew one of his swords, pointing it to Zelos' face. The Cruxis' Representative seemed surprised, but soon resumed his expression to an amused one. "Oh... now that's new."

Lloyd looked at Sebastian, the butler seemed worried but didn't do anything to help his lord. It was like he wasn't really worried for Zelos' sake. Maybe that had something to do with Zelos' amused expression. The red head then spoke to this butler, his tone a calm one:

"Sebastian, let me take care of this. Go on and prepare lunch," the older man simply bowed and left the two.

"You seem awfully calm for somebody who is being threatened," Lloyd pointed out.

"Well, I've to admit you have guts. Coming into a Cruxis' Representative house with weapons strapped on your back. You could get arrested for less than that, you know?" Zelos said with an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Yet, you didn't call the Martel Knights. Why?"

"Dunno," Zelos shrugged. "Maybe I just don't feel like throwing somebody into the dungeons today."

Lloyd couldn't tell if Zelos simply didn't care, or if he was an idiot. He was starting to understand why Sheena had punched and kicked him regardless of the consequences.

"So, are you going to ask me what you want from me, or should I start begging for my life?" Zelos inquired putting his hand on his chest for dramatic emphasis. Lloyd felt a vein pulsing on his forehead. "By the way, you shouldn't point a sword to somebody, unless you really intent to harm the person," Zelos said, his smile turning into another enigmatic one.

The red clad swordsman sighed as Zelos sat down and offered him some coffee. Lloyd declined, wondering what was wrong with that guy. He acted like he had control over the situation or like this was routine for him. Deciding to get over with that, Lloyd asked:

"I wanna know why you did what you did to Sheena."

"You know Sheena?" Zelos asked, seeming surprised as he raised an eyebrow.

"I was with her and the others when you showed up," Lloyd reminded him. Zelos got quiet for some time.

"Really? Well, no offense, but I don't pay much attention to guys. By the way, what are you to her? Angry boyfriend?"

"N-no!" Lloyd said, blushing against his will. "I'm just a friend!"

"Oh... I see..." Zelos said with a smirk.

Now Lloyd really wanted to impale the moron. What was up with that idiotic, knowing smile of his? Zelos simply sipped some more of his coffee and said:

"If you're going to hear me, maybe you should sit. It's a long story," Lloyd didn't move, showing he wasn't going to drop his guard. "Alright, suit yourself.

"For starters, have you heard about how I came to this position?" Lloyd shook his head. He was never much interested in anything regarding the church or Cruxis. Even thought Raine tried to explain it to him a few times, he thought it was just too boring. "Well, I don't know how the guys in the other cities do, but here, in Meltokio, the position of Cruxis' Representative is practically bought by whoever has more money to 'donate' to the church. Actually, I think it was pretty much how things always worked here, even during the war."

Lloyd was about to ask Zelos what all of that had to do with Sheena, but the red head didn't give him the chance and continued with his story:

"My grandfather bought the title and it was passed down in my family. When I inherited it, I was still a child. Predictably, I was forced to go to the church's meetings and commemorations where I would meet the last members of the few families of Tethe'alla's aristocracy that survived. All of them wanted the same thing; use me to gain favors from the church. Even the church tried to manipulate my decisions. My father passed through the same thing; he was forced to marry my mother and the two couldn't stand each other.

"Well, I wasn't content with simply letting things roll that way, so I decided that if they wanted to use me then, I would use them before they had the chance to do so. With my position, I could get away with many things and since my family was the wealthiest in Meltokio, they couldn't stand the idea of losing its support. Problem is, when you're living between opportunists and people that even try to marry their children off to you in hopes of unifying the families' fortunes, you kinda start losing track of who is using you and who just wants to be your friend."

"Oh. So you're saying you're the victim, is that it?" Lloyd asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe. I won't deny I did mess up... several times..."

Lloyd looked more attentively at Zelos when he said that. He noticed a tone of regret in his voice, but it was so fast he barely caught it once Zelos put his expression back in place and started to tell what Lloyd had come to hear:

"When I met Sheena, I was what you could call a heartbreaker. I could virtually have any girl I wanted, crush her heart, throw it away and get away with it. I didn't do that in Meltokio because it would cause complications, since I live here. That's why I went in pilgrimages."

"So, you are basically a sick, sadistic, perverted bastard. Figures," Lloyd muttered the last word under his breath.

"Anyway, when I met her, she resisted my attempts to get her to bed. I admit that kinda irritated me. I mean, c'mon. Who would be able to resist this smile and face?" Zelos said, putting up a seductive and attractive expression on his face, the same that made Marta blush back there.

"Oh, sorry. I misjudged you back there. I should have said you are a sick, sadistic, perverted, _narcissistic _bastard. "

Zelos was about to shoot a glare at Lloyd, but decided he deserved it. The young man continued to glare at him for that reaction, but when he saw Zelos looking away, he said for the red head to continue.

"I'm sure she told you about all that I said to her and what I promised. Then she caught me in bed with another woman of Asgard. Actually, I think that was the twenty fifth. Don't know. I kinda lose track, sometimes," Zelos had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Can we get back to subject?" Lloyd inquired in an angry tone. He _really_ didn't need to know how many women Zelos screwed and later threw away like they were some kind of toy. The way that perverted jackass talked about it made Lloyd's blood boil once more.

"Oh, right. Sorry bud."

"Don't call me bud!" Lloyd protested, though he wasn't sure what that expression meant. Zelos seemed to ignore it.

"When she started to demand explanations from me, I said I just got tired of waiting for her to decide and that she probably wasn't that much of a catch, even if she had a hot body. She started to cry at that moment, a common reaction I was used to cause. Then I saw she getting angry. Not uncommon too. But when she started beating me, I saw something other than those two feelings in her eyes."

Zelos' tone turned somber as he talked about that and his face assumed a serious expression. Lloyd asked him what he had seen.

"I saw pain, hurt and disappointment."

Lloyd narrowed his eyes and could swear a voice at the back of his mind (one that reminded him much of Ratatosk) said something that resembled "well, Duh!". The dual swordsman couldn't contain himself and retorted:

"And what were you expecting? You hurt her feelings! Don't tell me you..."

"What impressed me wasn't the feelings themselves, but the intensity. She had really trusted me. No other women I met had done that. Well, this and beating me to a bloody pulp. They generally got too shocked to even react," Lloyd raised his eyebrow again and had to resist the incredible urge to stab Zelos. That guy really had this annoying habit of breaking the mood with stupid remarks. "The fact is, I was always used to people admiring me because I was Cruxis' representative, because I was the voice of the vice of the church and the heavenly saviors and all of that crap. They wanted to get close to me, because of what I represented and because they thought I could help them with how the church viewed them.

"Sheena apparently admired me because of _who_ I was. I saw that in her eyes and tears. She wanted to get close to me because of who I was. Although, the _me_ that caught her attention was a facade, a lie I made up so I could get everybody under my thumb. You could say she literally beat some sense into me. And... well, it really hurt later. And I'm not talking about my wounds. When I realized what those feeling exactly were, I realized I had pushed away the only person that ever saw me as Zelos and not as Cruxis' Representative."

Lloyd lowered his sword at that. He could see and hear the regret in Zelos' voice and eyes. Lloyd was pretty attentive when it came to read the feelings in people's eyes. His father said it was a common trait in their family. He also recalled Kratos saying something about the eyes being the window to a person's soul.

"So, you're saying you realize that you were a jerk back then?" Lloyd asked.

"I wouldn't say jerk. More like something close to a demon, or even worse," Zelos said with a bitter smile as he got up. "Anyway, I'm not going to ask you or Sheena for forgiveness or any of that. For one, she would kill me before I could get one word out and two, I don't really deserve that."

"I think it has something to do with you trying to flirt with everybody back there," Lloyd said.

"That? Oh, that was nothing. I did worse back then," Zelos said in an honest tone. "Anyway, who was the blonde angel-face with her? She sounded kinda protective about her."

"That's Colette. Her surrogate sister."

"Oh. Ouch! Seems I'm doomed to always mess up when it comes to her," Zelos said in a dramatic pose, with his hand over his heart, like he had been injured there.

Lloyd sighed and turned, sheathing his sword. Zelos asked where he was going and the red clad swordsman said he was going back to his friends, adding:

"Don't think I trust you. I'm not going to forgive you either for what you did to Sheena, regardless of you realizing your mistake or not. You hurt her pretty bad."

"Well, I would say you were an idiot if you did. But sounds like you're not that dumb."

"If you hurt her or any of my friends, I swear you're going to regret it dearly," Lloyd said in an acid tone, dismissing Zelos' previous comments.

Lloyd then left. In that moment, Sebastian came back from the kitchen as the door shut behind Lloyd. Zelos let out a long sigh and his butler asked if he was alright. The Cruxis' Representative gave a small smile as he said:

"Seems Sheena found somebody that actually can protect her as she deserves."

"What do you mean, Master Zelos?" Sebastian asked.

"That look on his eyes. He intends to carry out that threat, consequences be damned. And that, Sebastian, means he truly care about them..."

- / - / - / - / - / -

Lloyd stopped near the cathedral as the people were still leaving after the end of the sermon. The young man sighed. Talking with Zelos hadn't been exactly what he had expected. The Cruxis' Representative looked like he genuinely was sorry for all the pain he caused, but Lloyd wasn't that naive. He knew there was a possibility Zelos was faking, given how the guy had charmed many women before in his travels.

"Sounds like you're in a dilemma," Ventus' voice sounded, startling Lloyd.

"Ventus?" Lloyd asked, looking around. He tried to use his spiritual perception, but was unable to pinpoint exactly where the Centurion of wind was. He still had to practice.

In burst of fire and wind, Ventus and Ignis appeared. Lloyd asked if they had been following him and the draconic-woman said:

"We were worried about you, Sir Lloyd. You've seemed bothered ever since Lady Sheena told her story."

"Oh... well..." Lloyd mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

"Don't worry, we're not going to divulge your activities to Lady Sheena," Ventus said.

Lloyd sighed in relief and thanked them. An idea then crossed his mind. The dual swordsman asked Ventus:

"You said once that you followed orders from the other Summon Spirits too, right?"

"If they didn't conflict with those passed by Lord Ratatosk, yes. It was so we could better interact with them and learn how to effectively manage the mana."

"Oh, do you have a request, Sir Lloyd?" Ignis asked, seeming eager.

"Yeah. Could you guys keep tabs on Zelos for the day. I wanna know if he was being sincere."

"You mean, if he truly realized his past mistakes in how to deal with the opposite gender?" Ventus inquired.

"You heard that?"

"I didn't particularly want to, but it was either that or let Ignis go by herself and reveal our presence. She would probably get sidetracked too."

"Tracks? Where? I didn't know monsters lived here," Ignis said, electing a sweatdrop from Lloyd.

"Anyway, can you guys do it?" the Wielder of Victory's Flame asked.

"Of course! Anything to help a member of Lord Ratatosk's family," Ignis said in a bubbly tone. After some seconds she asked. "So, what do you need of us?"

Lloyd shook his head and Ventus sighed.


	26. The Angel, the Princess and the Romantic

First, for the reviews:

- Many pointed Lloyd's actions during his talk with Zelos were kind of overboard. Actually, Lloyd didn't intend to fight Zelos or anything like that. He just brought his sword for intimidation purposes, he didn't actually intent to use it. I though that Zelos saying Lloyd not to bring something out unless you intended to use already gave you all the tip to what I meant when I wrote it.

Anyway, here's another chapter and with a skit as compensation for the lateness! This one is between the girls (for those who have bad memory, it is between Raine, Sheena, Marta and Colette):

Meltokio

Sheena: I can't believe we just had to run into that idiot. I hate this city!

Colette: Sheena, I know you don't like him, but you shouldn't hate the city just because of the one person you don't like living here.

Sheena: It's not just that. Most of the descendants of Tethe'alla's nobility also live here and the Church of Cruxis is heavily biased in their treatment.

Raine: In that case I have to agree with Sheena. This city doesn't seem to have changed too much from how it was during the war.

Marta: You've been here before?

Raine: My father was a human, an emissary of the last Tethe'allan King. I came to this city once with him. It's not a memory I'm particularly fond of.

Sheena: I can imagine. Meltokio loses only to Ozette in half-elven prejudice.

Colette: That's so sad. It's like they learned nothing from everything that happened.

Rainer: Humans are stubborn creatures.

Marta: Heh, says the one that whenever sees a ruin begs to let us wait to have a chance to study it.

Raine: I don't know what you're talking about.

Sheena: Either way, we shouldn't spend much time here. Let's just get our business over with and leave as soon as we can.

Raine: Running away from your problems, won't make them disappear.

Sheena: You say that just because you don't know what it is to have a perverted dog eying you like you are some piece of meat.

Raine: I wouldn't say so. Back in my time in Sybak I did have my... admirers and had an amorous affair.

Colette: Really? With who?

Raine: I might tell you someday.

Marta: I wonder what kind of man would call Raine's attention.

Sheena: I think she's ling. Unless the guy is a maniac for archeology too.

Raine: Say's the paragon of seduction.

Sheena: What does that mean?

Marta & Colette: *sigh*

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**The Angel, The Princess and The Last Romantic**

Lloyd walked into the abandoned halls of the Meltokio Coliseum. Dust accumulated in the old carpet and some of the furniture was either broken or showed sings of termites eating away at the wood. Lloyd then passed by the old waiting room and entered in the arena. There he could see Sheena training with Marta, as Raine was writing in her large book while watching them. Looking further to the side, he saw Colette talking with Lumen and Emil discussing something with Tenebrae and Aqua.

Sheena and Marta locked weapons again, the ninja trying to blind her adversary by releasing a bright flash from her seal cards. Marta closed her eyes the moment she noticed it and jumped back. She opened her eyes once noticing the flash had passed and spun on her place, sending several wind blades and disks towards Sheena, who expertly dodged all of them, however, the disks stopped in the middle of the air once they missed and homed again on the ninja, who dodged once more. It seemed Marta was coming along nicely with controlling her powers.

Lloyd sat down next to Raine. He asked what she was writing.

"I'm basically chronicling our journey and findings, as well as taking notes on the development of our powers," Lloyd asked why she did that. "It's important for one to take notes on his experiments and works, so he will not commit the same mistakes again. Also, it helps in the learning process. You should try it, Lloyd."

"You mean, like studying?" Lloyd asked, as Raine nodded at the red clad swordsman. Lloyd cringed at the thought. "I think I'm fine the way I am. Besides, I doubt I would be able to write down half of what you do, Raine. You're just smarter and more observant than me."

"Thanks Lloyd, but you shouldn't underestimate yourself. You are a very intelligent young man when you want to be," Raine said with a rare smile on her face.

Emil, Tenebrae and Aqua stopped speaking and were looking at Lloyd once they caught up the conversation he was having with Raine. The Centurion of darkness commented:

"Did Sir Lloyd notice that he just unknowingly flirted with Lady Raine?"

"I doubt it," Emil said.

"Hey! Colette!" Sheena called the blonde girl as Marta left the middle of the arena, sweating a little but seeming content with her progress. "Your turn. Come over here."

"Um... I don't think that's a good idea, Sheena," Colette said in a hesitant tone.

Raine stopped writing when Sheena called Colette, dedicating her full attention on what was about to happen. Marta sat near Emil and the couple, together with the Centurions, observed the blond girl. Lumen nudged Colette with his pawn, showing his goofy smile as he encouraged her:

"C'mon, Collie. I bet you can kick Lady Sheena's backside," Sheena raised an eyebrow at that, but decided to disregard the comment.

"C'mon Colette," she insisted.

Seeing she didn't have much of a choice in the matter, Colette slowly got up and walked to the center of the arena. She started feeling nervous as the rest of the group eyed her. She just hoped she didn't screw this up.

Sheena gave a reassuring smile to the girl, who could only fidget as she stopped near her surrogate, older sister. Sheena then asked:

"What kind of weapon do you use? That is, if you have already used one before," Sheena asked, noticing how strange it sounded just after she spoke it out loud. She never took Colette for a warrior, even though her grandfather and the other clan leaders agreed to train the girl.

"Well... Um... I used these... metal, disk things once," Colette said, remembering the sharp rings she once threw at her enemies.

Suddenly, the sound of earth moving was heard and the group looked to the left of Sheena. There, coming out of the earth, as if Colette herself had called it, was the half of a bladed disk. Colette was surprised to say the least, while Sheena recognized the weapon. Raine took notes in her notebook at great speed.

"You mean that?" the ninja asked her surrogate, little sister, who nodded. "That's a chakram and it seems to be made out of metals from the earth itself," Sheena said as she approached the half-buried weapon and tried to pull it out, but found herself unable to do so. She tried again, but the metal disk wouldn't budge an inch. "Colette, how do I get this thing out?"

"Um..." Colette approached and reached for it, taking the round blade out with apparent ease. Sheena was impressed to say the least. "Oh. It came out pretty easy."

"I suppose it responds only to Colette," Raine offered from her seat.

"Actually, I'm pretty strong. I was the strongest girl in the entire school, even more than the boys," Colette said.

"That must be due to you being a Summon Spirit," Aqua suggested. "Just like Sir Lloyd can withstand high temperatures and Lady Marta can use magic."

Raine muttered a "probably" before going back to write in her book. Sheena turned her attention back to Colette and started to instruct her on how to position herself. She was content to see the blonde learned it quickly. She always thought Colette would be a pretty dedicated student.

_A pity we never got to train her. She would have been an excellent ninja. _Sheena thought as she gave the instruction for Colette to throw her weapon, however, when the girl was about to take one step forward, she lost her equilibrium, flaying her arms in the air and falling on the ground. _Except stealth isn't one of her strong points... _Sheena thought, a sweatdrop running down her forehead as she remembered the girl tended to trip on the most improbable places, even when there was _nothing_ to trip on.

After three attempts, Sheena finally managed to make Colette throw the chakram at least once without falling. The blonde kept apologizing herself each time she failed, thought Sheena said it was ok. It was then the voluptuous ninja remembered Colette also had the habit to apologize for almost anything she failed at. Although it got pretty tiring after some time, Sheena thought that was one of the things she liked on Colette. It made her look all the more innocent.

"Ok. Now, attack me," Sheena said, positioning herself.

"Wait. Are you sure, Sheena? I don't want to hurt you," Colette said with a worried tone.

"C'mon Colette. I'm pretty tough, remember? Anyway, throw it what all your strength, I wanna see just how strong you are."

Looking from her weapon to her teacher, Colette decided to do as she was told. She positioned herself and brought her arm back, preparing to throw her weapon. She then spun and released the disk with all of her might, making the projectile sail in the air at an incredible speed.

Sheena widened her eyes and barely had time to position herself in defense as the metal chakram impacted with the barrier produced by her cards. The weapon was deflected, but the impact was so strong Sheena was pushed two meters or so behind, sliding on the ground as she kept her defensive stance.

Colette recovered her weapon as it seemed to home in back to her. She then gasped and asked if Sheena was alright. The reincarnated Luna got out of her defensive stance and walked back to her previous position with a smile on her face.

"I'm fine. Man, you're a lot stronger than I thought," Sheena said. "What did you mother feed you?"

"Well, I always ate some steak. We also had salad at lunch and..." Colette started.

"Colette, I was joking."

"Oh, sorry."

Sheena sighed. She then asked Colette if she knew any Artes. The girl was about to answer she didn't know any when, suddenly, something sprung to her mind, like an invisible voice was whispering information to her.

"I think I... know one," Colette said with uncertainty. She wondered if that had been the Summon Spirit inside of her talking.

"Ok then. Try it on me," Colette was about to protest, but Sheena cut her. "I'll be fine. C'mon."

Deciding to do as she was told, Colette closed her eyes for a brief moment, concentrating on the information that came to her mind seconds ago. She could feel an untapped power inside her rush to the hand with which she held the chakram. She let go of the weapon and, to everybody's surprise, it stayed floating near her hand.

Colette then raised her arm, the chakram accompanying the movement. The metal disk then started spinning in the air like a chainsaw. Colette then raised her arm high and moved it down, like she intended to throw the weapon on the ground.

"Spinning Wheel!" the blonde said as the weapon hit the ground and buried half of itself on the stone. The weapon continued to spin, digging the ground and raising rocks and dirt to the air as it scarred the earth on its way to Sheena.

The guardian user never saw an Arte like that. She noticed the chakram was already close and jumped to the side, avoiding it. However, Sheena didn't count on the spinning, round blade making a turn on the ground and coming from behind her.

Lloyd called out her and Sheena turned just in time to see the spinning chakram coming near her legs. Cursing herself, Sheena tried to jump again, but was too slow this time and blade caught the side of her boot, opening a nasty cut on her foot and hitting it with surprisingly hard stones.

Sheena hit the ground, feeling the pain on her right leg as the chakram went back to Colette and jumped out of the floor for the blonde to grab it. Colette was about to run to Sheena and ask if she was alright when she noticed something red on her chakram. The reincarnated Gnome looked at the weapon and her eyes widened at seeing blood dripping from the blade. Sheena's blood.

Suddenly, images came to her mind: the Exubella, the corpses of the citizens of Iselia being torn apart by spider-like demons... and Maki dying in her arms. Colette let go of the weapon, which was immediately reabsorbed by the earth, and clutched the sides of her head, muttering in an almost desperate tone:

"No... I didn't want to... I didn't mean to... please... not onee-chan too," tears came to Colette's eyes.

Raine had already kneeled near Sheena and easy healed her foot. The ninja got up in time to see Colette falling on her knees with an expression of horror and shock on her face. Sheena rushed to the girl as Lloyd and the others also got up from their seats and approached them. The reincarnated Luna kneeled near Colette as she continued to mumble to herself, seeming to have shut off from the world around her:

"I didn't want them to die... Maki... don't have onee-chan dying like Maki... please..."

"Colette, calm down. I'm here," Sheena said putting her hand on the girls shoulder, trying to get her out of the stupor she was in.

"No more, please... no more death... I can't fight, or else someone might die..." Colette continued to say, tears falling freely from her horror struck eyes as she remembered the words of Alice in that day that her world came down once more.

Sheena didn't know what to say. She then did the only thing she knew that could possibly help the situation; she hugged Colette and kept the younger girl's head on her shoulder, stroking her mane of golden-blonde hair. Colette kept mumbling for one more minute or so until she finally seemed to calm down and went to sleep.

Raine and the others approached as Sheena carried Colette in her arms. The half-elf of the group then said:

"I think that's enough for today. It's clear we won't achieve anything by pressing Colette any further."

For once, Sheena nodded to Raine and the group turned to leave the Coliseum…

- / - / - / - / - / -

After putting Colette on her bed, Sheena left the room, sighing as she leaned on the closed door. She knew they couldn't advance any further in their journey if they didn't managed to get Colette to pass the test to recover the half of her soul, but she couldn't force her surrogate, little sister to do something she dreaded either.

Raine also wasn't of any help. When she asked if the half-elf had any idea on what to do of the situation, Raine simply said:

"How should I know? I'm an archeologist, not a psychiatrist. I thought that you, as her onee-chan would have some idea as what to do," she dragged a little the term that corresponded to "older sister" in Mizuho's language.

Sheena had to control herself not to strangle the healer at that comment (that and having Tenebrae, Aqua and Lumen restraining her). How should she know how to deal with someone that had a trauma? Now the ninja found herself at a dead end.

_We can't drag things along too. For one: we don't have enough money to stay too much in the city. And two: we don't know how much time we have until the demons decide to make a move. _Sheena thought to herself.

"This sucks…" Sheena said as she let her head hit the table she had been sitting in as she reflected on all of that.

"I wonder how we could help Colette," Emil thought aloud.

"Maybe you could talk with her. You did it before and it worked, right?"

Sheena had a slight idea of what Emil might have said to Colette. The two seemed to think alike in many things and had similar experiences. If it wasn't by the fact she knew Marta would go on a murderous rampage, she would even try to support Emil and Colette to try a relationship.

Speaking of which, she still had to figure out what was wrong with the brunette. Marta was clearly jealous of the two blondes, but what she said before... could she be hiding something more? Sheena let her head fall on the table in frustration once more.

_I swear. Marta must have met Raine before for her to keep so many secrets like that…_

- / - / - / - / - / -

Marta thought for the third time if this was really a good idea. By one hand, she wanted to know. By the other, she kinda dreaded what she could hear. Also, it wouldn't be really fair of her to interrogate Colette right after the girl had an emotional breakdown. But maybe that would help the blonde to keep her head away of such thoughts.

_Or maybe, this is just my selfishness speaking. _Marta thought to herself.

She knew she could be quite selfish sometimes. She wanted attention of her subjects ofinterest and sometimes even went overboard to get it. She knew she could be quite annoying when doing that and tried to tune things down, but often found herself going overboard again, mainly when it pertained to Emil.

Sighing and finally making up her mind, Marta knocked on the door. Colette's voice came from inside, indicating she had already woke up, saying for her to come in. Marta opened the door and entered. Colette had changed into her yellow summer dress and white pants and was greeting Marta with one of her typical radiant smiles.

Marta was once more reminded of just how innocent and angelical Colette looked. She was charismatic and easy to talk with, as well as kind and selfless, everything Marta considered herself as lacking.

_At least her figure is practically the same as mine. _Marta thought as a consolation.

"Hi Marta," the blond girl said, sounding like she never had relieved any traumatic memories.

"You don't need to force yourself to smile to me," Marta said. "We all are your friends. We just want to help you, you know."

Colette's expression turned one of surprise when Marta said that. The brunette thought the least she could do was tell Colette she didn't need to put up an act around her. Colette fiddled with her fingers for a moment before looking to the Whirlwind Rider as she said:

"I'm fine. Really. You don't need to worry."

Marta sighed, knowing that Colette was just telling that so she wouldn't worry with her. She guessed there was no point in trying to pursue that any further. Deciding that she had enough of beating around the bush, Marta said:

"I wanted to ask you a question."

"Oh. Sure, go on," Colette said, her typical smile returning full force.

"Be honest… how do… um… what do you think of Emil?" Marta asked, unable to phrase the exact question, so she tried the nearest one to what she actually wanted to say.

"Hum. Well, he's kind and nice. Also, he's a good listener. I feel I can really trust him. Oh, and he's also quite strong, though he doesn't seem to think that," Colette said in such an honest tone that it caught Marta with her guard down.

"So… you… like him?"

"Of course!" Colette said, always with her smile in place.

The brunette almost jumped at how easily Colette had admitted it. She never thought the girl was so sure of what she felt for Emil and now Marta felt like a dagger was being thrust in her heart. Even so, she couldn't help but feel like she knew the entire time this would happen. She just had hoped it wouldn't be so soon.

"Um, Marta, are you alright? You look like you're about to cry," Colette asked her friend.

Indeed, Marta felt like tears were coming to her eyes, though she was trying her best to hold her emotions at bay, but it was proving to be useless. She then wiped her eyes before the tears could fall, while saying:

"I-I'm not. A-and… I hope… I hope that you two be happy together!" Marta yelled at the blonde, dashing out of the room and almost running into Sheena, had the ninja's highly trained reflexes not kicked in at the right moment for her to press herself against the wall.

Sheena could just look with a dumbfounded look as she saw a teary Marta running down the stairs and out of the Inn. As if things weren't awkward with Marta already, now the girl was crying. Marta rarely cried. And even so it took a lot for her to go into tears like she was now.

_Just what the hell is happening here? _Sheena questioned.

Colette then poked her head to the corridor, looking at where Marta had gone. Sheena saw the blonde giving a confused look, which was then replaced by one of guilt as she asked:

"Was it something I said?"

Deciding some damage control was in order here, Sheena decided to started by the one person that was probably the sanest one out of their entire group, traumas aside. She went to Colette and put a hand on the young girl's shoulder, leading her back to her room as she closed the door behind them.

The voluptuous woman then started to think on how she could explain to Colette what just had happened while trying to make sense of Marta's actions. She decided to start by gathering some information on what just occurred:

"Colette, what were you and Marta talking about just now?"

"She asked me what I thought about Emil and if I liked him," Colette said.

"And what you answered to her?" though Sheena already had an idea of what it had been.

"I answered I thought he was nice and that I liked him and she suddenly started crying and ran off saying for me and him to be happy together,"

Colette said all of that with such innocence on her tone that Sheena thought that the "like" to which her surrogate, little sister was referring couldn't be a romantic one. Marta, obviously, wasn't able to notice to that.

One more thing was also curious in all of that: what happened for the brunette to suddenly throw her "I'm not letting go of Emil without a fight!" police to the air and suddenly Marta turn from possessive into crying mess. There was absolutely no sense in any of that.

_There's something missing here, but I just can't put finger on it. _Sheena thought.

"Um… Sheena, what did she meant with 'be happy together'?" Colette asked her new, combat teacher and surrogate sister.

"Well, you see…" Sheena started, thinking on how she could tell Colette that in a way the girl would understand. "Marta thinks that… you and Emil are together, as in a couple."

Colette's eyes widened at that and she covered her mouth with her hands. That act alone confirmed what Sheena had thought previously: Colette didn't have any feelings for Emil beyond friendship. The reincarnated Gnome then said:

"Oh my. I have to tell her she got it all wrong. I like Emil, but he's a friend to me. Just that."

"I don't think she's going to listen to that now. You better wait until she calms down and then explain all of it."

"Yeah, but she seemed so sad. And I don't even like Emil that way, or any other boy for the matter," Colette tried to insist and added at the end.

"Not even Lloyd?" Sheena asked. Not that she really wanted to have her little sister falling for her crush, but it was a fact that wherever they went Lloyd called the attention of the opposite gender.

"No. Actually…" Colette then started fiddling with her fingers again, pondering if she should tell about _that_ to Sheena. She didn't remember how they dealt with this on Mizuho. _But she's my onee-chan. She said she would always support me, no matter what. _"I don't feel attracted to any men."

"Well, can't really say I blame you for that. Most of the guys are just pigs, or…" Sheena started, but Colette saw the ninja didn't catch what she meant.

"No. What I meant is; I don't feel attracted to men, as in, the gender."

It took Sheena some seconds to connect the dots. When she finally did, her eyes went wide. Did Colette just tell her that she was…? Sheena looked at the blonde again, who found she couldn't keep eye contact with her surrogate, big sister for more than one second and looked to the side, her cheeks flaring.

_Oh my god. She is! _Sheena mentally exclaimed.

Sheena had seen many things in her life and she had saw lesbians before. After all, they meant it when they said that _all_ kinds of people frequented Asuka's. She even suspected some of her co-workers were gay, though she had nothing, but guesses as evidence. However, Colette, her little sister... that was more than she expected.

"I know it's strange and everything, but…" Colette started, taking Sheena out of her stupor. She then noticed the tone Colette was using and quickly spoke.

"Whoa, whoa. It's not that. Sure that was unexpected and, I can't say I ever imagined you being one… but are you sure about it?"

Sheena had seen some people confused about their sexual orientation before. Asuka frequently played councilor for many citizens of Asgard (though Sheena insisted that she should charge them, considering the number of people that frequently asked for her advice) and she sometimes shared some of their stories with Sheena, since she knew her adopted daughter would never go around telling people's secrets. Also, the half-elven woman thought it was good for Sheena to see that she wasn't the only one with problems in the world.

Anyway, the Radiant Maiden knew something like what Colette had just suggested was something that would greatly affect one's life and, if she suddenly changed idea, it could be already too late.

"I am," Colette said.

"Think carefully, Colette. Because this is something that will follow for the rest of your life and if you…"

"But, Sheena…"

"No, listen. You can't simply decide you changed idea in the middle of the way. So you have to be positive about your choice and…"

"But I even already kissed a girl."

"I don't want to see you go through a path just to hurt yours… wait. What?" Sheena said, before registering what Colette had just said. "What do you mean by 'kissed a girl already'?"

Colette blushed at that and tried suppress the memories of Maki dying in her arms as she thought on the specific memory of the day she and the red head had avoided being captured by the Desians.

"Well… there was this girl in Iselia… her name was Maki. She was a great friend of mine ever since I started in the school there. I never realized it, but I had a crush on her. Every time she would… interact with our other friends, I felt a little jealous, but I also like it when she was around me. And, one day, we were in the Iselia Forest and… she kissed me."

The rest could be deduced by Colette's blush. Sheena had already seen that expression before. It was that of a girl that had her first kiss and enjoyed it. The ninja sighed and scratched her head. She still had some doubts about it, but if Colette already experienced something…

"Ok, ok. I get it," Sheena said, sighing again. "If that's what you think, then ok, I will support you. But if I see that you started having second thoughts on this, I'm going to drag you out of it before you can hurt yourself and I won't hear a word edgewise, understood?"

Colette smiled at her big sister and nodded at her as Sheena did the same with a gentle smile. The blond girl knew Sheena only meant that because she cared for her a lot and would rather throw herself in front of Nebilim himself than let something bad happen to her. It was one of the things that she appreciated so much in Sheena.

- / - / - / - / -

Marta just stopped when her legs were already aching. She didn't care about her surroundings, but noticed she was in the plaza at the middle quarters. Sitting in the nearest bench, she let some of her tears flow, lowering her head so her hair hid her face. She hated feeling like that, but there was little choice on the matter.

_She's better than I ever could be. Besides, if Emil and Ratatosk ever discovered about… _she didn't like to think about that little detail of her life, it was the one thing that she tried to ignore every time she was together with the reincarnated Summon Spirit.

Marta never revealed this particular secret to anybody. She knew they would start looking at her accusingly once they knew. After all, it was her family's fault that the world was in this situation. Even so, she tried to act like there was nothing wrong. She kept on trying to hit on her crush and made sure anybody she saw as someone who wouldn't make him happy stay away from him.

That was, until Colette came along. The blonde and Emil shared similar experiences, he had said so himself. Plus, she was somebody that, according to Sheena, was one of the few people with an innocent and gentle heart that still existed in this world. Somebody like that surely would be able to make Emil happier than she ever would. For one, Colette didn't any shameful secret to hide.

"That's not right," a voice spoke from above. Marta looked up and, to her surprise, found Zelos there. "You know, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be crying like that," Zelos said in that flamboyant, soft tone of his.

"Oh, and _you_ certainly would know about that," Marta said, managing to add a sharp edge to her words, despite her situation, as she wiped the tears. She wouldn't show weakness in front of this heartless bastard that played with women's hearts.

"Oh. Ouch. What did I do to deserve such a cold treatment?"

"Don't play dumb. I know about what you did to Sheena, you asshole."

Marta rarely swore, but she did say she would give the guy a piece of her mind if she ever came across him again. Sheena was her friend and this guy had hurt her pretty badly. Zelos' eyes seemed to widen for an instant, before they assumed a sad gleam as he looked to the side.

"Oh, yes… that's why you looked familiar. You're traveling with her, right?"

"Yeah and consider yourself lucky that we're inside of Meltokio, otherwise I would kick your ass."

"Can't say I don't deserve the treatment," Zelos said, closing his eyes, sighing and looking resigned.

Marta was slightly surprised at his tone, but did not drop her guard. He could be faking it for all that she knew. The red head didn't approach her, but didn't move away either, just standing there. He then spoke:

"Is there anything I could do to change your opinion?"

"Change my opinion? Why?" Marta asked in a devious tone.

"Let's just say I hate leaving things unresolved. And, like I said before, I kinda own her that much."

His tone was honest, but Marta was still distrusting of him. Zelos seemed to notice that, for he then asked, trying to sound civil:

"Can I at least know your name, little kitten?" he added one of those charming smiles of his at the end.

Marta frowned at the nickname and scrunched her face at that. Zelos noticed it and mentally cursed his bad habit. However he couldn't help it, the girl looked like a cute kitten to him, even if she was a little on the flat side or when she was angry like this.

_Guess I am a romantic after all. _Zelos thought.

"I'm Marta Lualdi. There! Happy? Now leave me alon…" Marta started, however Zelos interrupted her.

"Wait. Lualdi? Like the third branch of the Sylvaranti Royal Family of the Balacruf Dynasty?" the red head said with a surprised tone. However, it didn't come even close to the horrified look on Marta's face.

"How…! Did you…?" she couldn't speak anything past that.

Just one question came to Marta's mind, repeating itself over and over: how did Zelos, of all people, know about it? Her family was the least known branch of the Sylvaranti Royal family, almost completely unknown to the general public. Sure there were official records about the Lualdis; however they were all destroyed together with the now obliterated Balacruf Palace, courtesy of Nebilim himself.

Zelos noticed the shocked expression on Marta features and decided he had to make himself clear. Shrugging he said in the best honest tone he could:

"My family didn't amount all of their riches by making business with just one side, if you know what I mean. However, due to our power, nobody dared to point fingers to us and there were never any evidences that could really accuse us of being traitors, courtesy of my bastard of a grandfather. Though some people did call us the 'backstabber Wilders', if the stories my dear mother told me were really accurate."

Marta gulped and cursed her stupidity. Of course the descendants of the nobles and aristocrats would know about her last name, after all there were people that made much profit in the war by making business with both sides, regardless of their own nationality.

_What I'm gonna do? I can't let him go around spilling it to everybody. If Emil ever gets wind of that he will never talk to me again. _And that was if she were lucky and Ratatosk was in a good mood, otherwise… well, she accepted her punish the other time the Summon Spirit had an anger attack.

"Just so you know I'm not going to tell anybody, ok?" Zelos said, interrupting Marta's thoughts.

The girl looked at him and, though there was still fear in her expression, she tried to put up as much defiance in it as possible.

"How can I trust you? What do you want?" Marta started to regret once she said it. She knew what guys like Zelos would want in exchange to keep a secret, but if it came down to it, she knew she would do that. She couldn't live with Emil hating her.

"Hey, hey, hey! Hold your horses there! I'm not that kind of guy. Well, maybe I was, but that's not the case now," Zelos said, waving his arms in front of him in a negative gesture, before assuming a thoughtful pose on the end of his line.

"I don't believe you. C'mon, spill it. Why do you want to keep this a secret?" Marta insisted.

Zelos sighed, seeing talking wasn't going to convince her he was being honest here. Anyway, there wasn't much he could do. He then decided to change his approach:

"Why does it worry you so much that your friends find it out?" Marta stopped at that and looked at him in surprise once more. "You're not the same as those who caused the war. You shouldn't burden yourself with something that was caused by your grandparents. If you want to regret something, regret what you do now, not what your parents and ancestors did."

Suddenly, Marta found her opinion of Zelos slowly changing. Wasn't the guy supposed to try and smooth her so he could have his way or use her recently discovered secret as blackmail? She hated to admit it, but he sounded nothing like the heartless, family-destroyer Sheena had described. Did he really change?

"Besides, if your friends really like you, they won't mind who your family is. Or is it because of a boy?" Marta gasped and asked how he knew. Zelos smiled as he spoke. "Simple; because I am Zelos, the Last Romantic."

Marta narrowed her eyes at him, but giggled at his antics none the less. Zelos then smiled a genuine smile at seeing her laugh. Marta then sighed, shaking her head.

"Ok. Thanks. But I am still keeping my tabs on you, just so you know," Marta warned, though she was still smiling.

"Well… aren't I loved? At least I managed to put a smile on your face," Zelos then saw a woman walking nearby. He waved to her as she giggled back and left. "Well, gotta go. See you around, hunny," he then waved to her with two fingers as he walked after the other woman.

The brunette shook her head and got up. It was strange how talking with Zelos seemed to remove a weight from her shoulders. Maybe she should give it a chance and follow his advice. She then turned and left in the direction of the lower quarters.

When Marta was out of sight, two figures materialized atop the Obelisk of Mana, one an eagle and the other a draconic-looking woman. Ventus had a frown on his avian features as he closed his eyes and Ignis seemed worried.

"This is certainly the most worrying," the Centurion of Wind said.

"So, Lady Marta was a descendant of the Balacruf Dynasty this entire time," Ignis repeated what they just heard.

"Indeed, that explains why she has been acting odd lately and matches with the other information I had…" he then turned to his brethren who used to manage the fire mana. "We should withheld this knowledge for the time being."

"But, why?"

"Because both personalities of Lord Ratatosk care for Lady Marta. Divulging this, would only sow confusion and sadness in their relationship. Besides..." Ventus looked to Marta down the stairs to the lower quarters. "We also have a duty for with the other Summon Spirits. We must respect Lady Marta's wish to keep this a secret."

Ignis could only look between Ventus and Marta. She felt bad for not telling their lord what was going on, but knew Ventus was right; they had a duty for with the other Summon Spirits. Plus, she liked the fact that Lord Ratatosk was liking somebody. She didn't want to see they separating because of something Marta didn't have any control over.

"Let's go. We still have work to do," Ventus called the draconic woman out of her thoughts.

"What work?" she asked.

"We have to report Zelos' activities to Sir Lloyd."

"Report what about whom?" Ignis asked in a clueless tone. Ventus sighed at seeing she once more lost focus of what they had been doing.

"Just follow me and keep your eyes open."

- / - / - / - / - / -

Raine was reading on the table of her and Sheena's room, checking her notes of the day to see if she documented everything. Sheena had already gone to bed, having long since given up on trying to ask Raine to turn off the lights while the woman read her large book.

The silver haired woman was also trying to think on what to do about Colette. They couldn't go on if the girl stayed like that. There had to be a way to convince Colette that they had to fight, but the mental scars of whatever had happened at Iselia were still clearly holding her down.

Raine then looked at Sheena. The violet haired ninja didn't know, but Raine had passed near the door to Marta and Colette's room and hear her and Colette talking. She analyzed what she heard with the information she had collected so far about Colette. The girl probably hid that from the citizens of Iselia, but what she said about that girl Maki matched with her sayings when she was having that crisis in training.

_That girl was probably killed by the Desians in front of Colette. That would explain why she never mentioned it. _Raine rationalized. She then sighed. _This is turning out to be more troublesome than I expected. _

Raine didn't have anything against homosexuals. After all, she was also considered a freak herself. She just found it ironic that the humans would discriminate their own kind for something as petty as who they choose to have relationships with. But she supposed that was to be expected. Humans were a race known for their wariness and hatred for what was different of their "society parameters".

_It just surprises me they still clinging to such concepts even in times like this. Seems what they say is right: Humans have the tendency to, passing the war, return to their old ways._

She then heard the sound of dropping. Looking to the side Raine saw the glass rose that Zelos had given her when they arrived at Meltokio. Strangely enough, it was the rose that was dripping water. Raine reached for it and noticed its stalk seemed thinner than before and it was now warming up at her touch while more water seemed to drip from it.

Raising an eyebrow, Raine decided to test a theory and licked the petals of the rose. Her eyes widened as she came to a realization. The rose she was holding wasn't made out of glass, but from ice. But how was that possible? The technology to make something such as this was either confiscated by the Desians or lost after the end of the war. And even more so, considering the season in the Fooji continent, an ice rose shouldn't last more than a day.

Replaying the memories of that day, Raine realized another fact. She hadn't noticed it at the time, too distracted by Zelos' manners and attempts at wooing them. The Cruxis' Representative didn't buy these roses. He made them himself. At that exact moment.

_Is he…?_

- / - / - / - / - / -

The party was eating breakfast. They intended to go to the Coliseum for practice once more after they were done. Sheena was still trying to figure out what to do about Colette and Raine seemed to be in deep thought. Lloyd, surprisingly enough, had gobbled up his entire breakfast and didn't even ask for seconds, saying he was going outside to see something. Sheena and Raine raised eyebrows at his strange behavior.

The red clad swordsman met with Ignis and Ventus outside of the Inn, near one of the collapsed bridges of the middle quarters of the city, specifically the one that fell right in front of the ancient Elemental Research Laboratory. He asked for their report on what Zelos had been doing during the other day.

Ventus told his observations on the Cruxis' Representative, since Ignis didn't even seem to recall what they had been doing the other day. Lloyd, to say the least, was surprised. Zelos really looked like somebody different from the guy Sheena had described. Seems like he was telling him the truth.

"Also, he met Lady Marta on the Obelisk's plaza and talked to her," Ventus continued with his report.

"Wait. Marta? What was she doing there?" Lloyd asked.

"She seemed really sad," Ignis said.

"Indeed. It looked like she was troubled, but Zelos..." Ventus continued.

"Zelos what?" a new voice sounded, startling the Centurions and making Lloyd jump on his place as he turned. The trio saw, to their apprehension, that it was Sheena. "You said Zelos right? Why are you talking about him?" she asked in a serious tone.

"Err... ahem... I was just talking to Sir Lloyd about it," Ventus said, trying to regain his composure.

"Wait a minute," Sheena interrupted the bird-like Centurion, looking at Lloyd. "You've met with him?"

Lloyd looked to the duo of Ratatosk's servants behind him, but the two avoided looking at him. Seeing there was nothing he could do to avoid it, Lloyd decided to tell the truth. The dual swordsman then told Sheena about his talk with Zelos, including the part where he brought out his sword, though he didn't really intend to use it. At the end, he saw she had a thoughtful look on her features.

"Um... Sh-Sheena?" said woman looked at him, making him almost gasp. "I-I-I'm sorry for doing it! But I need to know what had happened and... !"

Sheena held her hand up to tell him to stop. Lloyd did so at the same instant, gulping. He wondered if he could convince her to spare his most vulnerable parts.

"Look, I'm not angry at you for seeking answers out of that guy. Actually, I don't give a damn about anything that is related to him," the ninja said in a decisive tone.

"Not even if he changed?" Ignis asked.

"No."

"Or if he helped Lady Marta?"

"No... Wait. He helped who?"

Ventus then told what he and Ignis had witnessed in the Obelisk's plaza, minus the part about Marta's family's ancestry. Sheena was actually surprised by hearing that. So that was why Marta seemed better when she returned to the Inn the other day. The violet haired woman shook her head and spoke:

"Ah, whatever! Look, I don't want to know what he does or not, ok?" her tone was definitive and didn't leave space for discussion. Lloyd and the Centurions nodded to her. "Ok, now let's go back. All this talk makes me want to have a little spar."

- / - / - / - / - / -

A lone figure was approaching the gates of Meltokio. The guards stationed there arched their eyebrows at seeing the clothes the stranger wore. Nonetheless, they stood in a battle stance, grabbing their lances firmly as they said:

"State your identity and business!"

The stranger smiled an almost fanged smile at those words, like he had expected they would say that. The guards eyed the figure, head to bottom, taking in the strange, silver, ornate, thin armor, with an V opening in its front that went from the collar until the middle of the thorax, the clawed, metal boots, the greaves of the same color as the chest armor with a metal skirt and black, hugging shorts, the clawed gauntlets with one, crimson crystal at the back of each and last, but no less impressive, his outlandish, angular features, almost like those of the long-gone elves, and his blood-red hair and eyes, which seemed to gleam.

The figure's hair fell until the middle of his back, being divided into several, thick strands, which pointed to all directions. He also had some marks on his face, almost like those of tribal warriors. There was also a strange aura about that person, one that screamed that you shouldn't get in this person's way, unless you wanted to regret it dearly later. Combined with his pale complexion, it was enough to say the guards gripped their weapons tighter.

"Who am I?" the stranger repeated in a soft, melodious voice, but laced with malice. "I am the ultimate avenger. And my business here is simple... I came to bring an end to everything you know." Nebilim's smile turned into a fanged grin...

* * *

Wow! Am I evil or not? That's what I call a cliffhanger, don't you think guys?

*Receives death stares from the readers*

Erm... anyway. A huge thanks to Maurice A. Nigma for the help and... *stares continue* for those that didn't guess, the tittle of the chapter reffers to Colette, Marta and Zelos, in that specific order.

*still receiving stares. Starts to sweat*

BYE!

*dashes out of the room as an agry mob gives chase*


	27. Dead Rise

To those wondering why it took so long, sorry. Things are quite hectic on college and I have tests coming up, so I don't have as much time to write as i had previously.

Also, in response to Dr. Bob's review: I have been using this measurement system because I don't know what system people from other nations (not only american) use, so I stuck to what I know. I'm sure you understand, after all, there are poeple from many nationalities that read this fic.

Anyway, here's an action-packed chapter (and a little gory) and since it's really big, I unfortunately won't put any skit here.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**Dead Rise**

Lloyd and the others walked to the Coliseum in silence. Sheena looked to Colette every now and then, who was fidgeting nervously. She had tried to talk with the blonde that morning, but Colette seemed really hesitant in practicing her fighting skills again.

"Look... Colette..." Sheena started, but never got the chance to complete that phrase for, in that exact moment, an explosion coming from the main gate was heard.

The group turned immediately and saw smoke rising and the scream of people. Soon enough, they could see fire coming from the lower quarters, spreading at an incredible speed.

Lloyd, Emil and the others ran to the Obelisk Plaza to see several people fleeing to the upper quarters, some were clutching bleeding limbs while others sported burnt marks, however one thing was a constant; their horror struck faces. Guards were coming from everywhere too, going to the focus of the flames.

"What's happening here?" Lloyd asked to no one in particular. One passing man screamed in response:

"IT'S NEBILIM! HE'S HERE!"

The entire group gasped. Ratatosk immediately assumed control and gritted his teeth, putting his hand on the handle of his sword.

"So, the bastard finally decided to come out of the Ginnungagap and show his face!" Ratatosk scowled.

"Emil, calm down," Sheena said.

"She's right. None us have the power necessary to stop him at the moment, so we can't rush to battle," Raine said as she looked at the flames.

Marta noticed that Raine's hands were trembling. However, the brunette decided to not point that out. She was already scared as she was, she didn't need to make the others more nervous, by pointing that the normally stoic and cool-headed Raine seemed frightened. Sheena turned to the group and spoke:

"First, we need to get the people away from here. Raine, Marta, Colette. Can you do it? Your healing abilities might also be needed," the three nodded to the ninja.

"In that case, Sheena, Ratatosk and I are going after Nebilim and buy you some time," Lloyd said as his expression turning into a determined one, very akin to that of his father. "We might be able to push him back."

It was then the group heard a familiar voice urging the people to go to the upper quarters. They looked to the side and saw Zelos at the staircase. His butler was also with him and seemed to be helping the Cruxis' Representative to control the crowd. The group could hear his voice above all of the chaos:

"Sebastian, lead them to the tunnels! You know which ones I'm talking about!" his tone was a serious one, which the group would have never associated to him.

"What about you sir?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm going to do my duty as a Representative, what else?" Zelos said with a half-grin as he pointed to himself. "You take cover with them and get as far away from the city as you can. That's an order."

Sebastian looked like he wanted to protest, but just nodded to his lord and went up the stairs to lead the escape. Zelos smiled once more as he went down the stairs, but stopped once he saw some familiar faces.

Sheena scowled as she turned her face away from him. Lloyd and the others could just look at the red head as he ran to them and said:

"Ok you all, you better get going too. We have emergency exits in Meltokio just for the case something like this..."

"We're not going anywhere," Ratatosk said.

"Excuse me?"

"We want to help," Colette said.

"Oh no, you don't. Do you guys know who just decided to knock on the town, literally?"

"Nebilim, Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Forces," Raine said, her expression remaining as regal as always, although her tone seemed to waver a little. "We are aware of that. We have fought the demons for a long time, so we can help."

"Even so, I have to insist you..."

Lloyd stepped in front of Zelos, showing him his determined look that clearly said "we're not going anywhere". The red head sighed at seeing he wouldn't be able to persuade them. He then asked if they had a plan. Marta said they were going to divide into two teams; one to fight Nebilim and one to evacuate all the civilians.

"In that case, I'm going to fight him too," Zelos said.

"We don't need your help. Thanks," Sheena said, now turning to him.

"Believe in me, you're going to need..."

"We can fight just fine. You'll be a nuisance," Sheena insisted, with a sharp gaze in her eyes.

However, Zelos didn't seem intimidated in the least by Sheena's glare. He simply returned it and said:

"Look, I know you that don't trust me and still hate me for what happened, but now is not the time for that. We have an overly powerful overlord on the loose and believe me; you_ are_ going to need all the help you can get. It's my duty as Cruxis' Representative to protect this city from the demons."

"Oh, now you decide to be responsible," Sheena jabbed in, her hands crossed over her chest.

Zelos simply continued to look at her, his face was schooled in a serious expression. Sheena then saw something she never had before in his eyes. Sighing, the guardian user said:

"Fine... but don't get in the way," Zelos simply nodded.

After that exchange, the group divided. Ratatosk pointed out that he felt Nebilim's aura coming from the east-most section of the tower, Zelos said was probably the slums as he took the lead and guided them through the city...

- / - / - / - / -

The slums quickly went on flames like the houses were made out of paper. All those that tried to get close to the one that embodied all of the destruction in the world met a quick end, being pierced or ripped apart by his clawed gauntlets. Some were even torn or cut apart by weapons that seemed to be made out of the flames the wraith commanded.

Nebilim controlled the flames like a maestro would to his orchestra. He did leave some escape, but that didn't matter in the end. Everything was going according to plan.

It was then he felt a group of peculiarly powerful auras approaching as he looked outside of the burning building he currently was in. The Demonic Commander smiled at recognizing one of the auras…

Lloyd and the others could just look at the destruction around. Zelos gritted his teeth at seeing nothing he could do would put down those magical flames. It was then the group felt a powerful presence coming from a crumbling, wooden cottage. They looked and saw, coming out of the flames, the smiling figure of the Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Forces.

Weapons were immediately drawn as the elven-looking figure stopped outside of the house as it crumbled behind him. Nebilim looked at Ratatosk and said:

"I see you've been faring well, Ratatosk."

"Nebilim," Ratatosk said with his teeth gritted.

The red head looked at the group, still smirking.

"So, that's the new form your 'family' took. And to think they look just like a bunch of humans. Quite clever, I should say."

The group entered in their spirits forms. Zelos looked from them to Nebilim, seeming confused. He shook his head and decided to let that slide for the time being. The Cruxis Representative then spoke:

"So, any special motive as to why you decided to attack us? And how did you pass the barrier?"

"Barrier?" Nebilim asked, feigning confusion. He made a look of mock remembrance. "Oh yes... the so called 'blessing' of your protectors. Heh heh heh..."

"What's so funny?" Sheena inquired.

"Incredible how you can claim to be the Summon Spirits, yet you know so little. But, I suppose that's what happens when you're reborn..." Nebilim then brought his hand near his face. His gauntlet suddenly ignited with a magical flame as he closed his fist. "Now… shall we begin?"

With that, the Supreme Head of the Demonic Troops charged at incredible speed. Lloyd and Sheena put their defenses up as Nebilim used his flaming hand to punch them. The impact was so powerful that the two were launched behind. Ratatosk tried to use Phoenix Rush, however Nebilim easily bypassed the attack, the wind blades doing nothing to him, and applied a powerful kick to Ratatosk's side, sending him flying to the ground.

Sheena got up in time to summon several light spheres and throw them at their adversary, who let them bounce harmlessly in the invisible, flame barrier that protected his body. Lloyd tried to attack Nebilim with his swords, but the red head easily avoided the attacks. Nebilim countered with a sequence of flaming blows from his fists. The flames felt strangely hot even for Lloyd.

_This fire... it's not from this world. _Lloyd concluded when Nebilim tried to spear him with his hand, inflicting a shallow cut on Lloyd's side, which burned at the contact. _Those claws are surprisingly sharp too._

Ratatosk said for Lloyd to get away. The young man flew back and the Lord of the Monsters jumped in the air, grabbing his sword with his two hands as it shone with a multicolored aura.

"Destroyer's Song!" Ratatosk brought the blade down on Nebilim, however, to everybody's surprise, the red head caught the blade with his hand, using the flames around his gauntlet a shield and to disperse the energy. Ratatosk, to say the least, was surprised.

"You've got stronger, I see…" Nebilim said. "Guess you're almost there, isn't that right, Ratatosk?"

"Shut up! I'm Emil now!" the blonde talked back, trying to push the blade down, but it didn't budge an inch.

Nebilim brought his hand back and thrust it forward. That was when Zelos came and deflected the blow with his sword, though the blade cracked. Nebilim let go of Ratatosk's sword and stepped back as Zelos tried to attack him. His sword was bounced off the flame barrier around the elven-looking Demonic Commander.

The flames around Nebilim's hands started to swirl and stretch, forming a blade made out of the otherworldly fire he commanded. He attacked Zelos, who tried to defend, just to have his sword being cut like it was made of wood and receive a nasty, burning slash on his left shoulder. Sheena and Lloyd took the front and applied numerous combos on Nebilim, who either dodged or used his flame blades to defend. Predictably, the two found out the weapons could become solid enough to block their attacks.

Ratatosk joined the fray, but Nebilim saw that and jumped behind, dispelling the blade on his right hand and pointing the palm to them. A jet of roaring, hellish fire was released from his hand, forcing the group to utilize their defensive Artes.

Nebilim would have continued the attack if it wasn't by a shout of "Freeze Lancer!" followed by several ice shards the size of a dog. Nebilim was hit by at least three of the magical projectiles while the rest melted in contact with his barrier, it was still enough to stun him and interrupt his attack.

The group looked where the attack had come from and saw Zelos in a casting stance, the magic circle beneath his feet already disappearing. The Cruxis' Representative had a serious look on his face as he stretched his arm and ice started to form around his hand. Sheena could feel Zelos' aura agitating and magical energy flaring around him. She then realized he was actually, truly using magic.

An electric-blue, long sword materialized in Zelos' hand. He also used his power over ice to stop the blood coming out of his wound and conjured a blue shield with a white crystal in the center on his other hand. Nebilim seemed surprised, but soon started to chuckle at that as he brought his hand to his forehead. The Demonic Commander then looked at Zelos and said:

"I see… so you are one of them after all. Guess the rumors were right."

"And how do you know that?" Zelos asked with his eyebrow raised.

"I've been paying close attention to suspicious individuals ever since the news that Summon Spirits have returned in different bodies."

"Oh. So you came here just to see me? Well, I'm flattered, but sorry, you're not my type," Zelos joked.

"Not really. My purpose here is different."

"Anyway, we're not letting you go on with this massacre," Sheena spoke.

"And what makes you think you actually can stop me, Sheena Fujibayashi?" Nebilim asked, his smirk never leaving his face. Sheena gasped for a moment. "Thought I wouldn't recognize you? You have the eyes of your mother and look just like your grandmother when she was your age."

At Nebilim's sneer, Sheena seemed to snap, abandoning all caution and going after the red head as Lloyd and the others called her back. Zelos swore and started to charge a spell while Sheena attacked Nebilim with light beams, pillars and even conjuring weapons made out of her affinity element. The runes in the rings around her wrists gleamed like precious stones in the sun. Nebilim sidestepped and blocked each attack with his bare hands.

"Don't. You. Dare. Talk. About. MY FAMILY!" Sheena yelled at him, punctuating each word with a blow, which never hit its mark.

In her rage, Sheena committed a grave mistake, making a slash too wide with a light blade, which left her open. Nebilim took the chance and punched her in the stomach with incredible force. It was like a dragon had head butted her. A wave of impact seemed to propagate in the air around as Sheena opened her mouth in a mute exclamation of pain.

The reincarnated Luna was grabbed by her head and her eyes got blinded by red. Nebilim launched another fire jet point blank on Sheena's face, covering her body with the hellish flames. She could feel her defenses being confused at a fast rate. Thankfully, the attack stopped when Nebilim was suddenly encased in an iceberg that materialized in thin air. Sheena almost fell to the ground, if it wasn't by Lloyd coming and taking her away as the ice shattered and flames erupted around Nebilim.

The Demonic Commander looked at Zelos as the group reunited around him. He slowly raised his hand, pointing at the group of reincarnated spirits. The crimson crystal at the back of his gauntlet shone as he proclaimed:

"Arrow Raid!" in the blink of an eye, several fire arrows appeared around his hand and shot to the group. Lloyd and the others activated their defensive Artes again, the arrows batting at their barriers like angry bees, some even managed to bypass it and hit the building behind them.

When the attack passed, the group was left with some minor injuries. They saw Nebilim smiling despite it and were about to counter-attack when they heard the sound of a building collapsing coming from behind. The reincarnated Summon Spirits turned and widened their eyes at seeing the building that Nebilim's fire arrows had pierced and destroyed its foundations falling over them…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Nebilim walked out of the slums' area at a leisurely pace to meet some of the Martel Knights in the streets above, weapons at ready. The commander of that unit took a step forward and proclaimed:

"You shall spread no further destruction, demon! By the word of Cruxis, we shall slay you!"

Nebilim sighed in exasperation. How many times had he heard that line already? He looked at the humans who thought that they stood a chance against him, his previous smirk gone as he scowled:

"Human trash…"

Without any further words, Nebilim advanced upon them. The Martel Knights tried to fight back, but the battle soon proved to be a one-sided massacre. Nebilim's clawed gauntlets cut through the Knight's armors like a hot knife on butter, tearing and slashing flesh and steel with ease. Archers tried to fire, just to have their so called blessed arrows burn in mid air when getting near the personification of destruction itself. Swords were repelled by Nebilim's, invisible, flame barrier, those made of steel of a lesser quality broke upon contact.

Nebilim stabbed a human with his arm stretched, his hand easily exiting to the back of his target as he used him as a human shield on those that attacked him, letting them cut and thrust at their own companion before he put his other hand on the cut, ripped the corpse apart and rushed to the next. He grabbed the head of one knight nearby and incinerated him with a point blank, fire jet, not leaving even the bones behind.

Five minutes later, Nebilim was standing in the middle of disfigured corpses, blood and gore pooling in the streets and evaporating in the air around him, not leaving even a stain in his armor. He scowled again at how much of an annoyance they were, not able to even stand five seconds against him, but still trying to get in his way. He looked ahead and saw a flash of familiar, silver hair.

Raine and Marta were healing the injured as Colette rushed people to the city's exit and the upper quarters. The blonde girl hadn't seen any demons outside of the city gates, meaning Nebilim had probably come alone. Raine had noticed the blonde seemed uneasy around all of the corpses, visibly shaking at the smell of burnt flesh and blood. However, the reincarnated Gnome steeled herself and put up a determined expression on her face, guiding the fleeing citizens to their escape.

Raine got up after healing another man, who nodded his head in thanks before Colette had him to go up the upper quarters, where people seemed to be taking refuge in. The blonde went to Marta to help her with taking people outside of the burning houses. It was then Raine felt the presence of a powerful, crushing aura. One she could easily recognize out of all the demons in this world.

She went to the now destroyed city gates and saw the corpses of the Martel Knights lying near the Inn. Looking up, she saw the figure that had haunted her dreams since _that_ day. Nebilim smiled at her in a rather charming smile which only served to further put Raine at unease and grip her staff tighter.

"Hello," he said, walking to her. Though his stance didn't have any hint of hostility in it, Raine knew better than to let her guard drop near that being. Even so, Nebilim regarded her as an old acquaintance. "Don't worry, Raine. I've been taking good care of him…" with that, Nebilim went up the stairs to the middle quarters.

Raine gritted her teeth and stood in a casting stance. However, she felt a rapid agitation of magical energy near her and suddenly someone was gripping her staff in a strong grab. She opened her eyes to see Nebilim's face, inches away of hers, his clawed gauntlets making pressure against her staff, which seemed ready to crack at any minute now.

The Demonic Commander's face held a smirk as he gazed at Raine's eyes. He chuckled:

"You didn't change one bit…" he suddenly let go of Raine's weapon, which caused her to lose her equilibrium and fall on the ground. Nebilim started again at the stairs. "...but you still have much to learn, child."

As Nebilim went up the stairs, Raine couldn't do anything but watch and punch the ground in frustration, hurting her hand in the process. She really hated it when he spoke like that, making her feel and remember how it was in the past.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The rubble suddenly started to shake, until it moved enough to reveal three, bubble-like barriers. Zelos was the first to get out, putting his hands on his back as he grumbled and a few bones snapped back into place

"Damn! That was totally not cool. And look at my clothes!" he complained as he picked the edge of his pink jacket. "This is gonna take forever to wash! Sebastian is gonna be so pissed."

"Can you stop complaining and concentrate on the task at hand?" Ratatosk scowled as he and the others got out of the rubble.

"Hey, hey! Don't get your panties into a knot, man. I was just stating a fact."

"A very idiotic and useless fact," Ratatosk retorted.

Zelos sighed at that. What was up with that boy? Was he on his period or something? He then saw Lloyd helping Sheena out of the rubble. The ninja looked okay, if not a bit shaken. The Cruxis' Representative decided to try and locate Nebilim. He sensed the powerful aura of the being that commanded the demons on Aselia going up to the Obelisk Plaza.

_This is really strange. Not only had he just entered the city like the barrier means nothing to him and is now even approaching its source. _Zelos thought. _And where the hell are those angels? Shouldn't they be arriving by now?_

Zelos was never really what you could call an exemplary follower of Cruxis, but he recognized that without the angels they all would be dead. However, the fact that they had to wait for those guys to _decide_ to appear was revolting in the least. And while they were taking their sweet time, people were dying right and left.

_Screw this. If they won't do anything, then I will. There are enough tragedies that's already happened. _Zelos thought with grim.

"You all ok?" he asked to his so called companions. Lloyd, Sheena and Ratatosk nodded. "Good. Save those powers of yours for when we find Nebilim. He's in the Obelisk Plaza."

"How do you know that?" Lloyd asked.

"Wait. Do you…?" Sheena asked, starting to connect the dots.

"Let's leave the chat for later. Now we have a city to save," Zelos said in that determined and serious tone that he had been using recently. Lloyd and the others decided to simply nod and followed the red head.

Sheena was impressed to say the least. In the short time span she had encountered her old acquaintance again she found that he had truly changed. His business-like tone was one proof of that. She had never heard him talk like that.

She shook her head and decided to leave those thoughts for later. Sheena concentrated on running together with the group to the middle quarters.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Nebilim raised his eyebrow as he saw two ballistae being aimed at him from the edges of the Obelisk Plaza. He never thought the humans would have guarded those relics from the pre-Kharlan War period. Two, fully armored Commander Knights gave signal for the ones operating the siege weapons to fire.

Thick, wooden pikes flew in Nebilim's direction, but the red head didn't move a muscle to stop or avoid the projectiles. He already knew how that would end. The pikes seemed to suddenly stop in the air for one instant, before their points opened and started to crumple and break in several pieces.

The giant projectiles fell around Nebilim, who was standing still on his position. The Martel Knights who operated the weapons seemed surprised at seeing that. The Demonic Commander sighed and brought his right hand up, waving it in an arch in front of him and leaving flames in the air.

Nebilim then brought his hand to the middle of the newly conjured flame longbow and gripped it like it was solid object. Bringing his other hand to the center of the bow, Nebilim closed it and pulled back, a great, fire arrow forming. He twisted the longbow at the vertical and aimed at one of the ballistae. The Martel Knights drew their shields, preparing for the attack.

"Solar Pierce," Nebilim uttered as he let the arrow go, however, what left the bow wasn't an arrow anymore, but a thin, fire beam. The fire beam cut a hole in the shields and armor of the Martel Knights like it was a powerful, corrosive, acid jet and hit the ballista, causing a great explosion that obliterated all those near the weapon. Nebilim quickly shot another arrow, eliminating the other ballista operator and the weapon before they could fully access what happened.

Dismissing all of that like nothing, but another annoying obstacle, Nebilim went to the Obelisk of Mana, the fence in front of him melting at his approach. It was then he felt Ratatosk and the others coming. He turned and smiled at seeing they had caught up with him just in time.

Zelos looked around, seeing the corpses of the Martel Knights and the destroyed ballistae that he knew the Church had stored for defense purposes. He had also seen the other corpses on his way here, passing by the silver haired woman that accompanied Sheena. Nebilim had spared almost no one in his awake, not even the elderly and children.

"What's your deal? You come here simply because you decided 'hey, I fell like going on a killing spree today'?" the Cruxis' Representative demanded, showing a rare expression of anger.

"I don't expect you to comprehend my motives. Actually, I don't expect anything at all from the humans, except extinction," Nebilim simply replied, his face adopting a stony expression.

"You…" Lloyd said with his teeth clenched.

Sheena had to use all of her willpower not to lash out at this monster again. He talked about killing others like it was no big deal at all.

_This _is _the monster that burned Mizuho to the ground! _Sheena thought with her teeth gritted.

"You all surely must hate me, don't you?" Nebilim said in a soft, nonchalant tone. His expression was starting to annoy the reincarnated Spirits. "The Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops. The one that brings destruction to Aselia and will reduce this world to dust just for the demons to send it back to the original chaos."

"That's only part of it," Lloyd spoke. "You are also the one responsible for the Desians and the deaths of thousands of innocent people."

"Nobody is innocent, boy," Nebilim said in such a serious tone that it almost made the group widen their eyes in surprise. "It would be expected that you, as the newly reincarnated protectors of this world, would know. These _'innocents'_ that you seek to protect are nothing more than stagnant figures. Conformists that simply sat back and continued to live their lives in ignorance as the war happened around them."

"What do you mean?" Zelos asked.

"Ask Ratatosk. After all, he and I shared the same feeling once," Nebilim said, his smile returning as he pointed to the blonde, crimson eyed Summon Spirit.

Lloyd and the others looked at their companion in confusion. Ratatosk seemed to scowl as he shook his head and lowered it, his stance relaxing. Sheena raised an eyebrow at that. She didn't want to believe anything that despicable demon spouted, but Ratatosk's reaction… there was something strange to it.

"That's in the past now," Ratatosk said, looking up, his voice not carrying its usual arrogance and scowl as it normally did when he was facing an opponent.

"But it is the past that shaped the world to what it is now," Nebilim said, raising his arms as he looked to the skies. "Surely, you all agree that this world is better off being wiped out of existence than to continue in this deplorable state."

"No. What we want is to change it," Sheena said. "You only desire to destroy it."

"My aim isn't Aselia itself, but rather, those that live in it," Nebilim looked at them, his expression now an enigmatic smile. "I am here to deliver vengeance, the wrath of mana upon those that abused it. You, Summon Spirits, have nothing to fear from me. You are not from this world and you only wanted its protection. Surely you can go on and find another world with beings that will truly appreciate your services, one without this filth known as mankind."

"Shut up!" Lloyd yelled. "What do you know about us anyway? If someone should go away, it's you. We're not going to give up until we have restored this world!"

"Besides," Zelos said, deciding to have some piece in that conversation. "We have Cruxis on our side. They surely will love to rip you and your little, demonic friends apart."

Nebilim smiled broadly at that. His smile then turned into a grin, soon to evolve into laughter as he turned his head up. Zelos and the others seemed disturbed by that, but resumed their battle stances. Ratatosk was only looking at the scene with a look of attention and concentration. The elven-looking, Demonic Commander then stopped to laugh enough to speak:

"Ah yes, Cruxis. Hahaha..." he shook his head, smirk back on as he looked at the group. "Well then, let me ask you a question, Mr. Representative Wielder; where are your so called angelic saviors? Shouldn't they have been here by now? I certainly didn't see any while I was slaughtering the humans like pigs," Nebilim's smirk turned into a malicious one.

Zelos opened his mouth, ready to reply, but closed it and looked to the side. He could say they were coming, but his tone certainly would give away that he didn't believe so much in that anymore. After all, it has already been at least half an hour since Nebilim began his attack and until now there was no sight of Cruxis' angels at all.

_Could they… also be afraid to face Nebilim. _Zelos thought. _After all, he _is_ the strongest out of all the demons in Aselia. But… even so. They could have warned us he was coming… couldn't they?_

Zelos never once questioned Cruxis' ways and methods. He even agreed that humanity had to atone for their mistakes in the past. But how does leaving them uninformed about Nebilim's eminent approach to Meltokio fit that? Surely, the angels would have sensed somebody as powerful as Nebilim coming to their continent, if they could even find demons in disguise.

Sheena and the others looked at the red headed representative and started to get worried at his silence. They wouldn't admit, but they had also asked themselves that same question. Nebilim seemed pleased with the group's silence and restarted his speech:

"In that case, let me tell you something," he brought his left arm up as he extended it to the group's direction, like he was inviting them to take his hand. That put the whole group in high alert. "The Cruxis that you serve, your so called heavenly saviors, they're nothing…" Nebilim closed his left hand and brought it close to his chest. "but a sham!" with a quick movement, Nebilim shot his left arm back, opening his palm and impacting it with the Obelisk of Mana, right over the Sacred Stone. The strength was enough for the sound to reverberate across the entire plaza.

The group then noticed Nebilim dug the clawed fingers of his gauntlet into the solidified mana as the entire obelisk started to crack. Soon the structure that once stood proudly in the middle quarters of Meltokio as a symbol of Cruxis' blessing, crumbled and fell apart like it was made out of clay.

Zelos seemed shocked as the group gasped. Nebilim then brought his left hand up, so that the group could see the Sacred Stone. Nebilim had his smirk back as he looked at the electric-blue stone. He spoke once more:

"Now, let me show you what the only possible future for the humans is and what shall be the face of the vengeance to befall them!" with that, Nebilim closed his fist and reduced the Sacred Stone to dust.

Zelos lost all support on his legs as he saw that and went on his knees. The Obelisk of Mana… The Sacred Stone… Cruxis' Blessing… Nebilim had bypassed and smashed it all like they were nothing. He even laughed at his face, calling him a fool and destroying the monument to prove his point. Was it true then? That not even the angels could stop Nebilim?

The Cruxis' Representative was so lost in his own thoughts, looking to the ground with an expression of shock on his face, that he didn't notice the abhorrent amounts of energy that were released, and were still flowing, from Nebilim's fist when the Sacred Stone was destroyed. The others, however, did.

Even Lloyd could see the poison-green lines of chaos energy that were floating up to the skies, given its concentration and the power they carried. They were so distracted by it, that they just noticed Nebilim departing when the sound of a column of hellish flames rising reached their ears. They looked back at the Demonic Commander in time to see his sneering expression as he disappeared in the midst of the flames.

Ratatosk would have cursed at being deceived by such a cheap trick, if it wasn't for the fact he felt the chaos energy above them suddenly concentrating and a rift in the dimensional lane forming. The Lord of the Monsters and the other reincarnated Summon Spirits looked up and saw the chaos energy now forming a great rune above the skies, which Ratatosk recognized as being a portal. A portal to Niflheim.

_And a high-caliber one at that… _Ratatosk realized. He had seen those far too many times to know what kind of being they transported.

When what looked like wisps of dark smoke started to appear at the edges of the portal, a strong wind suddenly blew over Meltokio, the fires dying away and the skies were covered by heavy clouds. More wisps of dark smoke, which Sheena recognized as being a mix of darkness and chaos energies, came from the portal, soon blocking the vision of the ethereal runes on it as the concentration started to get thicker.

It was then something seemed to fall out of the portal, enveloped by the dark smoke, leaving behind a pillar of gaseous darkness and chaos energy. The pillar then reached the ground and the smoke spread on it without any sound of impact.

"Um… Zelos," Lloyd called, when he saw Zelos still hadn't noticed what was happening around of him. When something that resembled a giant, skeletal hand appeared amidst the pillar of dark smoke clad in what looked like a giant robe's sleeve, Lloyd shook the red head awake. "Zelos!"

That finally seemed to bring the Cruxis' Representative back to reality, as he noticed what was in front of them, right were the Obelisk of Mana used to be. Another skeletal hand came out of the pillar of gaseous darkness and soon a skeletal head followed. The group looked at what they could only describe as a demon resembling a giant skeleton with an ox's skull for the head with horns that formed a circle near the head before pointing to sides and behind. It was garbed in a giant, black robe, its edges touched the floor, covering the creature's feet (if it actually had any), with blue and golden lining along the edges and the sleeves, forming runic symbols.

The creature fixated it's shining, cruel, red eyes on the group and let out a thunderous howl, which resembled that of an berserk bull, shaking then entire plaza and chilling them to the bone.

"What the hell is this thing?" Zelos let out as he conjured his ice sword and shield again, his eyes glued to the demon that had appeared before them.

"I can't believe it… I never thought it actually…" Sheena mumbled.

Tenebrae then appeared, startling Zelos, until Lloyd explained to him that the dog-like creature was their friend. The Centurion of Darkness then said:

"I thought Lady Sheena would recognize it. After all, if I'm not mistaken, this particular demon is a figure of your folklore, isn't it?"

"Wait. What is that?" Lloyd asked.

"According to Mizuho's legends, it's a Shinigami, a god of death," Sheena said.

"What?"

"It's not actually a god, per say," Tenebrae clarified. "It's a demon of Lord ranking, the second highest one in Niflheim and losing only to the Grand Demon Lords themselves. It was summoned accidentally into Aselia in the past by summoners, both times causing a great deal of destruction in its awake."

"Its true name in your language would mean 'Dead Rise', because its' main ability is…" Ratatosk didn't get to finish his line, for in that moment the Shinigami let out another howl and the dark smoke that gathered in the ground around the edges of its robe spread over the entire ground, but not making any damage on the group.

The plants seemed to wither away and die instantly and the dark smoke suddenly started to concentrate around the corpses of those that were killed by Nebilim. The smoke then entered inside the decaying bodies and, to the group's horror, they started to move and stand.

"…raise the bodies of the dead," Ratatosk completed grimly as he gripped his sword tighter.

"The hell? We're surrounded!" Lloyd said as he noticed the once unmoving corpses of the Meltokio citizens were now getting up everywhere and effectively circling them.

"Don't panic!" Ratatosk said. "They're only magically animated bodies, empty shells! You have to obliterate them so they can't get up anymore."

"Easy for you to say," Zelos spoke, looking around and even seeing some familiar faces in the middle of the crowd of approaching undead. Seeing them rising again and walking to him with empty, dead eyes, bloodied clothes and disfigured bodies made him want to throw up.

"Can't we simply kill the Shinigami and get it over with?" Sheena asked.

"That would be a good idea _if_ we were able to kill it," Ratatosk talked back.

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.

"That thing is nothing like the demons we have fought so far. Its power is superior to those of General rank by a ridiculously large margin. In our current state, we can't do anything more than to simply stun it with strong attacks."

"No more time to talk. Here they come!" Tenebrae said, disappearing.

The Shinigami then pointed to the group of reincarnated spirit and growled, making signal for the undead to attack. Lloyd and the others didn't have any choice, but to enter in their spirit forms and fight back…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Marta and Colette pointed the last of the recently cured citizens to the exit of the town. The two girls went back to the stairs to the middle quarters and found Raine there, getting up and with a look of frustration in her face that both never saw before.

Colette approached the half-elf, asking if she was alright. Raine was about to answer when the skies suddenly clouded and the senses of the reincarnated Summon Spirits caught something; a very powerful and terrible aura.

"What's happening there?" Marta asked, pointing to the skies, where they could see dark smoke forming and coming down.

"I-I don't know, but..." Colette said, suddenly starting to shake. "But... this sensation..."

Raine spared a worried glance at the girls. She could feel it too. This aura was unlike anything they had seen so far in the demons. There was also something that just wasn't right about it.

It was then they heard a loud howl and wind blew around them, carrying what looked like wisps of dark smoke. Raine could feel a spell in the air, so thick it was almost palpable.

_It's this strange smoke. What could it…? _Her thoughts were interrupted when the hand of nearby corpse suddenly shot forward and grabbed her leg.

Raine jumped on her place and kicked the hand back. She looked around and saw the burnt and slashed corpses starting the get up. Marta and Colette had looks of horror in their faces at seeing that.

"Wha-What's happening?" Marta exclaimed, brining her hands to her mouth.

"A rising spell... so that explains what we felt," Raine said, taking her staff out. "Don't hold back! They're just animated corpses."

"But... they look..." Colette started to say at seeing the bloodied and cut bodies surrounding them. She could even see children's burnt corpses in the crowd.

"Don't pay attention to it! We have to fight our way to Lloyd and the others!"

Colette looked from Raine to the corpses around them. She wanted to help, but looking at those undead she started to tremble. The smell of blood and burnt flesh was now thicker than before, together with the oppressive and terrible aura they were feeling, Colette started to feel nauseous and had urges to throw up.

Marta saw that Colette wasn't in conditions to fight, so she harnessed wind on her spinner and released several wind blades on the animated corpses that were blocking the way to the gates. The undead fell into pieces, though some continued to move, even after losing limbs or half of their bodies. Marta then yelled to Colette:

"GO! Get out while we deal with them!"

The blonde looked from Marta and Raine to the path that they opened for her. The silver haired Professor was already casting chaos spells at the undead crowd. Even though the corpses lost their limbs of half their bodies, they still tried to advance in whatever way they could, those nearer started to attack with punches, weapons or any other way they could find to harm the reincarnated Summon Spirits.

With one last look at her friends, Colette sprinted to the gates. When she had already passed the destroyed wall, she noticed the undead weren't going out of the town. That gave her some time to stop and reflect at what she had just done.

"I'm a coward..." Colette recriminated herself aloud. "Marta and the others are fighting to protect the city and I... I can do nothing, but shake in fear…"

Colette wanted nothing more than to go back and help Sheena and the others. They had supported her through everything and even helped her mother to go into hiding, but each time she tried to fight, she couldn't help but remember what happened to Maki and everybody at Iselia.

_Why did I have to be a Summon Spirit if I would turn out to be such a coward? They need my help, but I can't help them just because of this fear of mine. _Colette thought bitterly.

_"Never lose your smile..."_

Colette's eyes widened at remembering Maki's words. She didn't know why she remembered it now of all times. Maybe it was a sign that she should face her fears, rather than run from them forever. She turned and looked back at Meltokio, seeing Raine and Marta making it to the stairs while fighting off the wave of raised dead.

The reincarnated Gnome looked at her side to the ground and found there the metal chakra that always seemed to come whenever she was going into battle. Colette reached for it, but a memory suddenly flashed through her head.

_Blood... Exbelua's blood... Sheena's blood... _

Colette's hand flinched away as if it had been burnt. She didn't want to hurt anybody anymore. She didn't... she heard Marta gasping when a skeletal hand shot out of the ground and grabbed her leg. Undead were now coming out of the earth.

_Choose now... your innocence or your friend's lives... _a voice seemed to echo in Colette's head. _Everything comes at a price... every action demands that you deny and sacrifice something in return._ _Which one will you choose in this situation?_

Colette didn't know if that voice was her conscience (it sounded far too masculine to be), but knew it was right. Ratatosk had said it once: the world was not a gentle place. It demanded things from you and life forced you to choose every time. And now it was making Colette choose once more. The little innocence she still have left or her friends.

_Killing isn't that difficult... you get used to it over time... to some, it's just as normal as breathing..._

Colette thought on that. Would that happen to her if she chose to take up in arms now? Would she become some mindless killing machine which didn't care about who it struck down?

_No._

Colette looked up, her eyes shining with solemn determination. No, she was _never_ going to get used to killing. She abominated violence and any form of it. She would eventually have to fight, because it is _necessary. _Because it's the only way to protect her family and friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

_If I have to give up this innocence to protect them, so be it. But I'm never going to let violence and killing rule my life._

With that thought in mind, Colette felt her will becoming stronger. She then reached for the chakra again, her hand trembling bit, but pulled it out of the ground nonetheless. This time, no traumatic thoughts or images came to her, her resolve was keeping them at bay.

Colette sighed in relief and saw Raine batting away the undead with her staff and blocking some swords and spears, now clearly cornered and without enough time to charge a spell. Colette reared her weapon, feeling the familiar sensation of the power inside of her flowing to her hand. Her chakra suddenly split into three.

"Triple Ray Thrust!" Colette threw the three rings in high speed. The round blades sailed through the hair, cutting down the animated corpses like they were made out of paper.

Raine and Marta looked and were surprised at seeing Colette coming. What impressed the two even more were the eyes of the girl. They held a determined expression and an iron will, the kind that Lloyd showed when defending his convictions and his friends.

The undead turned to Colette, but the girl already produced two more chakras and threw them at the row of walking corpses, severing limbs and cutting to bodies in two halves. The blonde threw her weapons with strength, striking down lines and lines of animated dead, although she tried to avoid the blood that flew in the air when she severed and cut down an animated corpse.

Raine decided it was time to put an end to that fight and chanted a spell in demonic. She raised her staff, proclaiming:

"Eslid!" the air around her seemed to pulse and, suddenly, the nearest undead fell limply to the ground, like the force that sustained them had suddenly left them.

Colette looked back at the two girls and approached them, saying:

"Wow. What did you do, Professor Raine?"

"I negated all the chaos enchantments around, but it seems I still have ways to go before perfecting it," she muttered at seeing there were undead that had escaped the spell. "Let's go, I can't guarantee whoever revived them won't try it again."

- / - / - / - / - / -

_This really, really sucks... _was the only conclusion Sheena could come up with for their situation.

Turns out, Ratatosk was right (a fact that Sheena hated more than ever right now): the Shinigami was a whole new level from what they were used to fighting. The personification from her village's folklore was everything the stories described and much more.

While Zelos and Ratatosk froze and obliterated the army of undead, which seemed to be gaining reinforcements that were coming from beneath the ground (Sheena remembered there were reports saying there had been a battle very close to Meltokio during the Second Invasion), she and Lloyd went to take on directly the Demon Lord.

She tried summoning light orbs that exploded on contact as Lloyd attacked by producing fire blades that flew to the demon. The projectiles didn't do any damage on the demon or even its long robes. Lloyd tried using his Flaring Tempest and Sheena a combo of Demon Seal and Dawn Pillars. Both didn't seem to do anything other than annoy the Demon Lord, who turned and batted Lloyd away with his skeletal hand.

Sheena produced daggers made of light and tried to go on melee against the Shinigami. The creature defended the blows with just its sleeve before launching a beam of chaos energy at her that pushed the reincarnated Luna all the way across the plaza.

Ratatosk saw that and attempted to hit the Shinigami with Ain Soph Aür, just to discover his favorite Mystic Arte was _still_ not powerful enough as the Shinigami blocked it with its bare hand. Lloyd took the opportunity it was distracted to use Sword Rain: Flare on its back. The Arte did nothing more than to momentarily stun his adversary and flap his clothes.

The Shinigami turned to Lloyd and opened its mouth, letting out a breath of the same dark smoke that seemed to surround the base of its robes. Lloyd used his defensive Arte, however, the air around him started to get suffocating and he got a coughing fit while trying to keep the shield up. It was in that moment Sheena used her light to disperse the dark smoke around him and Lloyd could breathe once more.

"Thanks Sheena," he said with a mild smile, trying to recover his breath.

"Don't try to defend against that again. That wasn't a normal Arte," Sheena spoke. "How about we try together now?" she smiled to Lloyd, who smiled back.

The two then held their hands around Lloyd's red sword, their bodies being involved by auras of light and fire. The Shinigami was about to attack, but was hit by a Brilliant Shackles spell, which immobilized it. Lloyd and Sheena quickly looked down and saw Raine and the other girls arriving.

The couple then shot down towards the Demon Lord, their power turning them into comets of light and fire. Lloyd and Sheena impacted with the Shinigami's chest, pressing against its defenses as it was stunned by the strong impact and slightly forced behind.

However, the Demon Lord quickly grabbed Lloyd and Sheena, passing their powerful auras and nullifying the attack instantly. The Shinigami then threw the two to the ground with impressive strength, creating two craters with their shape. The demon then closed its fists and brought them back, ready to bring them down on the couple. Raine used a Ray spell to stop the Shinigami and blind it momentarily.

Lloyd and Sheena used that chance to get away and regroup with the others. Marta was about to ask what that demon was when the powerful aura of the Shinigami started to become agitated and it mumbled some words in what sounded demonic language. Raine recognized the enchantment.

"Everybody, SCATTER!" the group barely had time to take heed to her warning and run to the sides as the Demon Lord casted its spell.

A great sphere of chaos energy formed in front of the Shinigami and shot a large beam, which wiped out any undead on its path, not leaving any trace of them. Then the ground which the beam had travelled above exploded, bricks and dirty flying into the air. Lloyd and the others had to avoid the falling chunks of rock and bricks.

"It can use chaos magic?" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Ugh! Figures…" Sheena said.

The battle went on as the Shinigami let out another breath of dark smoke. Ratatosk and Zelos avoided it and saw first-hand what happened to the animated corpses that stood on its way; they withered and turned into dust seconds after the darkness engulfed them. Raine tried to use her light magic and Lloyd attacked with his Blazing Fang Arte, however, both managed only to temporarily stun their adversary, not even damaging its clothing.

The group was quickly getting tired. Zelos noticed it and thought on what he could do. He knew if he tried to directly attack that thing he would be dead.

_Wait… what if I…? _Zelos thought, but quickly dismissed the idea. _If the others couldn't even scratch it, the best it can do is to freeze this guy for some time, but he would eventually free himself._

Ratatosk tried to use his Destroyer Song's Arte, but the Shinigami crossed its arms above its head and threw them to the side, releasing a powerful pulse of its aura that knocked the Lord of the Monsters back. Colette tried throwing her chakras at the Demon Lord, only for it to bat them away.

"Isn't there a way for us to defeat this thing?" Marta questioned aloud, sounding desperate.

Raine tried to think on some short of strategy. It was clear their power was insufficient to defeat the Demon Lord, but they couldn't simply leave this thing. Who knows what a demon of this level of power could do if left free to roam in Aselia? Raine then remembered something from her first years of studying the demonic lore:

_There were many incidents in the past involving stray demons or ones accidentally invoked from Niflheim. In most cases, people were unable to contact the guardians of the world, or simply didn't have the time, so the only solution they had when not being able to destroy the demon was banishing it back to Niflheim. _

Raine remembered having seen some short of portal in the skies. Maybe they could send the Shinigami back to Niflheim. She approached the fallen Ratatosk and healed his injuries, asking him:

"Is there a way for us to send it back to Niflheim?"

Ratatosk looked at her with surprise, but soon caught on what she was suggesting, mentally slapping himself for not thinking of that before. He looked to the skies, where the portal that had brought the Demon Lord had opened, and spoke:

"The dimensional layer is still vulnerable and the energy of the portal is still there. I think with your knowledge in demonic arts and my powers we could open one portal powerful enough to send this thing back, but we're gonna need time and I don't think it'll simply sit back and watch us charge the spell."

Zelos stopped nearby and heard the two speak, as the others did. So they just needed to keep that thing occupied. Lloyd, Marta and Colette said they would act as distractions while Raine and Ratatosk charged the spell. Sheena and Zelos were going to keep the raised undead off the two.

The group then set off to deal with the threat. The Demon Lord attacked Lloyd and Marta with a Neran Liard spell, forcing them away, as Colette used long-range Artes to keep the Shinigami away. The creature then looked at Ratatosk and Raine and growled. Lloyd and the girls had cold sweat running down their foreheads at seeing the demon had noticed what they were doing so soon.

The attack on the invincible entity turned more intense, aiming to keep it in its place. Sheena dispatched another wave of undead when she suddenly felt the Shinigami's aura concentrating and power uniting around it. However, it seemed that Lloyd and Marta hadn't noticed it, too busy keeping the Demon Lord occupied.

"Watch out!" Sheena warned them, but it came too late.

The Shinigami crossed its arms near its head and its aura flared with power and the darkness that surrounded the base of his robes rushed upwards, surrounding it in a whirl of dark, chaos energy. The whirlwind of power caught Lloyd and Marta and lifted the two, attacking their aura directly. The two were forced out of their spirit forms and fell to the ground as the demon threw its head up, opening its mouth and swallowing all of the darkness and chaos that it had used. The Shinigami then leaned its body to the side, harnessing the power it had reabsorbed and preparing to execute a Mystic Arte.

Sheena and Colette tried to go for their two friends, but ended up caught in the attack when the Demon Lord let out a howl that shook the entire plaza. Waves of chaos energy flowing out of its body, pushing and attacking everything around it at a certain distance and creating cracks on the ground, Lloyd and Marta were thrown backwards and collided with Sheena and Colette, the former having her spirit form immediately dispelled as her aura was assaulted by the overwhelming flood of chaos energy. The only ones that escaped the attack were Ratatosk, Raine and Zelos. The red head still had to fight against the strong winds that were a bi-product of the attack and the half-elf and the Lord of Monsters also managed to keep their ground at the edge of the plaza as they continued to charge the enchantment.

Zelos then saw his companions' situation; Lloyd and Marta were out cold, with several bruises, just like Sheena and Colette who looked fatigued. However, that was nothing compared to the damage in their aura and magical energy. The Cruxis' representative was surprised they were even alive after that attack.

_That Mystic Arte would have completely obliterated the aura of any normal human. But that clearly seems to not be their case. _Zelos thought.

It was then he noticed the Shinigami turning to look at Ratatosk and Raine. The Demon Lord slowly made its way to the two, who didn't run or stopped their casting. Zelos wanted to scream at them to escape, but knew that even if they did it, it would just delay the inevitable. He started to feel anger and revolt towards the situation.

_It's almost… like back then… I could do nothing, but watch as they were all killed. _Zelos thought, gritting his teeth. Then he remembered. _I am not the same as back then. Now I can save them! _With that thought in mind, Zelos concentrated in gathering all of his power. It was time for him to use his secret technique.

The air around him seemed to drop several degrees and the ground seemed to freeze. His blade was enveloped by a white glow as he fixed his eyes on the Demon Lord. The red head then called:

"Hey, you big, bony freak!" the Shinigami turned its oxen-like, skull head to him. "TRY THIS!" Zelos swung his sword and sent a great, crescent blade of ice element against the demon.

The Shinigami raised its sleeve to block it, however, when the blade hit, it instantly turned into ice, producing a line of icebergs that stuck on the sleeve of the Demon Lord, which looked confused when it felt its arm getting heavy due to the icy formation. That was all the time Zelos needed to approach and start attacking:

"Oh ancient, frigid blade…" the red read intoned as he quickly slashed at the base of the Demon Lord's robe, each blow producing more ice formations that clang to the demon's clothes. "...release thy chilling fury upon my enemies…" he seemed to disappear momentarily, just to reappear behind the Demon Lord and once more attack, causing another portion of the Shinigami's body to be enveloped by ice. "...let they know your cold edge…" once more Zelos disappeared and this time reappeared in the air, slashing at the demon's torso. "...bind them…" again he appeared near the shoulders. The demon was unable to accompany Zelos' movements, which resembled much that of a teleport magic. "...and strike their hearts…" this time the Shinigami's right arm was covered in ice formations. "...as the cold take over their very souls," Zelos disappeared and reappeared in the ground, sliding away of the Demon Lord, who by now had its body curved, weighting with all the ice formations that adhered to his clothes, unable to properly move. Zelos then produced an ice rose with his left hand, closing his eyes and bringing it near his face as if he was to sniff its aroma. "... Arctic Bind!" Zelos then threw the rose to the Demon Lord without even looking. The artificial flower sailed through the air as if in slow motion until it hit one of the icy formations on the body of the Shinigami. When the rose shattered, the whole body of the giant demon was incased in solid ice as the formations over him grew in an instant, completely freezing and immobilizing it.

Raine and Ratatosk had their eyes wide at seeing Zelos execute such a Mystic Arte and effectively stop the Demon Lord. The silver haired woman looked to the red head, who kneeled once he finished his attack, panting in exhaustion.

_So he really is a Summon Spirit! _Raine realized. Only one would have any chance at freezing a Demon Lord like that.

"Now Raine!" Ratatosk called her attention. She nodded, breaking her gaze away from Zelos and intoning the rest of the enchantment as she and Ratatosk united their hands and pointed to the sky.

The portal was opened once more, but this time, it started to suck all of the chaos energy around, together with the raised undead, which had stopped moving when the Shinigami was frozen. Sheena, Zelos and Colette felt the wind ruffling their hair and clothes, but not pulling them to the portal. The ice which encased the Shinigami slowly started to move, until it finally left the ground.

Before it reached the portal, the top cracked and broke, liberating the Demon Lord's head as it grumbled and noticed the portal pulling it back to Niflheim. The Shinigami thrashed its head around, struggling against its prison and managing to break one of its hands free, however the Demon Lord was already turned upside down and the still frozen base of its robe started to be absorbed by the portal, together with any wisps of darkness and chaos energy around.

The Shinigami howled and struggled, but was unable to free anymore of its body, its torso already being absorbed into the portal and proceeding to its shoulders and head as the demon thrashed around, howling. Finally it stretched its arm, like if trying to grab onto something that could pull it out of the portal, but there was nothing and, with a final, reverberating howl, its head and hand were absorbed, disappearing.

The portal then shone and shrank, exploding in thousands of light dots as the skies finally cleared. The group could finally breathe in relief, feeling no trace of the Demon Lord's presence. They had saved Aselia, for now…

* * *

A.N.: Eslid is "dispel" in common and the Mystic Arte used by the Shinigami is Terror's Howl. Just to make it clear.

Since this chapter was really long, I finished it here. So, see you all next time.


	28. The Keeper of Terra's Oath

Once more, here we are!

I don't have much to say, just that you people will have to wait and see what happens with the other members of the gang, so let's go for the action.

Oh... and here's a skit between Zelos, Sheena, Lloyd, Lumen and Raine:

**Bonus Skit 12 (Zelos, Raine, Lloyd, Lumen and Sheena)**

Nicknames

Zelos: Well then people! Since we're all going to travel together from now on, I've decided on a few nicknames to you all.

Sheena: You're kidding, right?

Zelos: I can guarantee you, my voluptuous friend, I'm quite serious.

Lumen: Wait. But I've already got them nicknames.

Zelos: Really?

Lumen: Yeah. Sheena is Shee-luni, Lloyd is double-L, Professor Raine is Professor Water and…

Zelos: Wait. What the hell? Double-L? What are we, some kind of street gang?

Lloyd: That's what I told him.

Lumen: Then do you have other idea?

Zelos: Of course I do! First, Lloyd could be Hothead.

Sheena: That's gotta be the most…

Lumen: Oh, I got it! Hothead. That's brilliant!

Sheena: …

Lloyd: Don't I get a say in the matter?

Zelos: Nope. Marta would be Kitten. Colette is the Smiling, Radiant, Angel Girl! Emil is Two-faced.

Lloyd: Two-faced? That sounds like something out of my grandfather's comic books.

Lumen: What about Sheena?

Zelos: Oh. She would be the Sensitive, Grudge-holding, Violent Tsundere.

Sheena: I'm not grudge-holding… ! Wait? Tsundere? Where did you learn that from?

Zelos: The Royal Archives contained some reports from Mizuho on certain personalities. Let's just say my family's hobby was to collect souvenirs from that age.

Sheena: I give up. Let's go before we catch their stupidity, Lloyd.

Zelos: Meh, spoilsport.

Lumen: What about Professor Water, Zelos?

Zelos: She would be the Glamourous, Mature, Super Genius, Stoic, Beauty Queen.

Raine: That sounds a little… too long to pronounce.

Zelos: Oh… so would you like just the Archeological, Genius Queen then?

Raine: Can't you come up with something more… let's say, normal?

Lumen: Well. Raine is a Professor, so maybe we should use that.

Zelos: True. … Oh, I know! The Bewitching, Stunning, Half-elven Professor. Yeah! That's it!

Raine: *sigh*

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**The Keeper of Terra's Oath**

When the skies finally cleared, the people started to come out of the tunnels that led them out of Meltokio. The priests of the Cruxis Church lead the citizens back as they surveyed the damage on their town.

The lower quarters had been mostly destroyed and the slums were now ashes. Some fire balls hit parts of the upper quarters, although the fires didn't spread. The walls and ground were stained with dried blood and weapons from the raised undead. The plaza had craters all over the floor and the Obelisk was reduced to rubble. To some of the elders, it looked like the city was back to the time when it served as a battlefield during the Second Invasion.

Emil and the others were looking around too while Zelos was kneeled near the fragments of the Obelisk, taking a chunk of them in his hand. Nebilim's words replayed themselves in his head as he looked at the dark blue fragments of mana.

_Is Cruxis really a sham? _Zelos thought. He then shook his head. Nebilim was probably just trying to get to his head.

It was then that light came down from the heavens. People looked up in awe as three spheres of light descended. When they were relatively close to the ground, the three emitted a pulse of light and a flash, materializing into three angels, two which looked like women wielding twin rapiers and one a blue haired man using an elaborated, white armor.

The people in the plaza all knelt to the ground as the angels' feet touched the ground. Lloyd and the others backed away from sight, Raine and Emil looking intently at the angels, curious to see what would happen.

The angel commander looked around at the destruction. Three priests approached and bowed down to their heavenly protectors. The angel commander then looked at the high ranking member of the church present and asked in an emotionless voice:

"Report."

"Yes, my lord. We were attacked by the commander of the demons, Nebilim. He destroyed good part of the city and we evacuated the people to shelters until now," the priest said.

"Why is our blessing laying in shambles?" the angel asked again in that emotionless tone, giving no indication he had heard what the elderly member of the church said.

"Well… that's…" the man started, looking at his aides. None of them had any idea of what had happened, being the first ones to leave the city.

"Nebilim. That's what happened," Zelos said, approaching the group.

"Representative Wilder. You…"

"Tell me. What happened that you guys couldn't come sooner?" Zelos asked, his face an impassive mask.

Part of the crowd seemed to gasp and the priests looked between themselves. Zelos, their Representative, had just questioned Cruxis' actions, something nobody in their right mind would do.

"I do not have any obligation to answer to you, human," the angel replied. "We came in due time."

"Yeah… in time to clean up and pray for everybody that is already dead," Zelos said, narrowing his eyes in what looked like anger, although his tone and expression betrayed nothing.

The angel glared at Zelos and approached him, floating a few inches from the ground, as if to intimidate him, although the red head's expression remained the same.

"Put yourself on your place, Representative. It is not you who have the right to question us," the angel said, his tone now chilling and strict.

"Then can you at least answer me, _my lord_…" Zelos said, putting emphasis on the title. "Why is it that your blessing didn't work on Nebilim?"

To an untrained listener, it would have been impossible to detect the contempt Zelos used on his voice when he said "blessing." Raine, Emil and Sheena couldn't tell if the angel had detected that or not.

"That shall be investigated. In the mean time, we suggest you to go back to your duties and try to prevent such an occurrence take place again, if you are even capable of that," the angel said, making Raine, Sheena and Emil gasp and Zelos widen his eyes.

The four realized what had just happened. That agent of Cruxis had just placed the blame of the attack on Zelos. The red head could already feel the glare of Meltokio's citizens on him and the sneer in the face of the priests of the Church.

In that moment, Zelos wanted nothing more than to freeze the bastard in front of him, angel and Cruxis be damned. He once more remembered those haunting words from Nebilim:

_"Your so called heavenly saviors, they're nothing but a sham…"_

_Is this what he meant? _Zelos thought.

The red head then swallowed his anger and bowed his head to the angel, as if to show submission.

"I'm sorry, my lord. It wasn't my intention to question your reasoning," Zelos said, using all of his experience in dealing with nobles and arrogant priests to keep his cool and control his tone. It seemed it had worked on the angel, for he simply gave his back to Zelos and proceeded to instruct the priests on the reconstruction.

Zelos just straightened up when the angels were already leaving. His face had a stony expression on it as the priests approached him, their expressions stern. Emil and the others continued to observe as the elder priest said:

"Representative, I do not need to remind you what we had always advised you about. I'm sure you have by now seen that your behavior…"

"Piss off…" Zelos mumbled. The priest let out an "huh?" not understanding what Zelos said at first. The Cruxis Representative turned to him. "What? Didn't hear me? I said: piss. Off. In fact, I don't have any motive to continue making part of this joke anymore."

The Cruxis' followers seemed to get confused at that as Zelos simply turned and went up the upper quarters, passing by the Meltokio citizens that glared at him. Suddenly, a fruit came flying from somewhere in the crowd and hit Zelos right on his head with enough strength to make his head lean to the side.

The crowd seemed stunned at that. Zelos was immobile for some seconds, everybody in the plaza eying him with apprehension, holding their breath, even the reincarnated Summon Spirits. The flirtatious red head brought his finger to his now dirtied hair and passed it on the juice of the orange that had been thrown at him. He brought his finger to his mouth and tasted it.

"It's rotten…" Zelos said simply, his tone emotionless. He then continued on his path like nothing had happened, the fruit falling from his now dirty hair.

After that scene, the crowd slowly dispersed, no one commenting on what had just happened. Lloyd and his friends looked between themselves and, with a silent agreement, followed Zelos.

- / - / - / - / - / -

"Master Zelos!" Sebastian said at seeing his lord coming back to the Wilder Mansion, which had remained untouched during the invasion. "Thank Cruxis you're… what happened to your hair?" Sebastian asked at seeing the orange juice on Zelos' head. The red head simply smiled as he pointed to his half-soaked hair.

"Somebody decided I needed more C vitamin on my diet and found quite a creative way of hinting it, don't you think?"

"My lord…"

Zelos didn't say anything as he entered the house with Sebastian closing the door behind him. Zelos stood still on the attic, like taking in the picture of his mansion. He then asked without turning:

"Sebastian, you have served my family since when?"

"Well, it should be thirty years by now, my lord. But I frankly lost the count after…"

"After what happened ten years ago… yeah. Feels like time stopped or simply stopped mattering after that, doesn't it?" Zelos interrupted.

"Maybe… but sometimes I feel it has stopped more for you, my lord."

"True enough…"

Sebastian was the last servant of the Wilder household, most of the others having been dismissed by Zelos or simply left after a certain incident with Zelos' father. The butler had practically raised Zelos after his mother's death (though he couldn't say he did very well at that) and thanks to that was the closest thing that Zelos had to a family and the only person the Cruxis' Representative ever listened to. Well, at least before he met Sheena again.

"Pack up my things, Sebastian," Zelos said, finally turning to his butler.

"Are you leaving, my lord?" the older man inquired, his voice didn't show any hint of surprise in the least.

"Things have finally reached the point where there isn't a motive for me to stay in this position anymore."

"Does this have something to do with how the crowd reacted at that angel's statement?"

"Kinda."

Sebastian simply nodded and went to prepare things. He stopped at the stairs and asked his liege:

"Aren't you going to wash first?" he referred to Zelos' head.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Not in the mood right now. Say, do you still have that cousin on Altamira?"

"Yes. George always said I would be welcome there."

Zelos simply nodded and then they heard a knock on his door. Sebastian made motion to answer, but Zelos said he would take care of it and that his butler should pack his things. The grey haired servant nodded as Zelos opened the door. The Representative was surprised to see Sheena, Lloyd and the others there.

"Well… that's certainly a surprise."

"Can we talk with you?" Lloyd asked.

"Sure. Come in," Zelos said, giving them space to enter.

Most of the group was in awe at seeing the mansion, the only ones remaining neutral were Raine and Lloyd, who had already "visited" Zelos. The red head offered them the couches to sit as he took place on an arm chair. After the group got comfortable, an awkward silence filled the room. That is, until Zelos decided to ask, with his typical easygoing smile:

"So, any special motive for coming here? I would invite you to stay and crash at my place, but I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"Zelos… what you…?" Marta asked, looking at the orange juice that was still on Zelos' hair. He noticed that.

"Oh, this? Nothing a good wash can't solve."

"You don't have to put up the act, you know," Lloyd said.

"Huh? Act?" Zelos repeated, sounding genuinely confused. "What do you mean with that?"

"Oh, c'mon!" Sheena said, getting up. "Do you honestly want us to believe to your fine with everything that happened? We saw the way they looked at you."

"That? Please…" he said, waving his hand on a dismissive gesture. "I've been glared at my whole life. What with being Cruxis' Representative and everything."

"You're saying you… don't mind it?" Emil asked.

"Why should I?" Zelos said, shrugging.

The group stood silent at that. They could hear the sincerity on Zelos' tone, but there was still something that he wasn't telling them, Lloyd could feel it. It was then Sebastian came back, carrying a large suitcase with him. The group looked at the butler and slowly connected the dots. Colette then turned to Zelos and asked:

"Are you leaving?"

"Yep," Zelos said simply

"Where?"

"Don't know," Zelos replied.

"What do you mean? Isn't here your home?" Lloyd asked.

"This place ceased to be my home ten years ago…" Zelos said, dropping the carefree tone and sighing. He suddenly looked a totally different person from before. "To be honest, I never really liked Meltokio to begin with. People here are too stuffy for my tastes."

The group stood silent at that. It was then Raine pronounced herself:

"You can use magic, right?"

"Oh, so you noticed, miss half-elf?" Zelos said, though his tone wasn't malicious or derogative in the least.

"Yes and I'm sure you noticed we aren't exactly your normal group of travelers."

"What you are or not doesn't matter to me," Zelos said in an honest tone. "People are what they are. Same with me," he got up as he spoke.

"Are you sure you actually know who you really are?" Raine said, getting up too.

"I think I have a good idea of who I am," Zelos said assuming an enigmatic smile right after. "But the question is; how does this interest you?"

"Because we need your help," Colette said.

Sheena looked at her surrogate little sister as she spoke that. Colette continued:

"You are a Summon Spirit, Zelos."

There was silence after that statement. Zelos had a dumbstruck expression on his face. After one minute, he spoke:

"Uhh, sorry. What was that again, my little angel?"

"You're a Summon Spirit. Just like us," Emil said.

"You?" Zelos said, still with that surprised expression on his face. He then smiled a disbelieving smile as he waved his hand. "Come now. You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"No. It's true. I…" it was then a pulse of energy was felt in the air as Emil closed his eyes, opening them again to show their crimson tone. "What? Isn't everything that happened until now a hint? If that's the case, how about this transformation?"

"Actually, what you are is a person with a split personality problem," Zelos said as he eyed Emil. He smiled again. "But that's a pretty nice trick. How did you get to even change your eye color?"

Ratatosk brought his hand to his forehead, sighing. He kept his eyes closed and his head low as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. At that signal, the Centurions materialized around Zelos' attic. The Cruxis' Representative jumped this time at seeing the strange, animal-like beings appearing all over his mansion. Ventus, who was closest to him, spoke:

"Greetings, Sir Wilder, or should I say, Celsius? I'm Ventus, a Centurion at service of Lord Ratatosk," he referred to Emil with his head.

It took Zelos some seconds to process what had just happened. When he was finally able to think coherently again, he asked:

"Ok… first: did the bird just talked to me? Second: Celsius? Isn't that the Summon Spirit chick of ice? And third: did the bird just talk to me?"

"You asked that already," Lumen pointed out.

"I know that," Zelos said. He gave a pause before speaking again. "Did I just answer to a lince?"

"I'm a cheetah."

"Yeah, yeah... whatever."

"Look…" Sheena said, attracting Zelos' attention. "Whether you, or me, want to believe it or not, you are a Summon Spirit. What you did back there, freezing the Shinigami, is a proof of that."

"We can explain everything if you come with us," Colette said.

Zelos looked from them to the Centurions. Sebastian stood at his place, seemingly confused if he should believe in what he was just hearing, or deem himself as senile. The red head then spoke as he continued to look around:

"Um… no offense, but you guys seem like you are…" it was then he finally noticed something, or rather someone, near his fire place. In an instant, almost like he had teleported, the red head was standing near Ignis, his charming smile and smooth tone already in place. "Hellooo there beautiful. May I know your name?"

"I'm Ignis," the Centurion of fire said as she greeted him with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Say, you traveling with them?" Zelos asked, pointing to Emil and the others like they weren't even there. The group exchanged glances as Sheena had a vein pulsing on her forehead. Ignis simply nodded to him, still smiling. "You know, you look just like an exotic flower with a very cute expression, my hunny."

"That must be because I'm the Centurion of fire," Ignis said, not really understanding a word of what Zelos had just said, but speaking the first thing that came to her mind notwithstanding.

"Centurion of fire? That means you must be pretty _hot_, right?" Zelos offered, his smile turning into a lecherous one, which Ignis seemed unaware of.

_Oh please… _Sheena thought, shaking her head with hand on her forehead. _He couldn't be any more obvious, could he?_

"Yep, I am," Ignis said in her typical cheerful tone.

_And like always, she completely misses the undertone. _Emil and Ratatosk thought at the same time.

Zelos' smile widened as he eyed Ignis' cleavage, mentally calculating that it should be as big as Sheena's. He then laughed as he spoke:

"You know what? This seems pretty interesting, so I'm coming with you guys!"

Everybody sighed and shook their heads at that. Sebastian merely smiled at seeing that his liege was still his old self…

- / - / - / - / - / -

After making sure Sebastian was on his way to Triaar, the group followed the road to the Earth Temple. Marta took the time to explain to Zelos what their journey was about and what his role in it was. The red haired Representative was a little confused at hearing he was the reincarnation of Celsius, which made Ratatosk said:

"Actually, I think it matches. Celsius acted pretty much the same way you did when she was flirting with someone," Ratatosk said, taking control of Emil.

"And you know that, how?" Zelos asked.

Ratatosk stood quiet. However, Lumen didn't:

"Boss dated Celsius during the Kharlan War."

There was silence after that phrase. Zelos seemed shocked to say the least. Emil took control again and said:

"Actually, Summon Spirits don't really have gender. As spiritual beings, they are above things like that and can take any form they wish."

There was still silence from Zelos. Sheena figured she should enjoy it while it lasted. The Cruxis' Representative then fell back a few steps away from Emil, who sweated at the thought of what Zelos could be thinking. Marta saw that and said to the red head:

"Don't worry. Emil already has me," she smiled and walked to Emil, hugging his arm like she often did, making the blonde blush.

"Oh. Phew, that's good," Zelos said, sighing. " 'Cause, I mean, I know I'm good looking and all, but I don't...exactly play for that team. Although I don't have anything against gay people," he then gave a perverted grin as he said. "Actually. I think two women making…"

What else he would said was cut off by Sheena's knuckle connecting with his head, making him lower his head and giving him a lump. The ninja then said:

"I knew you would say something like that. You never change, you pervert!"

"What was that for?" Zelos inquired, his eyes moist from the pain of the punch.

Sheena said nothing and walked up to Lloyd. Zelos sighed again. He started wondering if it had been a good idea to take on their invite and come to this journey. He then looked at Raine, who was walking ahead of him, Colette, who was talking with Lumen and Aqua, and Ignis, who was floating near Lloyd, his gaze lingering on the draconic-looking woman's breasts.

_Yeah. It has. _Zelos thought to himself with a smirk.

As the night came, the group set camp and Zelos complained about they not having a river nearby or something, since he needed a bath. Sheena grumbled in annoyance and Raine said:

"If you want, talk to Aqua and she will summon a monster for you."

"And what would I want with a monster?" Zelos inquired.

"Weren't you just complaining about being dirty?" Raine replied.

It took the red head a full minute to understand what exactly Raine was suggesting.

"Eewww! I'm not taking bath in monster's drool. That can't be hygienic!"

"Actually, some monsters of my element filter water naturally inside their bodies, so it is clean and proper for bathing," Aqua lectured.

Zelos still didn't look convinced and was about to complain again when Marta said:

"We can assure you it's harmless. Me and the others had been bathing this way for some time now when we aren't near any source of clean water."

"Oh reeeally?" Zelos asked in a tone that suggested his mind was already drawing images of the girls with their bodies wet.

"If you peek, I'll kill you," Sheena said in an icy tone.

He gulped and backed away. Lloyd and Emil sighed at watching the entire scene while Colette was preparing their food, seeming to not be paying attention to the exchange. Lumen then asked:

"Shouldn't we remind Shee-luni that we need Zelos alive?"

"I don't think she really meant what she said," Tenebrae spoke before changing the subject. "At any rate, tomorrow we reach Solum. With that, only Tornitrus and Glacius will be missing."

"Do you have any idea where they might be?" Lloyd asked.

"Based on what we learned, it would be the temples at north of the Altamira continent and the one at Flanoir, where we should encounter the other Summon Spirit's soul halves. Reaching Flanoir won't be easy, there aren't any boats that get even close to that region and the waters there are infested with aquatic demons," Emil said.

"Not to mention the harsh weather conditions of the continent itself," Tenebrae spoke up.

"Then let's worry about that when the time comes. It's no use to fret over something we can do nothing about at the moment," Lloyd said.

"Is that part of your motto, or something?" Emil asked with smile.

Colette then called them, saying food was ready. The group abandoned their early arguments and gathered to eat. Zelos tasted some of the steak Colette had prepared and his eyes shone with delight.

"This is superb!" Zelos said after making approving noises. His tone then softened as he regarded their cook. "You know Colette, if ever need a job I would be more than happy to…"

"Don't even think about it," Sheena said in a warning tone.

"Uh, sorry, but I wasn't talking to you, Sheena," Zelos replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I don't care. Stay away of Colette."

"You know you can't prohibit her from seeing me if she falls for my alluring charms, do you?" Zelos replied with a smug smile.

Instead of snapping at him or responding to his comeback in a violent fashion, Sheena laughed. Zelos raised his eyebrow at that, not expecting the reaction. He then turned to Raine, who was closer to him, and asked:

"Did I say something funny?"

"You have no idea," Raine said with mirth in her voice and said nothing more as she turned her attention to the meal…

- / - / - / - / - / -

The Temple of Earth located north of Meltokio had always been a place closed off to the general public due to the dangerous routes and frequent earth shakes on the area, which sometimes tended to change the very shape of the Temple's paths.

However, ever since Gnome left the temple, not a single quake had occurred and the vegetation around the area was slowly withering and dying. Emil and his group observed that as they walked towards the cavern that gave entrance to the temple. Colette felt her heart constrict at the sight of the land dying around her.

Emil noticed it and spoke to her:

"Are you alright?"

"Uh?" Colette exclaimed, seeming distracted. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just..." She looked at the ding plants again.

"I know..." Emil said, noticing what Colette was looking at. "It's truly sad how things are turning in this world."

"And… that's why I have to fight too, right? So that we can save this world."

"If we don't, then the demons will just continue to destroy the Equilibrium until there's no life left."

"What is this 'Equilibrium'?" Colette asked with curiosity, she remembered having heard the term before. Was that in Mizuho?

Emil then looked at her again and took a breath before start to speak again, his tone now one of lecture which sounded pretty much like Colette's teachers back in Iselia:

"It has several names. Some know it as the Cycle of Life, others as the Foundation of the World. In the past, the Equilibrium was composed by the mana flows, which sustained the world and all life in it. Near the end of the Kharlan War, according to what we discovered the King the Summon Spirits, Origin, rewrote the natural law, transferring the Equilibrium to the magical currents and the vital energy of the world, which was not a part of mana.

"The Equilibrium is basically what holds Aselia and all life in it together. It's normally very difficult for normal beings to harm the Equilibrium, but when it happens, the consequences are terrible. The Kharlan War is the only recorded occasion in which we, humans, managed to effectively harm it."

_"Not to talk about it being the only time in which they managed to do it so even the dimensional layer would be damaged," _Ratatosk added as Colette took in all of those words, strengthening her resolve to fighting.

No other words were exchanged as the group finally entered the rocky temple. The place had some insect and magical monsters dwelling inside it, what gave Emil the opportunity to recruit more help from his past self's servants.

"Umm… an army of monsters under our command," Zelos mused as he saw the pacts being performed. "That certainly could be handy. Hehehe," he snickered with a smile and tone all too well known by Sheena, who decided to not even bother inquiring what was going over the pervert red head's mind.

"This temple looks different from the others so far. There isn't a ruin in sight," Raine muttered under her breath as she sighed.

"I'm actually quite glad for that," Marta whispered to herself, although Colette heard.

"What do you mean?" the blonde asked.

"Well, you see… Raine has this… _thing _whenever she sees ruins or unique things," Marta didn't dare to elaborate any further than that, for she herself didn't even know how to describe Raine's Ruin Mode.

Colette tilted her head to the side, looking confused, but decided not to ask, since the group was now crossing another one of the paths in the temple and could already see some kind of altar at the end of the path. There were columns standing on a seemingly random pattern around the altar.

Colette started to feel something calling for her, like some kind of voice beckoning her to approach the altar. Like with all the others, she did so almost unconsciously in a trance-like state. The group took some steps behind, knowing what was sure to come and that Colette would need space for when the guardian would appear.

A yellow flash appeared on the altar, revealing a light sphere of the yellow color. Then a cheerful voice came from the half of Gnome's soul:

"Ah, so my new form finally came. Hey there guy, pleased to metcha. Name's Gnome, Summon Spirit of earth. How are you, man?"

"I'm Colette," the reincarnated Summon Spirit of earth said.

"Wow, a girl! Man that sure was unexpected. Oh well, you know what they say, chicks also kick ass, heheh."

"Man, does that guy always sound this annoying?" Zelos complained.

"Now you know how I feel," Sheena said, narrowing her eyes at Zelos. "I can see why you and Gnome are such good friends," the ninja looked at Lumen.

"Yep! Isn't he cool?" the cheetah-like Centurion asked with his goofy smile. Sheena decided not to answer that, knowing Lumen wouldn't catch the meaning either way.

"You must be here to unite with me and all that stuff. Man, Origin sure came up with a complicated plan this time. Oh well, let's get this on the road then. C'mon! Show me what you've got!"

With that the sphere of light started to glow brighter and grow, until it imploded and something fell from it. The group saw it was a giant caterpillar with a dark-green shell on its back and a brown body, yellow eyes, antennae and pincers and a spear-shaped stinger at the point of its tail.

"Oh, c'mon. A giant worm?" Zelos laughed at seeing Colette's opponent, although Sheena had a startled glance in her eyes. "That's going to be piece of cake for our little angel," he was then slapped by Sheena on the back of his head. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"Don't jinx Colette like that! Who knows what that thing can do," Sheena said although her tone was more nervous than angry.

"Sheena, are you afraid of insects?" the red head asked, smirking when Sheena almost jumped at having being asked that question.

"O-Of course not! Why would I?"

"Yes. Lady Sheena doesn't have a problem with insect monsters in the general," Tenebrae said.

"Thanks, Tenebrae," the ninja spoke with a smile.

"Her fears are centered on caterpillars," the Centurion of Darkness said.

There was a moment of silence after that. Zelos then gave a knowing smile as he let out a "reaaally?". Sheena turned to Aqua and called to her:

"Hey, Aqua! Tenebrae is badmouthing Richter again."

"What?" the Centurion of Water immediately floated to their side upon hearing that and scowled at her brethren. "You… Tenebonehead! How dare you talk about Master Richter behind my back?"

Sheena then turned to Zelos as Aqua started again to verbally assault the dog-like Centurion. She pulled out a kunai and put it inches away from the red head's nose, who stepped back at having his handsome face threatened once more.

"Any word about that to Lloyd or anybody else and I'll draw you a new face, one that you won't be able to flirt around with, is that clear?" she said in a low-threatening tone. Zelos immediately nodded in fright.

Meanwhile, Colette had summoned the chakras and picked them up as she face the giant caterpillar, which hissed at her before curling over itself and charging at her like a living wheel. Colette jumped to the side to avoid being run over by the insect and threw her weapon at the monster's shell, just for it to be deflected without causing any visible damage. The creature then made a turn and attempted to run over the girl again.

Colette avoided the attack once more and the guardian uncurled itself and turned to her. The insect monster then spilled an acid jet on the girl as she tried to throw her weapon at its head, which was the only part of its body exposed. The jet dissolved her chakra in mid-air, making the half-melted weapon fall in the ground harmlessly as the caterpillar curled its body and prepared to roll over Colette again.

Except this time the monster jumped into the air instead of rolling over to Colette. The blonde saw that and ran forward, barely managing to avoid the guardian, when it uncurled before it hit the floor with a heavy thud, raising some dust with the force of the impact. Colette turned and was about to attack when the creature suddenly swung its stinger, catching her off guard and managing to inflict two shallow cuts on Colette's torso.

The monster then turned as the girl was recovering and quickly crawled to her, its pincers clicking angrily. Colette saw that and put her chakra up in defense, managing to stop the advance of the monster as its pincers bit the weapon, although Colette was slightly pushed behind by the force of the creature.

The blonde tried to overpower the monster, but found out it was too heavy for her to move, its shell adding extra weight to its body. The caterpillar then started to shake its head, trying to get Colette to let go of her weapon, but the reincarnated Gnome stood her ground and didn't let her weapon go. However, she noticed too late the strange pollen floating down from the monster's antennae as it shook its head. Colette started to feel sleepy and found keeping her eyes open difficult.

Sheena and others realized what was happening and tried to warn Colette, but the giant caterpillar shook its head to the side with more violence this time and managed to take the strong girl off the ground and throw her to the side. Colette's drowsiness was dispelled the moment she was out of range from the pollen and hit the stone ground. The guardian then curled itself and jumped in the air again, uncurling once more to smash Colette. The blonde saw that and rolled to the side just as the monster came crashing down, almost crushing her.

Colette got up as the caterpillar turned and spilled acid into her again. The girl jumped, but the monster moved the jet and managed to hit her left arm, which burned at contact with the substance. Sheena and Marta gasped. Colette used her Ray Thrust Arte and forced the monster to stop its attack and curl its body again in defense. The chakra was deflected by the hard shell once more

_How do I get to hit it with that shell in the way? _Colette thought.

The monster then started to dig the ground and half-buried itself. The caterpillar moved on the ground, digging its way towards the blond girl with more than half of its body submersed, just the top of its shell visible. Colette jumped to the side as the head of the monster suddenly emerged from the earth, its pincers closing with violence where she had been moments before. Before Colette could attack again the monster dug itself on earth again and started to circulate her in a fashion similar to a shark.

An idea came to Colette. She let go of her chakra as she used her power to make it float near her hand and spin at great speed.

"Spinning Wheel!" she threw the metal ring on the ground and it sunk completely. Colette could sense her weapon on the ground and directed the chakra to the direction of the guardian. The monster didn't seem to notice it until it was too late.

With a painful hiss, the monster practically jumped out of the heart, half of its face was cut and green blood was flowing freely. Colette recovered her weapon and another technique came to her mind as she ran to the monster. She tried to ignore the pain and burning in her left arm as she threw the two chakras at the same time.

"Grand Chariot!" the two metal disks crossed near the monster's face, which was still stunned from the previous attack, resulting in a bolt of lightning coming down and hitting the caterpillar as the disks sliced its eyes.

The creature hissed blindly in pain, Colette produced two more chakras from the ground and prepared to throw them. However, the monster could still feel her steps on the ground and buried itself once more as Colette tried to throw one of her weapons with all her strength, missing.

The caterpillar dug its way to Colette and before she could avoid, the monster jumped out of the ground, its pincers ready to close on her head. The blonde had no choice but to put her weapons in the way of the deadly pincers. She managed to block the attack aimed at her head, but had no way of stopping the flight of the giant worm, who effectively rammed on the girl, bringing her to the ground.

Colette screamed in pain as she felt her body being buried from the waist down by the body of the giant caterpillar, which landed on her, trapping the girl's legs under its heavy body. Sheena yelled her name as Colette tried to recover her bearings. The monster tried to rip her head off as it clicked its pincers angrily near her face. Colette managed to block the attack with her chakra, but the guardian easily tore it from her grasp and threw it to the side.

Colette still had her hands free and knew she could produce as many chakras as she needed to block the monster's attacks, but she was starting to feel drowsy again as the caterpillar shook its head when it tried to bite her. If she didn't do something soon, that pollen would make her sleep and she would be finished then.

_I… I can't end like this! Sheena and the others… _she thought as she blocked another attempt by the guardian to smash her skull with its powerful pincers. _They're counting on me. _

"GET AWAY!" Colette screamed in desperation as she unconsciously put her hand on the ground to search for another weapon. She didn't notice the sudden burst of power she released on the earth.

It was then a pointed stalagmite rose diagonally from the ground, inches away from Colette's head, and hit the monster's face with tremendous strength. Colette looked in awe at the stalagmite as green blood rained on her, staining part of her clothes. The monster was shoved off Colette and the force of the impact made it fall on its back.

Colette started to tremble at the blood that covered her body, but used all of her determination not to start panicking, she still had something to do. The stalagmite sunk back into the ground as the reincarnated Gnome got up slowly after much effort and almost falling over herself, her legs still sensitive from nearly being crushed.

The guardian wasn't moving, seeming to be stunned. Colette felt bad at seeing it that way and at the thought that she had to finish it off. Before, she had to fight against those animated corpses and killed just once, an experience that she didn't want to repeat. She wondered if she really had to do it.

"Colette! Finish it off, before it gets up!" Sheena called from where she was standing.

Colette looked at her surrogate big sister with a conflicted expression. She didn't want to but…

_"Killing isn't that difficult... you get used to it over time..." _Colette remembered those words that sickened her so much.

However, she had also vowed that she would fight to protect her friends and family, without letting killing and violence take control of her.

_So be it. _Colette thought, walking towards the monster, which seemed to have recovered its bearings now and was trying to flip itself back. "I'm sorry…" Colette said to the guardian as she prepared to utilize Spinning Wheel once more. The blonde muttered a quick prayer, asking for forgiveness for what she was about to do. "Spinning Wheel!" the spinning chakra then hit the monster's head, entering in its body, slicing anything in its path, and exiting by the stinger, breaking it.

Colette caught the weapon back as the giant caterpillar finally ceased to move, its body turning into stone and breaking. The rest of the party broke into a run as Colette looked her chakra, which dripped of green, insect blood. The girl felt nauseous once more and her legs started shaking as she turned conscious that the same substance was clinging to her clothes. She let go of her weapon as Sheena and the others approached her, asking if she was alright. The blonde put up a smile as she turned to them.

"I'm fine," however, the shaking on her legs betrayed her state.

"Hang on," Aqua said as she summoned a frog monster.

The servant of the Centurion of Water let out a spray of water on the girl, cleaning part of the blood on her clothes and leaving her soaking wet, but at least her legs stopped shaking.

"Thank you," Colette said, and despite being wet from head to toe she smiled a now genuine smile.

"I'm sorry you had to pass by that," Sheena said.

"It's ok. Really. I know there wasn't any other way," Colette said, lowering her head a bit.

"Anyway, you did well, Colette," Raine said. "For one to be willingly to fight the way you did it's necessary a great amount of courage."

"R-really?" Colette asked, twirling with her fingers as she blushed at the compliment.

It was then the sphere of yellow light appeared once more over the altar, making the group turn and look at it. Colette walked towards it once more in a trance like state, feeling the Summon Spirit's soul attract her like a month to a flame. Gnome's voice came from the sphere once more:

"Hey, hey, you girl rock! Really, I thought you were a goner for a second therebut then you go and POW! BAM! Not bad!"

"Can't he just merge with her and get this done with?" Zelos said, just to receive another punch on his head from Sheena. "OW! What was that for?"

"For jinxing Colette before," the ninja answered.

"Now, guess it's time for us to merge, so heads up and do a good job, Keeper of Terra's Oath!" Gnome ended as Colette reached for the sphere. When she touched it the yellow light covered her arm and body and another flash forced the group to cover their eyes.

Gnome's symbol on Colette's collarbone shone yellow as the light enveloping her body dispersed into several brilliant dots, revealing a sleeveless, yellow dress with zippers on its sides, chain-like patterns crossing over her torso, held by straps on her shoulder and leaving her collarbone exposed. The skirt of the dress barely reached her knees and had an orange underskirt. Her pants turned white and her shoes became metal with a grey color, although conserving their previous design.

Colette's hair was made into a single braid and two golden bracelets appeared on her wrists. No ethereal wings came out of her back. When the transformation ended the group could see what happened to their friend. Colette looked over herself and smiled at her new attire:

"That looks nice," the blonde said as her friends approached.

"Wow! That's a cute outfit!" Ignis said.

"Yeah. I think it suits you like the Summon Spirit of earth, don't you think so Rain…" Sheena started, but when she looked at where Raine was supposed to be she found just empty air. Looking again she saw Raine crouched near Colette, looking intently at her shoes.

"Are they really made out of metal? It seems to be some kind of iron," Raine inquired with a very familiar and disturbing gleam in her eyes.

"Um… I'm not sure, but it doesn't weight that much," Colette said as Raine went further to touch her clothing. The blonde started to blush and even yelped when Raine lifted her skirt to inspect the inside.

"And that's what I meant..." Marta said to Colette as she sighed.

"Well, I must say, you look absolutely stunning, Colette," Zelos said, his smile and suave tone at full power.

"Yeah... at least you don't have to wear a swimsuit," Marta added in a whisper, although Colette heard her jealous tone.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad. I mean, you can feel the wind as you fly, right?" the cheerful blonde said.

"Why do people keep saying that?" Marta muttered as she sighed, putting her hand on her forehead.

"Anyway..." Ratatosk said, taking the control. "We need to find Solumn's core now."

"Oh, I know where it is," Colette said.

"You do?"

"Well... I'm not really sure, but I feel like I know," Colette then turned and pointed the palm of her hand to the altar.

A bright light rose from the center of the platform and twisted, slowly receding back and forming a rune on the top of the altar. Colette then walked forward to the portal with the rest of the group following her into another part of the temple...


	29. The One Reason

Plot point alert!

Anyway, after this I'll have to take a break for this mouth to organize things in college (meaning: final tests), so I'm warning you all before hand not to expect any other chapters this mouth. I'm sure you all understand.

No skit this time, but, at the end of the chapter I'll give you somehting extra. I'm sure you all remember that notebook Raine is always carrying around, right? Well, I decided to take a page out of it (literally) and write a little about the demonic lore for you all to better understand about artifacts or facts about the demons in this fic.

Now, start reading before Raine finds it out and call a hunt for my head.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

**The One Reason**

Colette and the others appeared in a wide open chamber, without any exit in sight except by the teleport rune from which they just came. On the end of the room stood the Centurion's altar with the familiar tear-shaped jewel floating above a flower-like bowl. This one was a bit brown but golden too in color.

"So that's a Centurion's core?" Zelos asked. "Looks more like some kind of piece of jewelry."

"Believe in us when we say it is very powerful," Verius spoke. "And that is only its outward appearance."

Emil walked forward to the altar as the group stopped at the center of the room. The reincarnated Ratatosk was about to reach for the core when the sound of an heavy impact coming from above reached his ears. Before all of them could look up, the rooftop exploded and rocks fell over Emil, who widened his eyes.

Ratatosk took control over Emil's shock and snatched the core as he jumped back, seconds away of being smashed by the falling rocks. A roar sounded in the room and the group looked up as something landed near Ratatosk. Before the Summon Spirit could react, he was bitten on his right arm by a powerful jaw, which made he let go of Solum.

Somebody jumped out of the undead-looking, winged dragon and took the core.

"Well, well. Look what we have here," a familiar demonic voice reached the ears of the group.

Lloyd, Raine and Sheena gasped at seeing the Hell Knight standing there, holding the core. Marta immediately entered in spirit form and flew to Ratatosk's aid. She swung her spectral spinner, but the dragon quickly let go of the blonde's arm before the attack could make contact. Ratatosk clutched his bloodied arm in pain.

"You again!" Marta exclaimed as she positioned herself between the demon and her crush.

"So it is true. You all are Summon Spirits…" the Hell Knight said. "Guess I should have just killed you all from the beginning."

"Well, too late for regrets," Sheena said, running to give support to Emil and Marta, together with the others. "And give us Solum back!"

"For me, this thing would have been reduced to dust the moment I touched it," to emphasize his point, the Hell Knight tried to crush the core on his hand, but was unable to make even a dent. "But it seems I lack the power for that. No matter…" he then threw it in the direction of his winged mount, which caught the core with its mouth and swallowed it, electing gasps from the entire group. "Once I get it back to Lord Nebilim, it doesn't matter whether or not you get the others, you won't be able to awaken Ratatosk."

"No! We can't let him destroy Solum!" Tenebrae said, appearing to be genuinely scared.

"If just one of us is destroyed, Lord Ratatosk will never recover his powers!" Aqua said.

"No need to explain!" Lloyd said, entering in spirit form together with Sheena and flying to intercept the Hell Knight, who summoned his overly large, ethereal sword to intercept the two before they reached him.

Lloyd stopped the weapon with his transformed, twin blades as Sheena continued and tried to slice at the Hell Knight with a light kunai, but the demon jumped behind, dispelling his previous weapon and summoning a bow while still in midair, taking aim and shooting an arrow that multiplied into a swarm.

The couple flew to the sides to avoid the poisoned projectiles and tried to hit the hunter demon with long-ranged blades of light and fire, but the Hell Knight blocked those with his ethereal, dark shields.

"Still too weak!" he yelled, producing dark axes and throwing them at the Summon Spirits, who defended with their weapons.

The demon continued to throw axes at the couple, who then flew to the sides again, avoiding the weapons. However, the Hell Knight quickly produced two lances and threw them at the same time, aiming for the positions Lloyd and Sheena would pass by. The action had the intended effect, as the two were unable to change directions in midair and were caught in the following explosions.

Marta left Ratatosk in Raine, Zelos and Colette's care to go after the Hell Knight's mount. She tried to slash at the undead-looking monster, but the creature leaned its head back and brought its wing up. Marta followed up with several spins, adjusting the angle of her arms up and down, looking like she was performing the steps of a dancer. Although she managed to inflict some superficial cuts on the bloodied and dirty wings, she was slapped by it and thrown some distance away from the monster, which jumped on the air and attempted to stomp on her with its talons. Marta rolled the moment the sharp claws came down, creating impressions on the earth.

The girl got up and sent two wind disks, which divided into several copies, against the monster. The dragon again protected itself with its wings, absorbing the impact of the magic disks like they were nothing. Marta clenched her teeth and flew in the direction of her opponent again. The mount tried to hit her with a breath of purple fire, which Marta jumped over. Spinning in the air, she extended the reach of her ethereal spins and brought them down on the head of the monster, this time managing to hit it. As soon as she hit the floor, she executed an Arte:

"Dancing Gale!" Marta slashed the mount across its chest, leaving a wind blade on the spinner's path, which further cut into the creature's flesh. She proceeded to slash again on the creature's chest and jumped in the air, applying another attack on the monster's head. All attacks left behind blades of her element which further cut through the monster's defenses.

However, before the girl could land, the mount's tail came up and wrapped itself around her body, applying a crushing pressure on the Whirlwind Rider. The monster then threw her to the side and leaned its head back before letting out a jet of purple flames.

Marta was about to be engulfed by the fire when an ice wall materialized in front of her, taking the attack and not even melting. She looked and saw Zelos with his hand on the ground, his magical aura glowing around his hand. She gave him a smile in thanks, which the red head returned with a toothy, charming one.

Sheena and Lloyd were pushed back by a vicious spin of the long, ethereal sword of the Hell Knight. The demon of General ranking snapped his fingers and his mount took flight, circling the room. The Hell Knight jumped in the air as the flying mount came to his position and fell on its saddle, taking flight.

Marta prepared to throw her spectral spinners at them before they could get away, but was stopped when the demon swooped down and his mount let out a jet of purple flames, covering part of the ground. She had to fly away to avoid the otherworldly fire.

Sheena and Lloyd also took flight, the ninja charged a spell and soon enough several spectral symbols appeared around her. They then joined in front of the Radiant Maiden and combined into a single magic circle.

"Luminus Chains!" several chains made out of light shout out of the circle's borders, going for the Hell Knight. The chains ensnared the dragon mount of the demon, keeping it on its place and burned it with light. A large beam of light shot out of the rune on the demons' direction, exploding on contact and releasing a bright flash.

However, when the light died down the group was surprised at seeing the Hell Knight and its mount not only intact, but with a huge, purple barrier around it. The demon chuckled at the expressions of his adversaries.

"You all obviously don't understand anything do you? The mount of a hunter is, but an extension of the hunter himself," as if to confirm his point, the flying mount opened its mouth and instead of fire, several purple, energy arrows rained upon the airborne Summon Spirits. "You don't stand a chance!"

Sheena and the others had to use evasive maneuvers to get away from the projectiles, however some managed to scratch them, leaving bloodless injuries that burned with pain. Thankfully, their protection had evolved with training, but if they took too much hits from those poisoned arrows, not even their Summon Spirit defense would be able to hold and they would be forced out of spirit form.

The Hell Knight tried to ram into Lloyd and Marta. The two avoided the aerial strike, but didn't have the time to evade the Hell Knight's sword when he materialized it in mid-swing. In the ground, the others were very worried at how things were faring for their friends.

Raine knew Lloyd, Sheena and Marta never trained aerial fighting before. They flew mainly as a means to evade enemies' attacks and put some advantage between them and a ground adversary, but with a demon of the Hell Knight's level, they actually had difficulty trying to evade midair. Sheena was also having some difficulty in getting close to attack and whenever they resorted to long-range attacks, the Hell Knight activated his mount's shield.

"Colette, can't you do something?" Zelos asked, looking at the girl.

"I don't have wings… and I can't do anything if he's not close to earth. I'm sorry," the blonde said, hanging her head low.

Zelos gritted his teeth. His magic wouldn't be able to reach the Hell Knight from this distance and he doubted any monsters Ratatosk summoned would be able to do anything more than being a meat shield.

It was then an idea came to the male Representative. It was a bit crazy, but it certainly could work.

"Colette," he called again, this time his voice was calm and he was actually smiling. "You can make weapons out of the soil, right?"

"Y-Yes, but what does...?"

"Just follow my lead on this one, my cute Colette and we'll be able to flatten that creep down and get the core back in no time."

Meanwhile, Sheena and Marta were avoiding a combination of poison arrows and purple flames from the hunter demon and his mount. Both were utilizing their defensive Artes, but knew they wouldn't hold on much longer.

Lloyd was trying to hit the demon utilizing his fire enhanced Artes, but the Hell Knight expertly blocked or evaded them. Every time he tried to go melee, the dragon attacked him, leaving some nasty scratches and he was almost ran by the hunter demon's mount at some point. Marta tried sending several of her spectral spinners on the flying demon, but all of them were deflected by the dark shield. Sheena tried to use magical attacks, but the Hell Knight wasn't just giving her any chances.

"Already giving up?" the demon sneered at the group.

"Not in your life time!" Marta replied angrily.

"Good, I hate when a prey gives up. Takes away the fun of striking it down."

The demon's mount was about to breath fire on them again when it was suddenly hit… by an iceberg. The demon was pushed back by the heavy projectile that shattered on contact, harming his mount. He looked around to see where it had come from, but had to bring up the barrier around his mount once more when another iceberg was launched at him.

"Good shot Colette!" Zelos' voice came from the ground.

Sheena and the others looked to see their friends on the ground around what looked like a catapult made out of stone. Colette was smiling as she touched the weapon and received the praise from Zelos. The reincarnated Celsius then formed another iceberg on the catapult, which threw it against the Hell Knight again.

"The hell?" the demon let out, before making his mount avoid the attack, but that distracted him long enough for the flying Summon Spirits to approach him.

The demon's mount tried to attack them, but the group quickly scattered and dealt a sequence of elementally enhanced attacks on the dragon mount, which roared in pain as the Hell Knight tried to focus on one of the reincarnated Summon Spirits, but was unable to get a clear hit while still having to worry about the icebergs thrown his way.

Marta flew down, placing herself at some distance from the Hell Knight and started to charge a spell. The hunter demon noticed that and tried to shoot and incinerate her with his mount's fire, but missed when it was attacked by Lloyd's Sword Rain: Flare and Sheena's Dawn Pillars.

The Whirlwind Rider finally charged her spell and released it:

"Typhoon Saw!" a wind tunnel former around her and engulfed the Hell Knight as Sheena and Lloyd got out of the way. Several of Marta's wind spinners materialized in the tunnel and shot to the Hell Knight and his mount, slicing at them like a rain of arrows.

The Hell Knight grunted when one managed to nick his helmet and activated his mount's barrier, however, he ended up being hit by another iceberg, which once hitting his shield managed to finally break it with the force of the impact. The hunter demon and his mount were forced behind by the impact, all the while being sliced by thousands of wind spinners. He tried flying out of the typhoon and discovered too late that he had been pushed to near a wall.

"Now Colette!" Zelos yelled.

The girl nodded as she entered in spirit form and could now feel the entire earth around her. She felt like her senses had greatly expanded to the entire room she was in. In fact, she could _feel_ the entire room like it was an extension of herself.

_So this is the power of the Summon Spirit of earth. _Colette thought, as she turned and concentrated on the matter at hand.

As she looked at the demon, she felt like he was an intruder; a creature that shouldn't be here or anywhere in this world. So could feel the earth _demanding_ him to removed. And so the Keeper of Terra's Oath did.

The Hell Knight was caught off guard when a pillar suddenly rose vertically from the wall right on his flight path. He didn't have the time to stop or correct his flight route and promptly slammed on the pillar. His mount stop, but his body continued to move due to the inertia as his dragon got violently hit on its head by another pillar that rose from the wall, effectively knocking it out.

Ratatosk saw that as his chance and hopped on Colette's catapult, saying for her to throw him at the Hell Knight. The girl was about to protest, but the look on Ratatosk's crimson eyes told her he wouldn't take any of that. Sighing, she did as he instructed.

The Hell Knight was still falling when he saw another projectile flying at him, this one smaller. He just realized what it was when it was already poising its blade to decapitate him.

"SHIT!" the demon let out as he summoned his sword just in time to be rammed by Ratatosk and impact with the wall behind him, which effectively made him let out an "ompf!" in pain. Fortunately, his sword had managed to keep Ratatosk's blade away from his throat.

The two started falling while brawling in mid air, punches and kicks being thrown at each other as the reincarnated Lord of the Monsters said:

"You actually dared threaten one of my servants? I'm going to make you regret having ever crossed my path, demon!" Ratatosk said with a murderous smile on his face as he held his adversary by the throat, his sword igniting with multicolored flames.

However, the Hell Knight was far from finished and managed to form a purple, energy dagger on his right hand. Ratatosk noticed that and held his adversary's wrist when he tried to stab him. The hunter demon was also holding the Summon Spirit's sword hand, which put them in a deadlock of sorts.

The hunter demon then tried to approach the dagger to Ratatosk's face. If he managed to inflict just a small cut on the brash entity's face, it would be enough for the poison he infused on the blade to work. However, his thoughts were soon derailed when he sensed another of the reincarnated guardians flying at him. He saw it was the girl and she had her spectral spinner ready on her extended arm.

The petite brunette then swung. Be it a lucky shot or actual skill, she managed to cut off the Hell Knight's right hand together with his dagger and not harm Ratatosk on the process. The demon let out a scream of pain at having his limb severed.

Realizing they were already close to the ground, the Hell Knight desperately kicked Ratatosk off him, throwing the Lord of the Monsters out of sword range, and pointed his palm to the ground bellow, summoning a runic circle which appeared near the ground. The demon dived into the circle and exited at the other side as a small, purple sphere, which made a close, U-turn and shot out of the temple through the same path which he had used to enter.

Ratatosk hadn't managed to stop his descend and was about to be crushed, but was stopped at the last instant by Marta holding his legs and using all of her strength to cease his fall. He then looked and realized his nose was inches from the hard, stone floor. The Lord of Monsters looked up to his savior from his position:

"Thanks Marta."

The Whirlwind Rider smiled as she put Ratatosk on the floor gently. The rest of the group sighed in relief. However, all of that was short lived when, while nobody noticed, the flying mount of the Hell Knight had recovered consciousness and breathed a fire ball at Ratatosk's direction.

Marta and Ratatosk noticed too late the flame ball their size was half-way to their position. In a split second, Marta made a decision and jumped in front of the purple, concentrated fire, using her defensive Arte. However, she had spent most of her power in the last magical attack, so the barrier was easily broken by the fireball and it impacted with Marta's body. Her already fragile defenses were easily eaten away by the otherworldly fire, but, luckily, her spirit form took most of the attack before deactivating. Marta took burns in the face, arms and torso, the fire easily destroying part of her clothing and scarring her skin.

The group stood with their mouths agape as the girl fell. To Ratatosk, it all happened in slow motion as he could just look with an expression of pure shock as Marta used herself as a shield to him. He finally found his voice:

"MARTAAAA!"

The dragon then took flight and charged at the crimson-eyed Summon Spirit, who was now standing, his head hung low, his hands clenched and a multicolored aura flaring around his figure. Ratatosk then looked at the dragon that had attacked his friend.

"YOU… DISAPPEAR!" he then pointed the palm of his free hand to the dragon that was roaring while flying to him. The multicolored energy on Ratatosk's aura rushed to his hand and concentrated on the palm. A thin ray of the Lord of the Monster's spiritual energy was shot from his hand and hit the dragon on his chest, exiting by the base of its tail. The monster seemed to go mute for some seconds.

Multicolored flames came out of the two, small holes on the creatures' body, until it exploded with Ratatosk's spiritual energy. Nothing was left of the Hell Knight's mount, except for Solum's core, which fell on the earth, completely intact and still in its dormant state.

The rest of the group went to Marta while Zelos picked up the core to look at it. Raine immediately kneeled near Marta, who had Ratatosk besides her, trying to make the girl open her eyes, reciting a cure spell when the reincarnated Sylph opened her eyes, a painful expression on her face.

"Ratatosk… are you all right?" she asked.

"Me? What about you? What were you thinking?" the harsh Summon Spirit said.

"I'm fine, silly," she said, giving a smile, although her face twisted a little in pain.

"Don't ever do something like that again, do you hear me?"

_"Don't be so rash on her, she only wanted to protect us," _Emil berated.

"Ugh. Fine," Ratatosk said, begrudgingly, giving the control back to Emil. "Marta, thanks. But you really shouldn't have sacrificed yourself like that. I would have survived that attack."

"And what kind of… girlfriend would I be… if I let you get hurt?" Marta talked back.

Emil blushed and was unable to speak anything else at that remark and Marta's smile. Sheena smirked and shook her head. It seemed the brunette had taken her teachings to the heart. Raine stopped the spell after Marta's body had regenerated from most of the burns, however there were still marks all over the girl.

"That's the most I can do. Those flames carried chaos energy with it and based on what we know, our bodies would reject healing chaos magic," Raine said. "Marta will have to heal by herself from now on."

Zelos then arrived near the group and cleared his throat to call their attention. They turned and saw him holding out the Centurion's core. Emil nodded and got up as Colette and Raine helped Marta to stand still, although the girl insisted she was fine.

Emil took the core and performed the hatching ritual. The jewel shone with a yellow light as it opened in a fashion similar to a flower blooming just like the others. Chunks of rock and dirty that had been left from the battle started to shake and suddenly shot to the core, circling around it. There was a bright flash and next thing the group knew, they were looking at something that resembled a cross between a chameleon and a wing-less dragon.

It stood on its four legs and its body was mostly brown with scales that stood out of the body in a fashion similar to parts of an armor. The creature was approximately the size of Lumen.

Solum then opened his light-brown eyes with vertical pupils, darting them around fast, taking in the surroundings and the beings near him. Then, with a strong voice, which seemed to be more fitting for a dragon than a chameleon, he spoke:

"That's certainly a surprise. You all feel familiar, but I'm quite sure I never saw your faces before, except that of my brethren of course," he looked at the Centurions.

"Hi Solum!" Ignis said happily. "Good to see you again."

"Ignis. As beautiful as ever I see," he said with a draconic smile on his reptilian face and a soft, almost suave tone. He then turned to look at Aqua. "And you're not that far behind, Aqua. Still a sight for shore eyes."

"Great…" Sheena said, rolling her eyes. "A Centurion Zelos…. just what I needed."

"I was actually trying to be courteous, miss…"

"Sheena."

"Hmm… pardon me, but you resemble me a bit of the gracious Luna, the Summon Spirit of light."

"That's because she's her reincarnated form," Emil said. "Tenebrae, Ventus, you… should…" before Emil could continue, he fainted without any warning.

"Emil!" Marta called as the group and the Centurions approached the now unconscious blonde…

- / - / - / - / - / -

_Sorrow and anger…_

_Those were the only things he could feel…_

_Sorrow that he had failed to protect that which was the main reason for his existence, his purpose in that world. His heart felt like it had been ripped from his chest and stabbed multiple times, just for it to be torn apart. _

_Then came the anger at those he knew were responsible for this. Those… those… parasites! No. Even parasites were less harmful to the world than that scum. Parasites had a place in this world, in the life cycle and the environment. _

_The humans. They were nothing, but a filthy blot that sucked everything they touched dry. They destroyed what they didn't like and twisted everything to fit their selfish desires. The world was no different to them, as was… the Kharlan Tree._

_"Ratatosk…" a voice called behind him. _

_He turned from the sight of the withered and dead Kharlan Tree to greet Origin, Luna, Celsius and Efreet. From all the Summon Spirits, they were the only ones left. The others had either been inserted into the Flow of Souls or had already reincarnated. His family was literally broken and torn apart. And for what? For this stupid war waged by the mortals. _

_He turned and was about to go away when he heard Celsius calling his name. He stopped and spoke without turning, his tone broken and apathetic:_

_"It's over… the world… it's going to end soon."_

_"That's not true," Origin said. He then turned to look at his equal, his once brother-in-arms. "I have managed to alter the Law. Mana isn't essential to life anymore. Now we just have to wait and…"_

_"Wait? WAIT?" he finally exploded. All of the anger and sorrow raising up and showing on his voice. "WAIT FOR WHAT? For the humans to destroy this world?"_

_"Ratatosk…" Efreet tried, but was interrupted._

_"LOOK AROUND YOU! My tree is dead! Killed by those pathetic excuses of living beings! And did they even stop to consider it? NO! And even if they did, they wouldn't give a flying fuck! Don't you see? All they care about is themselves. If they have to destroy the world to see through their desires, they will do so without a moment of hesitation!"_

_"Not all the humans are like that," Luna tried._

_"Say that to Verius! Or did you already forgot what they did to her with this war?" _

_He felt his eyes start to get moist and his vision blur. What was the last time he had cried? He didn't even know he was capable of such. Celsius stepped forward and said in a scolding tone:_

_"We know you're angry, but you don't need to take it out on Luna."_

_He was ready to talk back, but decided not to. Besides, Celsius was right. It wasn't their fault, it was the human's._

_He again turned and this time ignored the others calling for him..._

_..._

_He was now sitting in the Ginnungagap, in front of him was the portal to Niflheim, closed like it had always been ever since the final of the War for the Young Aselia eons ago. He had been staring at the portal for at least a week now, his thoughts never leaving the fact that the Kharlan Tree was dead and he couldn't do anything against its murderers without losing all of his power and being forced out of this world because of the shortage of mana._

_"My lord..." he turned to see Tenebrae and the other Centurions there. They were all united and showing concerned expressions on their beastly and humanoid faces._

_He didn't say anything, simply looking at the portal once more. He could feel the thin line of tears on the sides of his face. Ever since coming back from the Tree's meadow he had been silently shedding tears while keeping his face emotionless the entire time. _

_"I'm sorry to bother you my lord, but we need new directives," Ventus said, calling his attention again._

_"With the war, the bonds between us and the monsters were forcefully severed and now the energy which sustains the life in this world has changed," Tenebrae said. "We need to know what we are to do with the mana that we are still manipulating."_

_"I see..." he said._

_That was one more thing that revolted him so much. Without his monsters, he couldn't act against the humans anymore without resorting to a direct intervention. Sighing, he decided to direct his Centurions for now:_

_"Gather all the mana available and store it here. We have to keep the seal at all costs."_

_The Centurions nodded. However, Tornitrus, the night-blue, bat-like Centurion of lightning with horns on his head and spikes on the extremities of his wings and talons, said in a harsh voice:_

_"But my lord, even if we do gather the mana, it'll eventually be consumed by the humans' machines. And already some species of our servants' are dying. Just the other day we noticed several elves departing. Couldn't we maybe... ?"_

_Ratatosk knew what Tornitrus would suggest, but they didn't have enough monsters under their control to attack the capitals of the human countries. He was saved from having to explain that by Glacius, the snow-wolf-looking female, Centurion of ice:_

_"And how do you suggest we do that with the tiny amount of servants we have right now? We would only be sending them to their deaths," she said in a smooth, velvet voice. _

_Like Ignis, her figure resembled that of a voluptuous, human female, however, her chest area, arms, legs and thighs were covered by thick patches of snow-white fur. Her hair was of an icy-blue and her eyes were of a golden-yellow. Her canines were sharp and her hands and feet replaced by wolf paws. Tornitrus shrugged and turned to leave with the other Centurions. _

_He was about to resume his position when he heard Lumen's voice calling to him. Turning, he could see Ignis and the Centurion of light standing near him. It was the first time he saw his two usually cheerful servants look so worried._

_"Are you alright boss?" Lumen asked, his tone a sad one._

_"Is there anything we can do?" Ignis asked._

_He had to admit their concern was touching. Although Lumen wasn't exactly an exemplary servant and Ignis most often would forget to relay him messages from Efreet or report on something, the two did their duties accordingly. They kind of reminded him of Gnome and the Sylph._

_"I'm fine. You two should worry about your orders for now," he said._

_His two servants looked between each other, but nodded to him in the end, saying if he needed anything, he could call them and they would come in a "poof". He smiled as the two left. Those two would often cause some trouble, but he knew he could always trust them._

_His servants and the other Summon Spirits... they all were his family, but he never realized how much they mattered to him until he started to lose them, one by one. And now, here he was… soon to lose even his Centurions, the ones that were virtually a part of himself. He knew it was just a matter of time before even the mana they were storing in the Ginnungagap was consumed. And when that happened the demons might…_

_He looked to the portal._

_Yes, the demons…_

_They would just love to slaughter those humans alive, wouldn't they? They would surely bathe in their blood and devour their lifeless carcasses once they were done with them. After all, many of them were still resentful for their defeat at the War of the Young Aselia… and he knew of one that would just love to have an excuse to invade, Treaty be damned._

_He got up and walked towards the portal…_

_…_

_Screams of terror filled the air as the energy of interdimensional teleport magic became so thick in the air that it was almost palpable. Below the slope in which he stood was a city, burning to flames. Disfigured corpses littered the streets, some still being devoured by the demons, as blood colored the walls of red. The remains and insides from the demons' helpless victims decorated the parks and shops in a macabre fashion. It looked like hell had finally come to Aselia._

_The humans (ever the stubborn ones) tried to fight back, in vain. They were more than inept to repel such kind of beings. He could bet they were regretting having so carelessly dismissed Origin and the others. Yes. No doubt they were wondering what they did to deserve such a fate. The ignorant, little pieces of shit…_

_Besides him were his Centurions, who couldn't help, but look with horror at the beginnings of what would be known in the near future as the Second Invasion. They would have already deployed all of the monsters available, but there wasn't a single one left under their command. All of their servants had their ties forcefully severed._

_"What are we going to do, my Lord?" Aqua asked in a frightened tone. However, he remained calm, just like when he had heard from his servants about the demons starting to invade._

_"Nothing…" his grin couldn't have been bigger. "We're going to do nothing…"_

- / - / - / - / - / -

The group was around the unconscious Emil as they heard him mumbling something in Ratatosk's voice:

"My tree… dead… no… that wasn't…" suddenly, tears started to run by the side of his face, however, their color made the party gasp.

Those tears, Ratatosk's tears, were red, just like blood.

"Is he… crying blood?" Colette asked with her hands covering her mouth in shock.

"Yes," Solum said. "We saw Lord Ratatosk crying tears of blood at the death of the Giant Kharlan Tree."

"It was so sad. Lord Ratatosk cried for a week in silence," Ignis said. "He didn't move even a bit from his post at the Ginnungagap during that."

After a few seconds, Emil opened his eyes and suddenly sat up, bringing his hand to his forehead.

"Emil, are you alright?" Marta asked.

"Yeah… just… another memory," Emil said… but not in his voice.

Those directly in front of him widened their eyes at looking at his face. Marta got confused by that and got up together with the boy, just to see what had happened and also show surprise on her face.

"What?" Emil asked, still not realizing what was wrong with his voice. "Is there something on my face… wait," it was finally then he noticed. "The hell? Wait. I didn't want to say that."

The Centurions had serious expressions on their faces. Emil's voice was a now a mix of his and Ratatosk's, sounding like the two of them were talking at the same time. Not just that, his right eye was crimson red while his left was emerald-green.

"It would appear the two of them have assumed the control of the body at the same time," Tenebrae said.

"Another effect of the merging?" Raine asked.

"Possibly."

"Ugh," Ratatosk/Emil brought his hand to his head with an expression of pain. Marta asked if he was alright. "It's okay… just… man, he's annoying. Stop thinking so fast," Ratatosk/Emil berated with himself. "Um… I'm sorry. I'm just nervous. Even so, drop it."

"This is getting me dizzy," Ignis said.

"Well, I have to say. That's officially creepy," Zelos commented, just to receive a slap from Sheena.

"Can't you have a little more tact about the situation?" the ninja said.

"Ow! You know, I'm starting to think you have a sadistic side, Sheena."

"What?"

"Because the only way you express your affection for me is by hurting me. Makes me wonder if we'll ever see Lloyd the next morning when you finally decide to…"

Sheena was two seconds away from brutally murdering Zelos, that and blushing like she had never before in her life. Zelos was the last person she wanted to hear speaking about her and Lloyd doing _that_. However, she was interrupted by the temple shaking and dust falling. A second, stronger quake came, one that sent the entire group to the ground.

"What's happening? An earthquake?" Colette asked.

"That shouldn't be possible. Gnome and I are the only ones who had the power to cause quakes in this region," Solum said. He and the Centurions were the only ones unfazed, mostly because they were floating.

"I can feel chaos energy outside. In great concentration," Raine said.

"Hold on," Ventus said, taking flight.

The Centurion of wind exited the temple through the hole the Hell Knight had made when he invaded Solum's altar and quickly used his enhanced vision to look around. He finally located a whole battalion of demons within the mountains outside the temple.

The demons in the front row were mostly red, with twisted bodies, circular mouths, a single red eye and heads attached directly to their torso. Their legs were long with fangs at the feet and their left arm was short. However, it was the right arm that concerned the Centurion. It was bigger than the left one and bulkier, of an ashen-white, combining with the armor the demon wore on his chest and greaves, reaching until the demon's knees. He knew that in the palm was a hole, a cavity of sorts.

On the back row were Bone Archers and black demons who wore white armors and had two jagged blades replacing two fingers in each hand. They wore skull helmets just like the archers, but these ones resembled the skulls of dragons.

Commanding those demons, on a higher position on the mountain, was the giant, living, blue armor, General Narom'Kriaar.

"FIRE!" he commanded in demonic to his troops, waving a single hand while maintaining the other on his broadsword stuck on the earth.

The demons with the twisted arms raised their right hands, revealing their palms with holes in the end. Light started to accumulate around those holes as energy gathered. They raised their arms higher and shot, the energy accumulated forming spheres of concentrated demonic energy the size of Ventus.

The Centurion of wind dived back to the temple as the spheres impacted several points of the temple's roof, causing huge explosions that shook the insides of the temple and made some parts collapse.

"They're bombarding the temple with Besiegers!" Ventus warned the group.

"Doesn't this place have some kind of defense against attacks, like the other temples?" Sheena asked.

"Actually it doesn't," Ratatosk/Emil said. "Gnome never bothered to raise a barrier or anything. After all 'why bother when I can simply open a hole below the guys and drop them there with my pinky?'"

The group stood silent at that. Ratatosk/Emil spoke again, seeming to talk more to himself than to the group:

"That's kinda simple minded, don't you think? Well, no shit, it is. Why do you think Lumen and him were such good pals."

"I'm confused. Who's talking what?" Colette asked Lloyd.

"Don't ask me, I'm just as lost as you are," the red clad swordsman said, starting to feel a headache coming to him.

"Anyway, let's get out of here then!" Zelos urged them.

"I don't think that's advisable," Raine said. "That demon certainly proved to be a capable general at Cape Fortress. He will be waiting for us outside."

"Yes. He had a number of Bone Archers and Swift Cutters with him," Ventus said. "With Lady Marta's injury and Lord Ratatosk's situation even if you defeat the demons, Narom will still be an issue to deal with."

"So what? We just stay here and wait for him to bury us alive?" Marta asked.

"There's another exit here," Colette suddenly said, making the party look at her in surprise. "I… just feel there is. Like when I knew the path to the altar."

"You are turning out more like Gnome as the time passes, my fair lady. His knowledge was… impulsive, to say the least," Solum said.

Colette took the group to the right side of the chamber as the temple around them shook violently once more, parts of the chamber starting to fall. She touched the wall and suddenly the contours of a door appeared as part of the wall slid down.

The group entered in what looked like the beginning of a tunnel. In front of them was a slope that led to the underground. Colette and the others approached the entrance and the girl brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled. Sounds of something approaching fast were heard between the impacts of the fire from the Besiegers.

From the depths of the tunnel came several giant caterpillars, the same size the guardian Colette had fought. Sheena paled visibly at the sight of the insect monsters as looks of comprehension dawned on Ratatosk/Emil and the Centurions.

"Lookins," Solum said. "I thought they all had become extinct when the mana was burnt out of existence."

"It seems I… I mean, Gnome hid some of them in the deepest parts of the underground, were mana is thicker," Colette explained.

"Wait. You mean there is still mana?" Sheena asked.

"There are a few places in this world where mana is so thick it can't be burned so easily," Tenebrae said. "However, manipulating it in such a concentrated state takes a considerable effort. One of these places would be the Dark Abyss, the bottomless depths of this world that has connections to the spiritual realm."

"Whatever. Let's just get on these guys and leave," Lloyd said.

"We have to mount them?" Sheena let out with a bit of fright.

"You know…" Zelos started with his usual snide remark on his face. "If you're too afraid to go alone, I don't mind sharing a ride."

Zelos kept a smile as Sheena looked at him. Ratatosk/Emil was performing the binding pact with the once thought extinct monsters. The Radiant Maiden then said:

"Lloyd, I'm riding with you," her tone was more one of demand, rather than a request as she turned to her love interest.

"Um… sure?" Lloyd let out a bit dumbfounded as he and Sheena started to mount the huge insect.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The ride had been surprisingly fast. Before they knew it, the group had quickly left the collapsing Earth Temple behind, not even hearing the sounds of the explosions anymore. They stopped at what appeared to be the end of the tunnel, with some short of carved, stone door at the end. Colette thanked the monsters with a bow as Ratatosk/Emil dismissed them.

"Do you know where we are, Colette?" Sheena asked, not recognizing the surroundings. Even the stone had changed its tone from a barren brown to a moss-green. There also seemed to be some precious stones incrusted in the walls that surrounded the path they were walking as an abyss stretched down below.

"I'm not sure. I'm sorry," the blonde said.

"Why are you apologizing? You took us out of there in one piece. You should be proud."

"Oh, really? I'm sorry for apologizing then."

Sheena sighed as Colette, yet again, feel back to that old habit of hers of over apologizing. Raine was looking around with interest as she walked to the door. Ratatosk/Emil also looked around. Now that they were out of danger he could feel Emil analyzing the memories they just regained and trying to figure out their meaning.

Or was it Ratatosk himself?

_Argh, this is so confusing! Stop thinking so much and concentrate on the situation at hand. _Ratatosk berated… himself? For all effects, he realized he and Emil were now the same person. _We have to be quick. If the fusion is already reaching this state then we don't have much time._

"Any idea where we are, Raine?" Zelos asked the half-elf, his face straight and concentrated.

"No… but judging by the rock formations and the length of that tunnel, I'm pretty sure we're not in the Fooji continent anymore. It's even possible we crossed seas to another one."

"What? How can that be?" Lloyd asked.

"It's pretty simple if you consider the tunnel ran at the level of the bottom of the sea. Plus there are parts underwater that are not as deep as others, so it wouldn't be impossible to imagine there are a multitude of tunnels just like this that run from one continent to the other and…"

Raine went on and on in her lesson about geology, losing Lloyd after the first phrase. The reincarnated Efreet, could just look at the silver haired woman with a look of utter confusion. Marta decided to dismiss that and went to the door, calling the attention of the rest of the group:

"We should just get going. We don't know if there are any demons around and I kinda don't feel like staying in an underground cavern for too long," the rest of the group nodded, though Raine sighed at being interrupted in her lecture, even though nobody was paying attention anymore.

They opened the door and came across something they never expected to see: mining carts and tracks. Raine and Emil went to examine. The group then heard the faint sound of what looked like mining tools beating against rock at the distance.

"Are we in a mine of some kind?" Lloyd asked.

"But if that's the case, there shouldn't be any kind of activity in it. All mining operations stopped after the Second Invasion," Marta said.

"Well, it could be the demons," Aqua suggested.

"Please. What would the demons want with precious stones and minerals of the earth when these don't have any value to them?" Tenebrae scoffed at the theory.

"Actually, there is one thing in the depths of earth that could call their interest," Solum said.

"Wait. Do you mean… ?" Ventus started, but was interrupted when the group heard a scream of pain at the distance.

The group stopped what they were doing and drew their weapons, going to the direction they heard the shout. The group soon came across another door. Looking between themselves, silently asking each other if they were ready, the group nodded and opened the door. What they saw made their jaws drop.

They were on a high ground that overlooked a mine. An active mine. Human workers walked and beat with their picks on several different points of the earth around. However, what surprised the group the most were the demons walking around the human workers, looking at them with harsh glares, like inspecting to see if they were doing their work properly.

"What the… ?" Lloyd let out.

Colette looked from one worker… no. Slave, to the other. That was the only explanation as to why they were being supervised by the demons. She noted there were some people of shorter stature than some of the men and women around. They had approximately the size of a seven year old child, but their slightly muscular built was nowhere near that of a child.

There was also another thing that called her attention in all of the slaves: the red jewels stuck on different, exposed parts of their bodies. Marta also took notice of that and got surprised at recognizing the stones:

"Exspheres."

"What?" Zelos asked.

"These people. They're all using Exspheres, but with no Keycrest in them."

"Oh yeah. I remember dad saying something about it," Lloyd recalled, though he had been little when he heard his father mentioning the power amplifying stones.

"But why are they using it?" Sheena asked.

"Actually. I think they are mining it. Look at the carts," Raine pointed out.

The group looked at one of the passing mine carts pushed by a man with a sorrowful look directly below them. Indeed, the cart was loaded with newly mined Exspheres. Lloyd looked at them with curiosity. He had never heard that the Exspheres actually came from the earth.

"It's Magnius! Get down." Ratatosk said in a hushed whisper, urging the group to drop down. He looked to Solum and the chameleon-like Centurion nodded, casting a spell over the entire group, camouflaging their presence.

They peered over the border and, sure enough, could see the Desian Grand Cardinal flanked by some guards, talking to a demon that had a long whip in place of his left arm. The demon used an assortment of red bandages over his face, leaving just some patches of fur showing in his scalp. He was also wearing dark-brown, leather clothes and boots.

From that distance, the reincarnated Summon Spirits and Centurions, couldn't hear what he was saying, but when the Desian and demon started to approach they got parts of their conversation:

"… the host bodies have developed them nicely. However, the sections we excavated are soon becoming dry from the soul gems. But with this new batch, I'm sure we can dig deeper," the demon said.

"Good. Rodyle and Kvar have been pestering us for more Exspheres. Honestly, just that vermin of a mad scientist was bad enough," Magnius countered.

"Still, the project commended by the Great One must be fulfilled if He is to be please."

"You say that," it was then a man dropped near them, appearing to be unconscious. "Hey, vermin! Get up and back to work!" the Desian Cardinal growled, but the man showed no response. "Did you hear what I said, you scum?" he started kicking the man with his steel, pointed shoes.

"Wait," the demon said, approaching and turning the man's body up. On his collarbone was a crimson Exsphere, shining. "Hmm. It seems it has awakened."

"Really? Good. I'll be taking it then."

"Very well."

The demon then reached for the Exsphere on the man's throat and in one swift move ripped it off, taking some flesh off as well. The slave-master then handed the Exsphere to Magnius, who walked away, his business there already done with. The demon then whistled.

"FRESH MAN-MEAT!"

Five Savage Slashers appeared immediately after the demon shouted, their always open mouths salivating as their teeth seemed to glister in the lamplights of the mine. The slave master took distance as the demons dived in for the man's corpse. They started tearing apart his limbs and opening his insides with more efficiency than a psychopathic, serial killer, devouring the human's flesh like hyenas to the carcass of a deer.

Colette felt the urge to throw up again. Sheena noticed that and held her surrogate sister's head against her, shielding Colette's eyes from that brutality. Lloyd gritted his teeth as Marta and Zelos also felt nauseous. The group then backed away as they thought on what they just saw. Tenebrae then asked, turning their attention away from the scene:

"What do you think Magnius was talking about?"

"Sounded like something about the Exspheres," Raine said.

"Can't we help these people? They're going to die if they stay like this," Marta said with empathy in her voice.

"I would like to do something too, Marta," Emil/Ratatosk said. "But we can't just jump in. We don't have any idea how many demons there are in the mine. They could easily turn the humans into shields if we acted without a plan."

There was also the question of how _they _were going to get out of the mine without being noticed. As the group thought on that, they heard the anguished sounds of the human slaves being tortured as the cracks of a whip sounded in the mine, together with something spoken in demonic; possibly an insult.

As Lloyd was just about to send stealth to hell at the sound of one more downed worker being devoured by the Savage Slashers, an explosion sounded on the other side of the mine. Everything stopped as soon as the sounds of war cries echoed in the mine, the demons turning to see what was happening. Most weren't fast enough to register in time the tiny men carrying heavy weapons attacking their heads, torso and any body part they could reach.

Lloyd and the others quickly looked at over the edge again to see what looked like a rescue battalion. It had to be because they were all breaking the collars and chains that bound all of the slaves with their weapons and urging them to escape through a man-made tunnel.

"Who are those? Renegades?" Lloyd asked. However, the men were all garbed in battle clothing, instead of the familiar uniforms of the resistances.

"No. They're… dwarves," Raine said, surprised.

"Dwarves? But nobody has seen them ever since the Kharlan War," Zelos said.

"I heard rumors that daddy and the leader of the Renegades were supplied by dwarves, but I never thought it to be true," Marta said.

"Anyway, it seems they're kicking real demonic bottoms," Lumen said with enthusiasm.

Indeed, the dwarves were slowly killing most of the demons and releasing all of the mine workers around. But the demons wouldn't let them walk away like that. Savage Slashers started to counter-attack, ripping away part of the armor with their sharp claws. Thankfully, the dwarves' war garb was resistant enough to sustain the fiery assault of the spider-like demons, though they gave in after repeated attacks.

The slave master was also fighting back, using his whip to tie up and throw the dwarves to the sides as he urged his brethren:

"FIGHT BACK, YOU SWINES! They're just little man!" when he lashed his whip hand again, he was surprised when an ax came down and cut off the point of the limb, making the demon scream in pain.

"Who are ye calling 'little', ya demonic bastard?" a dwarf using a brown, worn out armor, carrying an ax on his two hands said.

"You… DIE!" the demon lashed out.

The dwarf fought against the demon, blocking the blows with his ax and delivering heavy damage against the demon in spite of his lack of agility. The slave master then started to get fed up by being beaten by what he considered a "tiny human" and called out for a Tyrant.

The heavy defender came forward and bashed at the dwarf with its shield. The tiny man got up soon enough to avoid being smashed by the demon's modified limb. In a display of agility that wasn't becoming of a dwarf, the warrior swung his ax before the demon could bring its shield up, effectively slicing the Tyrant in half.

However, that made the dwarf open for when the demonic slave master charged and batted his weapon away, grabbing his throat with its normal hand. The dwarf started to feel suffocation as his lungs burned from the lack of air.

"Time for you to die, trash!" the demon said with a smile appearing between its bandages.

However, the demon never noticed the figure that approached it from behind and cut its head off with deadly accuracy. The dwarf fell as the demon's body evaporated, consumed by flames. The dwarf coughed as he looked up to see a hand being offered to him. The warrior saw his rescuer was a young man garbed in a red, unbuttoned jacket with nothing underneath and dark-blue pants.

The dwarf thanked the boy and accepted his help. When he was up and got his ax back, the small warrior asked:

"Who are you, lad?"

"A friend," Lloyd said with an easygoing smile. "Me and my companions are here to help you."

"Very well," the dwarf nodded. More demons then appeared as he gripped his ax. "In that case, let's send these rotten freaks back to their hell!" Lloyd only nodded and, with a smile, charged together with the dwarf.

With the help of the reincarnated Summon Spirits, the dwarves quickly cleansed the mine, rescuing the enslaved humans and some of their own brothers that had been captured, guiding them all through the tunnel which they had made to enter. Unfortunately, some of the slaves were used as shields and latter discarded by the demons once they saw their attempts at stopping the assault were useless.

Soon, the dwarves made it back to the tunnel, thanking Marta and the others as they left. The last dwarf to leave was the one Lloyd had saved, who stopped and turned to the young man, taking his helmet off. The dwarf Lloyd had saved had brown hair and eyes with a short beard and mustache. He then spoke:

"Might I ask your name, lad?"

"Lloyd. Lloyd Irving-Aurion."

"I'm Dirk. In the name of my people, I thank you and your friends for helpin' us. I'll spread the word of your deeds today."

"You don't need to," Lloyd said.

"Of course I do. Dwarven Vow #1: Let's all work together for a peaceful word," Dirk recited what seemed to be some sort of oath. He then turned and entered the tunnel before saying. "Collapse this tunnel. We can't risk the demons following us back to Moria."

Lloyd nodded and looked to Colette. The blonde girl transformed in spirit form and touched the wall. She slowly buried the entrance of the tunnel as the dwarf left. When she was satisfied that most of the tunnel had been sealed off, she took her hand off the wall and returned to her normal form like the rest of the group.

"Alright, that was cool!" Zelos said with a smile. "We saved a bunch of people and fought besides dwarves. Man, I'm starting to like this Summon Spirit thing."

"Really? I never figured you to be the altruistic kind, or even like battles and hard work," Sheena jabbed in.

"How can you say that, Sheena? Do you think I don't care for our brothers who suffer in the hands of the demons? I'm heartbroken you would think such a…" Zelos started, bringing his hand to his chest and assuming a dramatic tone.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, you're annoying."

"Anyway. We should get going before the demons return," Ventus said.

The group nodded and Marta guided them towards where she said that she could feel the wind coming. The reincarnated Summon Spirits soon found an exit from the mine and saw the daylight ahead. They emerged in a path alongside the mountains, in the middle of what appeared to be some kind of valley. Raine looked around and said:

"I thought so. We're in the Toize Valley."

"What made you think so, my lady?" Solum asked.

"The rock formations and the equipments back in the mine. They had the logo of the Lezareno Company and according to official documents in Sybak, the only mine owned by the company is the one in the region of the Toize Valley."

The group looked at Raine with surprise. They had never bothered to even notice the mining equipment, too preoccupied with the situation of the workers in the mine. Colette then asked:

"Still, what did the demons want with that mine?"

"Now that…" a familiar voice said, making the group turn to the entrance of the mine they had just left. "Is the big question here."

"Netrioh," Emil/Ratatosk said in a serious voice.

"Hey there buddy!" the black haired, merchant demon said with a carefree smile. "You look fine. By the way, nice trick with the eyes, I'm sure the females will love it."

"Spare me of your flattery, Netrioh. What the hell are you doing here? Um… and sorry for that. I'm not really well lat… don't apologize to this idiot, you spineless wimp!"

"Wow! Now that's new. I didn't' know humans could make their voices sound like that," Netrioh said.

Ratatosk/Emil sighed. Colette and Zelos asked Raine who that demon was. As the silver haired woman explained, Lloyd repeated the question Colette had asked before.

"Oh, yeah…" Netrioh's tone lost its early playfulness and assumed a more serious stance. "Well, considering you all saw what was inside there…" he pointed to the mine behind them. "I don't see any harm in explaining it."

"Explaining what?" Sheena asked. "And if you were observing everything, why didn't you assist your brethren?"

"I already told you, jubblies, my work here doesn't concern the army," Netrioh said in an honest tone.

Sheena had a vein throbbing at her forehead at hearing the nickname Netrioh seemed to have come up with to her. Lloyd was also feeling annoyed at Netrioh's behavior around Sheena. Zelos had his eyes wide, thinking:

_'Jubblies'? How had I never thought of that before? It's perfect! This guy is brilliant!_

"So you don't care what happens to your own kind, as long as it doesn't affect you? Typical demon," Marta berated, to which Netrioh shrugged.

"Leave it alone, Marta," Emil/Ratatosk said. "It's in his nature. Demons are just like that, mainly towards those they don't care."

"It's just like my buddy says," Netrioh said, ignoring a swear Ratatosk directed at him, followed by an apology. "Anyway, have you ever wondered why we didn't send this world back to the Great Father once we conquered it at the end of the Second Invasion?" most of the group nodded with curiosity in their eyes. "Well, the motive why we didn't, is this…"

Netrioh took something out of the pocketed in his pants and threw it towards the group. Ratatosk/Emil caught it, opening his palm for the group to see. In his hand was an Exsphere. Netrioh continued talking:

"These soul gems that you have aren't nearly as powerful as the ones we create, but they proved to be quite efficient."

"Soul gems?" Colette asked.

"It's the rarest and most powerful of demonic artifacts," Raine explained. "It's said they are made from fragments of the souls of Demon Lords and store the souls of the fallen opponents of their wearers. But what intrigues me is why you implant them on the humans you were enslaving."

"As sharp as always, sweet cheeks," Netrioh complimented. His tone soon turned serious once more. "According to the information Nebilim gave to us, these gems have properties very alike those of our soul gems. The higher grade ones can even evolve together with their wearers and absorb other Exspheres, instead of feeding on the consciousness and soul of the wearer.

"However, these things need to be 'awakened' before they can be used. Lifeless beings, I think that's what they were called back before we invaded," the merchant demon said with a thoughtful expression and looking up while he crossed his arms. He shook his head and looked to the group again. "Anyway, these stones need nourishment to awake and once they do, they can have even more, increasing their power."

"Wait a minute," Lloyd said. "Nourishment? What does that mean?"

"You're really slow, aren't you?" Lloyd shot an angry look at Netrioh, but the demon shrugged it off .

It was then the merged Emil and Ratatosk felt another memory surfacing. Clutching his head, they felt like their minds were traveling to another place…

- / - / - / - / - / -

_"So, you're saying the humans are using the Exspheres as the power source of their technology?" he asked in another meeting in the Twilight Palace's Conference Room. Gnome nodded to him before continuing._

_"Yup, no doubt there. The guys have dug the underground reserves ever since the beginning of the war."_

_Ratatosk sighed as he looked around. Undine wasn't present and wouldn't be anymore. According to Origin, she had accepted to be a test subject for the first phase of his plan. Ratatosk didn't know exactly what the plan was about that it even needed Undine to test something out and, frankly, he would rather not know._

_And now came the news of how the humans were managing to make their technology work. Ratatosk never knew what the Exspheres exactly were about. That was a secret that pertained only to Gnome, who took care of their underground resting places, and Origin, their leader and the one responsible for overseeing the cycle of life in Aselia. But now that he heard about how the humans were using them, he was starting to wonder if it wouldn't have been smarter to simply smite the little stones to dust before the humans learned how to use them._

_"But how are they awakening them? The Exspheres require nourishment from some kind of life form to unleash their true capabilities?" Volt asked._

_"Normally, they would awaken by naturally consuming the proteins in the earth, a process that can take tens, even hundreds of years to finish," Maxwell said. "But it seems the humans managed to discover a way to maneuver around it."_

_"How?" Selphie asked._

_"The Exspheres are pretty much parasitic beings; they extract nourishment from other life forms by attaching themselves to them."_

_"Wait? Do you mean the humans are attaching the Exspheres on themselves?" Fairess inquired._

_"I doubt that would be the case," Efreet answered that. All of them had the basic knowledge on what the Exspheres did and their awakening process. "Like any other parasite, the Exspheres would leave their host weak and possibly end up killing them. I don't think the humans would be so masochists to try it out on themselves."_

_"Actually, they don't need to," the Lord of the Monsters spoke, attracting his brothers and sisters attention. "Did you already forget? They have the perfect subjects for that. The half-elves. They are using the half-elves to awaken the Exspheres, if what Mithos and Martel Yggdrasil reported to me is anything to go by…"_

- / - / - / - / - / -

Emil/Ratatosk woke to reality in time to pick up Zelos exclaiming:

"Are you saying Exspheres are awakened by… consuming people's lives?"

"Bingo! You know, you're not as dumb as you look," Netrioh said.

"Huh! Says the guy wearing leather. Seriously, that's so out fashioned," Zelos talked back, crossing his arms.

"It might be here, but in Niflheim it's never out of fashion. Plus, chicks dig guys in leather," Netrioh retorted.

"Of course, if you don't have anything more to go for."

"Both of you, SHUT UP!" Ratatosk said. "It's already bad enough I'm getting a headache every five seconds with this situation, I don't need you two bickering to add to the sum!"

Netrioh apologized to his "buddy", ignoring the subsequent protest. The rest of the group was slowly processing the horrifying news. Marta was specially shocked that the power-amplifying stones her father's organization had been using to fight off the demons were actually made by sacrificing people's lives. Raine remained just as calm as always, but internally her mind was racing with thoughts. She started to find out that with that little piece of information many things started to make sense. Thinking back at what they witnessed in the mine, she asked Netrioh:

"The Desians, what do they have to do with the production of Exspheres?"

"Everything," Netrioh answered. "That is their main purpose; to research ways of better using the Exspheres. Their… ranches, I think was the name, they're actually giant, Exsphere manufacturing plants."

"So, all those people that the Desians capture… they use them all to…" Colette said, but couldn't end the phrase. The prospect of what truly happened with the people suffering in the Human Ranches was too frightening to her.

"That's right. You see now? Your people were spared to serve as food for the Exspheres. With them, our Lords will be able to equip battalions of our army with substitutes of soul gems and conquer even more worlds."

"And all this time… your mission here was to sneak some of the Exspheres to the Merchant Clan use as bargaining chips," Ratatosk said.

"Guilty," Netrioh said with his hands up in a signal of surrender, though his smirk never left his face.

"How can you do that?" Marta snapped. Making Netrioh look at her with confusion. "You leave us alive just so you can use us as livestock for these stones!"

"Before you go and verbally beat me to death, let me say something; we didn't do anything that you humans wouldn't have done," Lloyd and Colette let out an "what?". "Who first discovered the Exspheres and found a way to awaken them through this method, huh? Do you think we would bother ourselves trying to figure it out when we could simply get rid of this world that gave our Great Lords so many headaches? No. The knowledge of the awakening method was passed on to us.

"If we are monsters by giving you this fate, then what are you, the ones that showed us this possibility?"

At that, Marta looked to the ground with a sad expression, not having any comeback to that comment. Lloyd and the others also looked to the sides, knowing that Netrioh was right. The merchant demon chuckled again as he shook his head.

"Y' know, if I were you, I wouldn't go on and try to dismantle the Human Ranches, because if our Lords discover the Exspheres are proving to be too troublesome, they might just go ahead and give the order to purge this world of life," Netrioh said in a tone of someone that pointed out the obvious.

He started to walk to the group, passing by their side. The demon then heard Lloyd speak and that made him stop:

"We're not going to give up," Lloyd looked to the merchant demon as he spoke next. "If these stones are the motive for all of this bloodshed, for the Desians to exist… then I'll destroy them all!"

Lloyd remembered his battle with Kvar and what the Desian Cardinal had said about his mother. Netrioh said the Desians researched ways to use the Exspheres more efficiently and his mother was constantly being chased by the half-demons after she was rescued from the Asgard Human Ranch by his father. It was very probable that his mother had been a test subject in one of their researches.

Thinking back, Lloyd remembered Anna having some sort of stone carved on her right hand, but he never once bothered asking her about it, though he had heard his father constantly ask her if she was alright and mentioning Exspheres. These stones were the reason his mother had lost her life and many other families were being destroyed.

"Really?" Netrioh asked, appearing amused. "You know that there are humans using them, right? You would have to go over them to…"

"If they try and stop us, then we'll just have to beat them up for good," Emil/Ratatosk said. "I also don't like the fact these things are one of the reasons the humans actually managed to kill my tree."

"Yeah. If they never existed, then the war probably wouldn't have reached the point it had," Marta said.

"That's just wishful thinking, ya know?" Netrioh replied.

"Even so, for people to use them at the cost of other's lives… it's just not right," Colette said, her voice assuming a serious connotation. "No life should be sacrificed for a reason like that."

"I also don't like the idea of something like that going on," Zelos said. "And I think we don't really need these things if they will just cause trouble."

"If all of these deaths, all that the Desians have done was just for the sake of awakening these stones, then I swear, in the name of my family, that I will help my friends to destroy every last one of them, even if that makes me spill blood of people from our world," Sheena said. "If they use these things and can't even understand the sacrifices that were made to awaken them, then they should have never found out about them."

"What about you Raine?" Lloyd asked their only half-elven friend.

The rest of the group looked at Raine, who seemed to be reflecting deeply about that. She finally spoke:

"People are sinful creatures. They compete for power and sacrifice everything for it. It's in their nature. The Exspheres are just another instrument for their greed," Lloyd raised his eyebrow at her and was ready to call her when she concluded. "So, I think it's only befitting that they pay the price of their foolishness by having one of their favorite sources of power taken away from them."

Lloyd and the others smiled at Raine. The red clad swordsman put his hand on her shoulder, making her look at him. When Lloyd flashed his boyish smile at her, showing his support, Raine felt a sudden urge to look to the side and hide the almost unnoticeable pink tint her cheeks were taking. That boy really was something to get to her like that.

The group was woken from their monologues by the sound of Netrioh laughing. They looked back at the demon, who was hunched over himself as he laughed. Sheena was about to snap at him and ask what was so funny, until Netrioh achieved to recover his breath and wiped away his tears to say:

"You guys really ARE something! You haven't changed at all from how you were back then. Maybe a bit more naïve, but the attitude is just the same," Lloyd and the others looked between themselves, knowing Netrioh was speaking about their past selves. "Seems like things will be more fun than I thought."

Before the group could ask further, a purple aura surrounded Netrioh and the merchant changed into his demon form. Two black wings sprouted from his back, his hands changed into talons and his face now looked like the one of a hawk, with a grey beak in the place of his mouth and nose. His clothes also changed, turning longer and parts of it seemed to have turned into black feathers.

"Let's see for how long you will keep this attitude going," he said in a stronger voice, right before taking flight and leaving the scene. The group could just look at the demon flying away, leaving a single black feather behind…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Lloyd and the others set camp at some distance for the Toize Valley Mine's entrance. Sheena was currently resting her head on the young man's lap, whose face initially assumed a tone of red that would put tomatoes to shame, but soon became normal as he and the group now pondered about what Netrioh had told them and their answer to the merchant demon.

"Do you really think we can do it?" Colette asked. "I mean, destroy all of these Exspheres? They must exist for a reason, right?"

"You don't exactly need to destroy them all, my fair angel," Solum said in the soft tone he used when speaking to females. "Just the ones being currently used."

"Even so, things are not that simple," Raine said. "The Vanguard and the Renegades need them."

"Raine…" Marta started.

"Do you honestly think they will stand a chance against the demons without the aid of Exspheres?" Raine interrupted Marta, making her close her mouth.

"Unfortunately, Raine is right," Sheena said, looking at them from her (comfortable, she thought) position. "Even we of Mizuho had to use them to survive against demons from lesser ranking. Without them, we would just be a bunch of weak humans."

"Except that none of you use Exspheres," Tenebrae said.

"Yes, but not everybody has the luck of being born as a reincarnated Summon Spirit," Zelos piped in from his place, sitting against a tree and with his hands crossed behind his head. "Without those stones, the Vanguard and Renegades would all be killed in two days, make it three if Nebilim is feeling lazy."

"That's kind of sad to think about," Lumen spoke up.

"But it's the truth. Not everybody is that strong. Not all of them can stand against creatures like demons and monsters and hope to survive. That's why there are protectors and bodyguards ever since human civilization established itself."

The group stood silent at that. Surprisingly enough, Zelos was completely right. They couldn't force the resistance groups to hand over their Exspheres simply because the power-amplifying stones were the reason the demons were terrorizing humans. They would have to postpone this until after they restored the Equilibrium of the world.

"Even so…" Marta said, standing. "I want to inform daddy and the leader of the Renegades about this. They have to know."

"I agree," Lloyd spoke up for the first time. "They are indirectly using people's lives. Most of the people on the organizations might not understand this, but their leaders, at least, have to know they are carrying the lives and dreams of the people slain by the demons."

"In that case, we should all go to Altamira. The city is close by and I heard the Lezareno Company is a big sponsor of the Renegades," Raine said. "They surely will have a cell there."

"Huh, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually did," Zelos said with an enigmatic smile. "The Bryant family was quite unique between the nobles. Actually, I think they are the only nobles I can say I like, even though I never met the current President of the Lezareno Company. By the way, where is Ratatosk?"

"He said he wanted to take some time alone to think on what happened," Marta answered.

"Well, I hope he's back to normal by tomorrow. It was already weird enough when they kept changing, but now that they're out in the same time is plain creepy."

"You don't have any notion of tact, do you?" Sheena asked with an angry expression.

"You offend me that way, Sheena," Zelos said, with a hand over his chest and a fake, hurt tone. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be…"

"The Last Romantic… yeah, I know. You've been flaunting this title over at every five minutes."

"That's not true."

"Yes," Tenebrae inputted. "Last I counted, the pause was of six minutes."

There was some silence after that, in which Sheena smirked and Lloyd and Marta tried not to laugh while Zelos made a face. The red head then turned to the Centurion of darkness and said, with a malicious smile on his face and his right eye twitching:

"You know, you might make a nice piece of steak, Tene-man…"

Tenebrae sighed, not for the menace, but for the fact that another person used one of the nicknames he hated so much…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Emil and Ratatosk, still both in control of the same body, sat on a nearby meadow, not very far away from the camp. Their consciousness started separating, for both boys' relief, and they could already form individual thoughts, though their eyes remained with its mismatched appearance.

Their thoughts were far away from the discussion their companions were having at the moment about the Exspheres. Rather, they had something more urgent on their minds:

_"Seems you actually managed to come level with me if we reached this stage already," _Ratatosk said. _"We might be able to separate safely once we collect the last Centurions."_

_Um… Ratatosk. I have been thinking… about us separating and… _Emil started, just to be interrupted.

_"I can't believe it… having second thoughts now?" _the Lord of Monsters said in an exasperated tone.

_But Marta is going to become a Summon Spirit and she'll live forever. So I thought…_

_"In staying with her. Please… do you actually think you can take over my position for such a trivial motive?"_

_N-no! I just…_

_"We had a deal, remember?" _

Ratatosk mentally huffed at that. The last thing he needed was his other self having doubts at this point. They were already getting close to recovering his powers.

_I-I know… but…_

_"If you think I'll change the plan just for your petty desires, you're damn…"_

_You just say that because you want to finish what you started at the Second Invasion! _Emil suddenly exclaimed.

Silence followed the mental outburst of the meeker of the two consciousnesses. Even Emil himself was surprised that he actually spoke back at Ratatosk for once, but he couldn't help it… if what he saw in those memories meant what he was thinking then…

_"So… finally decided to grow a backbone, huh?" _Ratatosk said, his tone dangerously low.

_I-I… I… _Emil couldn'tform an answer.

_"Yes, you're right…. I would like nothing more than have the last humans being devoured by the demons," _Emil made a mental gasp at that. _"And I wouldn't hesitate in having them and the half-elves become extinct should a situation like the Kharlan War ever occur again."_

_How can you say that after everything we went through together? Don't our friends mean anything to you?_

_"They're not really human are they?" _Emil stood quiet at that. _"And even so, their parents and friends will eventually die, while they stay the same. So, in a way, I can wait."_

_But that doesn't give you the right to…_

_"Don't come to me spouting about rights?" _Ratatosk's outburst silenced Emil. _"You saw that, didn't you? Why do you think Origin even came up with this in the first place? You humans, if left unchecked, will destroy the world."_

There was silence once more. Emil stood thinking at that. When Ratatosk thought he had gotten the message through, Emil said:

_You're right._ that made the Summon spirit mentally raise an eyebrow. _I can't argue with you on that point, but that's exactly why Origin came up with this plan, right? So that the Summon Spirits could take care of things directly. _Ratatosk stood silent at that. _And I… I kinda understand what you did…_

_"What?" _the Lord of the Monsters let out.

_I felt everything you felt when we were remembering. And I… all of that rage and hatred… anybody in your place would have done the same._

_"Even if it has brought pain to all those we know?" _there was some sadness on Ratatosk's voice.

_I think Marta will understand if you explain. _Emil said with a mental smile. Ratatosk would have denied and ask what he was talking about that, but since it was his other self he knew it was useless. _I'm sure we can think on a way to…_

_"Don't…" _Emil let out an "huh?" on that. _"Don't tell her."_

_But… she and the others deserve to…_

_"I don't care! Don't tell them!"_

Emil was surprised at the sudden outburst. It wasn't like Ratatosk to worry about what others would think about him or his actions. Maybe he was starting to see the others as his late family. Emil mentally sighed:

_Ok, I won't tell. But you should think about it, though. _

Ratatosk knew he was going to take a long time to reflect, but not about telling Marta and the others about his involvement on the Second Invasion. No. He needed to rethink his plans for the future.

It seemed it was time for him to formulate a plan B…

* * *

_Soul Gems, also known as Mëerh Akash, are, undoubtly, the most powerful and rare of the demonic relics. _

_They are forged by sectioning part of a Demon Lord's soul and applying a ritual on the fragment to crystalize __it__. The ritual can take eons to complete, but once it is done, the results are astonishing... _

_Soul Gems are one of the fastest ways for demons to gain power and climb the hierarquic stair in their society, however, just as they give power, they can also overtake its wearer's mind and soul if he/she isn't able to withstand the pressure the continuous use of such an artifact exerts on their soul. That is one of the main reasons Soul Gems are such a rarity even in demonic society; few are the demons that can actually use them without having their own souls being consumed by their ever growing powers. This is also appointed as the reason for the many tales of villians or common people that became monsters when came in contact with such artifacts._

_Destroying a Soul Gem is also an externuous task. It's common knowledge that the power of these artifacts grow with the number of fallen adversaries' souls it absorbs, which also allow it to become more resistant. There are histories in the elven and human folclore about heroes that went through great ordeals to destroy these demonic jewels, whose mere presence was harmful to the world. The common concensus in all of them is that the supposed heroes had the aid of the Summon Spirits..._

_- Excerpt_ _from "Demonology: A look into the Culture of the Underworld", by Raine Sage_

Well, what do you think about the chapter and this excerpt I brought you?

Review, or Raine will start lecturing everybody on her book... for four hours straight without commercial or lunch breaks!


	30. The Renegade and the Goddess

Hey people! New chapter here!

We're one more chapter away of the end of this act.

So, let's get on to the reading.

* * *

**Chapter 27**

**The Renegade and the Goddess**

Altamira, the Sea Resort, had been and still is a city focused on tourism and entertainment. Although the amusement park and a good part of the city had been mostly destroyed due to the demon incursions in the Second Invasion, with the help of the Lezareno Company, most of the city had been reconstructed.

They were also lucky for being in a region that was just deep enough for boats to travel, otherwise, the city might have to face constant attacks from sea demons. However, few people had time for fun and amusement these days and even the once glamorous city had to deal with the Cruxis Church.

The town was effectively divided between the supporters of the Lezareno Company, which was a well-known supporter of the Renegades' cause, and the Cruxis, who had an obelisk at an area besides the hotel. Tension didn't break out thanks to President Bryan's negotiation with the heads of the Church on Altamira. Some said he had to pay them to keep the church from openly attacking Lezareno, others that he had blackmail on the church. Whatever was the case, many didn't dwell on it and went on with their daily lives, like most people in Aselia did.

"Oh man, I love this city!" Zelos said loudly for anyone to hear as he grinned. "Sea, beach and hunnies in tight bikinis! Sometimes I wish I had lived here."

"You can stay here if you want," Sheena said. "We could manage without another loudmou… I mean, without your help."

"What? Are you crazy? I'm essential to the group! Without me, the only samples of male there would be are Lloyd there…" he pointed to the red clad swordsman in question, who raised an eyebrow at being pointed at. "And the kid with personality issues," Zelos referred to Emil.

"I-I don't have personality issues!" said blonde protested. "It's just Ratatosk's spirit in me and…"

"Emil, don't pay attention to what Zelos says," Marta spoke. She leaned forward, clasping her hands on her back and giving the blonde one of her smiles. "I don't care if you have personality disorder or any other kind of issues. You are the man of my life and nothing will change it!"

"I… don't think that's the case here Marta…" Emil said, a big drop of sweat running down his forehead.

While the group was discussing, Colette was looking around in awe while looking at the stands offering local dishes and, beyond them, the beach. She had never been to the beach before and this place had such an inviting atmosphere. She knew they weren't here on vacation, but the beach really seemed fun and…

Colette ran onto somebody and the two of them fell as she let out a "yelp." She immediately got up and started to utter an string of apologies:

"I'm so sorry, I didn't look where I was going! I'm sorry for running into…" she looked and then saw who she had run into.

"It's fine…" said the other.

Colette was rather surprised the stranger she had collided with was actually a young girl with a black dress and gray, fingerless gloves. Her pink hair was arranged into two pigtails. Colette offered her hand, but the girl got up on her own. When she looked into the girl's eyes, Colette had to suppress a gasp.

The girl's pale blue eyes… they were so dull… with no life to them. Colette also didn't detect any emotion on the girl's voice when she spoke. It was then she noticed other thing; a strange feeling upon looking at the girl. It was like there was some kind of energy around the girl that was peculiarly familiar, yet Colette couldn't place her finger on it.

"Colette, what are you doing?" she heard Sheena's voice and turned to see her friends walking to her. Colette then turned in time to hear the pink haired girl say:

"Excuse me… I have to go…" and with that the girl departed, passing by Colette's friends without even regarding them.

Sheena and Raine stopped and looked at the departing girl, they too had felt something strange about the girl's aura. A strong and quite familiar kind of power, but… Tenebrae also stopped as his hidden form turned to look at the departing girl. He knew that presence very well…

"Colette, are you alright?" Marta asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine… just…" Colette started, but didn't know what else to say. Why did that girl felt so familiar when Colette was sure she never met her before?

"Anyway, don't wander off by yourself," Raine said. Colette nodded and the group resumed their walk.

As they turned and arrived near the stairs to the beach, they sighted a strange group of armored people. Three of them wore green armors of a familiar design, however, it was the one at the head of the formation that made Zelos frown.

The man used a golden armor, without a helmet. His black hair and beard were fashioned in wild spikes. His face sported some scars as he showed a serious and authoritative demeanor. The man seemed to recognize the reincarnated Celsius as he stopped, together with the other armored soldiers behind him.

"Well, well. If it isn't Representative Zelos…" the man said in a strong, yet scornful voice. "What are you doing so far away from your assigned city?"

"Hello to you too, Magnar," Zelos replied with a smile, though it had no warm in it and his tone was neutral.

"Magnar?" Lloyd asked.

"I heard about him," Colette said. "He is the Commander of the Martel Knights of the Cruxis Church, famous for defending the new Hima during a fierce, demon assault."

"That's right," Magnar said. He then noticed Raine, who tried to tip her hat lower to hide her face, however the man's well-trained eyes noticed her peculiar hair color and features. "A half-elf?"

Some knights seemed to tense and reached for their swords. Lloyd and the others were ready to respond in case a fight broke out, but were stopped when Zelos lifted his hand, making signal for them to stop, his eyes never leaving Magnar as he spoke:

"I wouldn't start a fight in the middle of the city if I were you, Magnar. I'm sure you don't want to have an incident between the Church and Lezareno in your hands, do you?"

"And why would you, a Cruxis' Representative, walk together with such filth?" Magnar countered.

"Don't talk about our friend like that!" Lloyd said, protectively.

"Silence, boy! I talk about them however I want!"

"Let it go, Lloyd," Raine said. "Bravados like that won't do me any harm."

"What did you say, wench?" one of the knights asked.

"Now, now, let's all settled down," Zelos said, breaking the tension. "Magnar, what I do or not isn't for you to question, so, if you're done with your business here, me and my companions would like to pass," Zelos said in a cold tone, however, one could easily pick the warning underneath it. Zelos was using his position to draw the line.

"Humph," Magnar then ordered his men to go. He passed by Zelos and Lloyd and the others could hear the Commander of the Martel Knights saying. "I'll be reporting on this… dubious conduct of yours."

"Be my guest…" Zelos said, closing his eyes with a smile as Magnius passed by.

The group then approached Zelos. Sheena had a surprised expression on her face at seeing Zelos standing up for Raine and effectively chasing those Knights away. This certainly wasn't the Zelos she remembered. Raine then asked the red head:

"Why did you put yourself in such a position for me? You know this could turn the church on you."

"Bah, I'm already on a bad position as it is for leaving Meltokio like I did. What's one more offense on all of this?" Zelos said, his easygoing tone coming back as he now gave a genuine smile.

"You know, you're actually nice when you're not acting like a complete pervert," Marta said.

"Why, thank you, my darling kitten," Zelos said. "Now, how about we all take a little break, buy some swimsuits and go to the beach?"

"We're not here on vacation, you know," Sheena said.

"C'mon. I bet even Summon Spirits need to relax every now and then. Ain't I right, Emil?"

Emil thought about answering that, but Ratatosk warned him to keep his mouth shut, otherwise this could become a frequent behavior on the red head's part.

"Colette, my angel, what do you say? You wanna see the beach and the sea, right?"

"Um… well…" Colette looked from Zelos to Sheena, thinking on how she could answer without getting one of them upset. However, it was clear in her eyes that she wanted to have some fun on the beach.

"Lloyd my bud, come here for a moment," Zelos called, taking Colette's silence as approval.

Lloyd raised his eyebrow at the Representative, but walked to him notwithstanding. He just wondered when he suddenly became Zelos' Bud... and what exactly "Bud" meant. Zelos was grinning as he passed one arm around Lloyd's shoulders, saying:

"How about I teach you some things about the art of _beach fun_?"

"You mean, like swimming and making sand castles?" Lloyd asked.

"Like picking up chicks wearing swimsuits."

"W-What? B-But… Sheena…" Lloyd stuttered, trying to get the image of wet girls on swimsuits out of his head. When he spoke the name of his amorous interest, the image immediately changed to portray Sheena in a tight bikini, dripping wet. A trickle of blood start to come out of his nose.

"Oh, yeah. Well, you can use it on her. Just remembered the three 'hots' of the beach," Zelos said.

"Three 'hots'?" Lloyd repeated.

"_Hot_ sun, _hot_ sand and _hot_ beach sex," Zelos proclaimed.

Lloyd blushed beet red and now he definitely had two lines of blood coming out of his nose as his male mind spiced up the previous mental image. Emil, Colette and Marta also blushed. Raine remained impassive as always, but Sheena was divided between lashing out and contemplating the thought of herself and Lloyd at that situation.

The heavy silence that settled was broken when Lumen's voice sounded from his hidden position:

"What's _beach sex_?" he asked in that innocent tone of his.

"Well… you see…" Solum started, but Aqua interrupted him.

"It's nothing! Something the humans say that have absolutely no meaning!"

"Oh, ok."

After that exchange, Lloyd could finally find his voice and spoke, after cleaning his nose with his sleeve:

"What... do you…?" he then found out that he hadn't recovered his speech ability as much as he thought.

"C'mon, Lloyd. It's all the girls' romantic dream to have a hot, make out session with their loved ones in a beach illuminated by the moon," Zelos said.

True to his word, Marta did fantasize about something like that when she was fourteen. Of course, she would never say it out loud. Sheena was in a similar position and was starting to wonder that, maybe, Zelos was true to his title.

Zelos then looked ahead and whistled, talking to Lloyd:

"Just take a look at that hunny over there."

Lloyd and the others looked and saw the woman Zelos was pointing at. True to his word, the woman was something else; tall, slender, well endowed, green forest hair and eyes and a serene expression on her face. She was using a swimsuit while leaning over the fence and looking over the sea.

"She's... so beautiful," Colette said, as she felt her body heating up as her eyes scrutinized the green haired beauty without her consent.

"Good eye, my little angel," Zelos complimented. "Now bud, watch and learn from a master of the art," the red head pointed to his chest while closing one eye with a proud expression on his face.

"Do I really have to?" Lloyd questioned, narrowing his eyes, but Zelos was already walking towards the woman.

The green haired woman then noticed somebody close to her and turned to see Zelos there, sporting his best charming smile. She seemed confused at that, until the Representative spoke in his suave tone:

"Hello there, beauty. What is a woman as glamorous as you doing all alone in a tropical paradise like this?"

The green haired woman seemed to make a look of comprehension at hearing that and started speaking in a very gentle and smooth voice:

"Actually, I'm not here alone. I'm waiting for somebody."

"Oh, but don't worry, I'm sure me and my friend can help you entertain your friend," Zelos said, not missing a beat. "You know, you have a very beautiful voice. Are you a singer by any chance?"

Zelos took one step closer to the woman, almost invading her personal space. Even so, the green haired beauty didn't seem phased in the least, she simply gave Zelos a gentle, warm smile, one that Sheena and Raine found somewhat familiar.

"Not really. Oh, there's my _friend,_" she said, Zelos didn't seem to notice the tone which she used when saying "friend".

"Really? I hope she's as beautiful as y…" Zelos never achieved to go on with his pick up lines, for in that moment he was roughly grabbed from the back by two hands, turned, grabbed by the collar of his jacket and lifted in the air.

When the red head finally collected his bearings, he was staring down at a very pissed off-looking blue haired man in a swimming trunk and blue shirt. Suffice to say, the death glare on the man's face was enough to make Zelos start to sweat.

"Mister, this is my husband," the green haired lady said, her smile one of mischievousness, yet seeming innocent.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the blue haired man demanded, shaking Zelos roughly.

"So that's how humans court their females," Lumen said in a tone of understanding. "But I don't understand how being beaten by a husband will help him conquer the girl."

"Should I take notes Zelos?" Lloyd called, snickering at their friend's predicament.

"Better yet, record it," Sheena said while laughing at pervert's expense.

Marta giggled and Raine couldn't help, but smirk. Emil was about to say something when Ratatosk called his attention, seeming surprised:

_"Those are… give me the control," _he said in a demand.

"Um… ok then," Emil said, not sensing hostility in Ratatosk's tone.

When the blonde opened his now crimson eyes again he approached the blue haired man (who was still glaring at Zelos, who looked ready to wet his pants) and the green haired woman, who smiled innocently at her place, like none of that was happening.

"Never thought I would see you two like this," Ratatosk said, calling the attention of the three.

Once the man and the woman recognized his aura, the green haired woman seemed to gasp and the man dropped Zelos unceremoniously on the ground. Nobody took notice of the Representative's pained cry. The two strangers then looked more attentively and the woman asked:

"Ratatosk? Is that you?"

Part of the group gasped at hearing that. Ratatosk didn't seem surprised in the least at being recognized, rather, he seemed to be expecting it.

"It's been a long time… Martel, Yuan," he said looking from the woman to the man.

"So what Kratos said was true after all," Yuan said. He then looked at the group. "Strange that I didn't notice your group's aura sooner. You must be concealing them."

"Yes. By the way, I heard some interesting things about you being the leader of the Renegades…" Ratatosk looked at Yuan. "and about a Goddess of Victory," he looked to Martel, who blushed.

"I tried really hard, but it seems the nickname stuck, didn't it?" the green haired woman said.

"Wait. Can somebody rewind a sec? Cause I'm confused here," Zelos said, voicing part of the group's opinion.

Yuan glared at Zelos, who almost yelped and ran behind Lloyd, grabbing his shoulders as if the young man could provide some cover for him and sighing in relief. Lloyd sweatdropped at Zelos' display as Yuan said:

"I don't think it would be prudent to discuss it here. Too many ears around…"

"Agreed. Do you have a room in an Inn?" Raine asked.

"Actually, we were given rooms in the Altamira Hotel. We have a meeting with the Lezareno President the next day," Martel said.

"And decided to enjoy the beach while waiting?" Sheena inputted.

"That was Martel's idea, not mine," Yuan said in a defensive tone.

"Leading a resistance organization is a very stressful job. So it is good for ones' health to take a break every now and then," Martel recited in a motherly-like tone.

"I agree," Colette said. "Too much work and no fun, makes one's life sour."

"Exactly and…" Martel said with a smile, but it soon disappeared as she looked at Colette.

Something seemed to flicker on the Renegade woman's eyes as she looked at Colette's face. The blonde girl started to blush at being under such an intense look, even more considering it was from a woman as beautiful as Martel. Colette then gathered enough courage to ask:

"Um… is there… something on my face?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just…" Martel said, seeming unsure of herself. "Can I ask your name, deary?"

"I'm Colette."

"No last name?" Martel asked in a seemingly curious tone.

Colette thought about that for a moment. True to be told, she had never once asked her mother what was their original family name. She shook her head.

Martel's eyes widened in surprise and Colette started to get nervous, wondering if she had said something wrong. Yuan put his arm on Martel's shoulder upon noticing the look on his wife's face. Martel looked at him and understanding the message on his eyes she said:

"It was nothing. I'm sorry for bothering you. Now, if you please?"

The group followed the Renegade leader to the hotel while Colette stayed wondering what exactly that had been about.

- / - / - / - / - / -

As soon as the group entered the luxurious VIP suite of the hotel, Zelos left his post behind the group and walked forth, whistling at the accommodations the leader of the Renegades and his wife had gained from Duke Bryant.

"Well, I have to take my hat off. Bryant has style," the red head said. "At least it looks better than my room in the mansion."

"I thought you were some kind of noble the moment I saw you," Yuan said after he and Martel emerged from the bathroom. The blue haired man had changed in a black, business suit and Martel in a woman's, blue, business suit. Zelos tried hard not to ogle the attractive, half-elven woman. "Let me tell you something: I despise your kind, so if you touch Martel, I will sever that thing that identifies you as a man."

Zelos gulped audibly and closed his legs immediately, fearing for his manhood. Martel sighed and slapped the back of Yuan's head, which elicited an "Ow!" from him. She gave an apologetic smile as she said:

"I'm sorry. Yuan doesn't like nobles very much due to traumatic, past experiences."

"Martel!" the blue haired half-elf said in protest. Martel didn't seem to pay attention to it.

"He's also quite protective of me, so forgive him for his rude behavior."

"Ugh. How can I keep my image if you talk about these things to everybody?" Yuan grumbled, going to a nearby table and sitting on a chair.

"Are you hungry? We have some tea and biscuits," Martel offered.

"That sounds…" Lloyd started, but Raine elbowed him in the stomach, giving him a glare of "mind your manners."

"No thanks. We already ate," the silver haired woman said, looking to the couple with a neutral expression. "Instead, why don't you explain to us how you know Ratatosk?"

Martel and Yuan exchanged glances. They then looked at Emil, who felt a little nervous at having two of the most powerful people in Aselia looking intently at him. Ratatosk said for him to inform them they could tell Lloyd and the others. As Emil transmitted the message, Martel said for them to sit as she spoke:

"It all started back in the Kharlan War. My brother and I were travelling together when we met Yuan, who was running from a group of slave dealers. There were quite a few during the war, selling off half-elves for nobles or for Exsphere experiments conducted by the Royal Families."

"We tried releasing some of our kin," Yuan said. "I think that's what got Ratatosk's attention. He appeared one day to us and said we were being recruited to help the Summon Spirits to save the world from the path of destruction it was heading towards. We naturally felt honored, but…"

"We didn't do enough," Martel said, her expression one of regret and sadness. "We thought that if we gave the example and made people realize how the war as affecting the world, they would stop and realize that what they were doing was only hurting themselves. But small actions and speeches can only take you so far...

"We managed to get ourselves branded as radicals and that is the gentlest thing some people called us. Eventually, Ratatosk got impatient at our lack of progress and confronted us."

"You were all quite stubborn with your ideals. You and your brother," Ratatosk said, putting his hands on his hips. "By the way, what happened to the brat?" he looked around, as if waiting for him to show up from a hiding corner.

"Sometime after the demons invaded, we were attacked by a group of them, led by Nebilim. Martel and I managed to fight them back, but Nebilim went after him," Yuan said in a sorrowful tone. "All we saw was a bright flash and after that, the two were gone. We never saw him again."

Lloyd and the others stood in silence at that. They knew what Yuan and Martel should be feeling. The green haired woman then said, trying to sound optimistic:

"But I have hopes he was just captured, so there will still be the possibility that we can save him."

"I don't…" Ratatosk was about to say, but Emil wrenched the control off him. _"The hell? Why did you do that?"_

_Let them believe it. It's easier to deal with the fact if they keep that hope. _the blonde said.

_"You do know that hope is going to be shattered in the future, don't you?" _Ratatosk muttered before going silent, not even waiting for an answer.

"Anyway…" Yuan said. "Martel and her brother refused to yield to Ratatosk's demands to destroy the two governing structures of the countries and eventually he left us to our own devices, saying he would do things his way. That was the last time we saw him.

"Near the end of the war, we didn't achieve any progress at all. It was… frustrating. We realized we truly didn't do enough and then the Second Invasion happened and we had to go into hiding to avoid being killed by the demons."

"We then saw the state things were," Martel said. "The Desians, Cruxis… there were many people that weren't content, like us, to simply watch all these events unfold and some that regretted what their fathers did during the war. We decided to start a resistance group, which eventually evolved into the Tethe'allan Renegades."

"You two said you're married, right?" Marta asked.

"Oh yes. That happened while my brother was still around. He and Yuan had an argument because of that."

"Just because he was obsessed about you," Yuan said. "I swear, you spoiled him too much. I even thought you were actually his mother when I first met you two."

Martel blushed at that, but didn't say anything to defend herself. Marta was taking in the interaction between the couple with great interest, like she was making mental notes for future reference. Yuan then looked back at the group and asked what they wanted to talk with them. The mood turned sour as the party remembered what they came to discuss with the leader of the Renegades.

Sheena and Raine narrated their visit to the Toize Valley Mine, their discussion with Netrioh and the revelation of the Exspheres' awakening method. Yuan and Martel's expressions turned serious once they heard the name of the power-amplifying stones. The half-elven couple didn't utter a single word as the two, older women told their tale.

After Sheena and Raine finished their story, Yuan and Martel exchanged a quick look. After some seconds of silence, Martel said:

"Thanks for telling us this, but you don't need to worry. We were already aware of the Exspheres' awakening method," the group gasped at that. Colette asked how was that. "We saw many things in the war. Some of the half-elves we rescued described some of the experiments that were done to them and we also had the bad luck of witnessing what happened once a Keycrest-less Exsphere was removed from its host."

Marta was about to ask, but Yuan had already sensed her question and spoke:

"The Exsphere is different from any other kind of parasite life-forms in this world. It doesn't latch only to the person's body, but to his life force itself. Keycrests prevent the parasitism process to take place, suppressing this link. When a Keycrest-less Exsphere is removed, the link is forcefully severed and cause the victim's life force to go berserk, even going as far as mutating the host into a monster."

Lloyd suddenly remembered something:

_A green creature was approaching him and his father, the Desians had already left, Kvar giving the order, smiling the entire way… he could hear his mother's voice, begging Kratos to kill her... it sounded like it was coming from the monster. After that, Lloyd blacked out..._

It was the first time Lloyd remembered all the details of his encounter with Kvar and the night his mother died. With all that Yuan said, he could finally connect the dots and understand the facts that his two-years-old mind wasn't able to comprehend at the time.

"But if you know about it, then why… ?" Emil started, but Yuan interrupted him.

"We would never repeat that heinous process. All the Exspheres we use were taken from human ranches or smuggled. Even so, they are necessary if we are to fight the demons. Not all half-elves are as strong as me and Martel."

"We learned much in our life," Martel said. "I also don't like to use them, but if that is what is necessary to restore this world, then I will use them. I made that vow after realizing that Ratatosk was right," at that, Emil felt the Summon Spirit's consciousness becoming aware. Marta turned to him. "I know that you probably won't forgive me, but… I wanted to say that I'm sorry…. I'm sorry for not listening to you.

"You were right. Ideals, in the face of the world's own survival, mean nothing. We should have done what was necessary, not what we wanted to and that's why…" Martel reached into her pocket and brought out what looked like some kind of golden emblem with a dark-crimson gem in the middle. "I want to return this to you."

"The Derris Emblem," Raine breathed out, recognizing the design.

Ratatosk asked to take control and speak to her. Emil nodded and let the Lord of Monsters speak using his body:

"Has it been useful to you?"

"Yes. It saved our lives from the demons on multiple occasions, even when the mana was burnt out," Martel said.

"Keep it," the Renegade Leader and the Goddess of Victory looked in bewilderment at Ratatosk. "You two seem to be doing a fine job and, frankly speaking, you were fairly decent Knights."

"Ratatosk…" Yuan whispered.

"Besides, if you learned your lesson, it's fine by me. I just wanted to have the chance to say this: I told you so."

Emil, to say the least, was dumbstruck. When had Ratatosk become forgiving and understanding? Marta was also surprised, but in a good way. She approached him, smiling a radiant smile. Ratatosk noticed that and asked what it was.

"That was the first time I heard you say something like that. I'm proud of you," Marta said.

"That... was nothing," Ratatosk said, avoiding his eyes and crossing his arms.

Marta giggled at seeing a light pink tint on the Summon Spirit's cheeks. She then remembered something and turned to Yuan:

"By the way, is Commander Brute aware of this?"

"Yes," Martel answered. "From what we heard, your grandfather dealt with Exspheres so the knowledge was passed on to your father, but you can rest assured. He holds no love for those stones either."

"Yeah... I heard that grandpa wasn't exactly a nice person," Marta looked to the side in shame.

"By way, where are you all staying? We can see some suites for you," Martel offered

"Really?" Lloyd asked, excited at the possibility of sleeping in such comfortable-looking rooms, however Raine slapped him at the back of his head and said.

"Thanks for the offer, but we will look for an Inn for ourselves," she then shot a look to Lloyd of "mind your manners" that was starting to make he remember of his mother. The young man grumbled.

"Anyway, you should come with us tomorrow to warn Duke Bryant of what use the demons are giving to his company's mine," Yuan said, getting up. "Meet me and Martel at the Elemental Rail and we will get you to Lezareno."

- / - / - / - / - / -

The group found an Inn and booked for the night and the day next. Considering they still had the evening for themselves, Marta decided to drag Emil off to see the city. Colette and Sheena wanted to go the beach, so they dragged Lloyd to a nearby clothing store. Zelos tagged along, deciding that he should "grace the beach with his presence".

Raine refused to go anywhere near the sea and stayed in room with the excuse that she wanted to review all of their latest findings and information. Lloyd said that, if she wanted, he could teach the half-elf to swim and that he wouldn't let she drown. Raine had a pink tint on her cheeks as she refused again. Zelos noticed that and, when Lloyd and him were waiting for the girls to find some swimsuits, he commented to Lloyd:

"You know, we should hang out more, bud."

"What do you mean with that?"

"I mean, c'mon, haven't you noticed that at least half the girls in our group are somewhat infatuated with you. And you're not even that attractive to begin with!" Lloyd narrowed his eyes at Zelos. He then thought on what Zelos said.

It was true Sheena was attracted to him, which she openly said. But the others... Colette treated him like she treated Marta and the others. Marta was obsessed with Emil. The Centurions were out of question. So the only one left was...

"You mean Raine?" Lloyd asked, now looking confused.

"Took you long enough to get the hint, heh? Honestly, I don't know what she and Sheena sees in you, but I guess that protectiveness you show must be one of the reasons," Zelos said.

"Why shouldn't I protect my friends?"

"No, you didn't get it," Zelos sighed. He was starting to feel the irony of the situation here. "Women in general want a guy that says he will protect them, even if they can fend by themselves. And considering you accept the fact that Raine is a half-elf must only add up in their eyes. Man, that's frustrating..."

Lloyd didn't know if he should start bragging or pointing out that Zelos could attract the girl's interest too if he didn't act like he wanted to get into their pants half of the time. The red clad swordsman decided to dismiss that and looked as Sheena and Colette selected some bikinis and swimsuits.

Zelos seemed to think things got too silent as he spoke again:

"So, any special reason as to why you didn't try to throw your charm into our resident angel, Colette?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Sheena and Colette are like sisters to each other and I'm already... I mean, I want to be with Sheena. So, I don't think she would take it well if I did that."

Zelos agreed. However, considering that Lloyd's apparent success with the opposite sex was unintended, he was wondering how come Colette hadn't been swayed yet. Also, when he showed his charms, the blonde didn't seem moved in the least too.

_Even Raine showed some reaction to me, but Colette only ever seemed interested in... wait. Could it be that she... ? _Zelos thought, but decided to dismiss the idea as Sheena and Colette came back, attracting the men's attention:

"So, what do you think Lloyd?"

Colette was wearing a simple, white mayo, with a brown throng tied around her waist and sandals. However, when the two males looked at Sheena, who was wearing a rather daring, red swimsuit with an opening held by straps on her front that went until her belly button and showed off her ample cleavage, Lloyd had to cover his nose to prevent the two from noticing the blood that started to pour from his nostrils while Zelos openly grinned.

"Excuse me!" Lloyd said, bolting out of the store to the nearest washroom. He desperately needed some cold water.

"Seems you achieved your objective Sheena," Zelos said, in a complementing tone, still grinning. "By the way, nice mayo. I have to say, if they wrote your name for the competition of Queen of the Beach, you would earn my vote right away."

"Thanks... I think," Sheena said, not knowing if she should beat Zelos, or simply ignore him.

"Now, let me search for something for me. It won't do good if Sheena robs all the looks," Zelos said, getting up and going to find a swimsuit for himself.

Sheena sighed. She was hoping to convince Lloyd to buy some trunks for him, so the two of them could swim together and maybe she could also get close enough to him for them to share a kiss. It was about time for them to have one.

"Ha! Perfect! Hey, Sheena what do you think of this?" Zelos said.

_Should I ignore him, or shoot his ego down? _she wondered as she turned to him and saw what he was holding on his hands. _What... the... fuck?_

A grinning Zelos was proudly displaying to the dark haired woman and her surrogate sister a purple speedo. Sheena felt her left eyebrow twitching as she saw it, her face portraying a disturbed expression.

"So... ?" Zelos asked, still grinning.

"I think I'm gonna puke..." Sheena said, looking clearly traumatized as her mind pictured Zelos wearing the item.

"The color looks good, but where is the rest?" Colette asked in an innocent tone. Sheena, for the heart of her, didn't have the courage to tell Colette there was no rest.

- / - / - / - / - / -

As night fell, Altamira's nocturnal attractions started, however, the party decided that it would be better for them to call the day off, since they now had soft beds to sleep for a change. Marta and Emil were coming from the theatre, where they had watched a play about some guys in cat costumes named Katz.

The rest of the group had already gone on to the Inn as the couple was disembarking from the Elemental Rail. Marta had a big smile on her face as Emil was blushing while they walked hand-in-hand.

"Today was really fun, don't you think? Pity we couldn't go to the beach," Marta said to Emil.

"Y... Yeah..." Emil meekly said.

"What's wrong? Your face is beet red," Marta said, containing a giggle.

"Well... um..."

"You know, we should probably have more dates like this."

"T-this was a date?" Emil finally managed to say.

"Why? Didn't you like it?" Marta said, making a sad face and looking down.

"N-no! That's not what I meant! I mean... I did enjoy it... it's just..." he stopped once Marta started giggling at him.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist it. You're just so cute when you make that face."

"Y-you think so?" Emil asked, as Marta nodded.

_"I think I'm gonna throw up..." _Emil heard Ratatosk mumbling. The Summon Spirit had been complaining whenever they had a moment like that (which Marta classified as romantic and Ratatosk as clichéd).

The two were approaching the Altamira Hotel when they saw a familiar green haired woman on the street talking with a blue haired man. Marta and Emil gasped when they recognized the man not as Yuan but...

"What's Decus doing here?" Marta whispered to Emil as they crunched behind the fence in the bridge.

"I don't see Alice. Maybe he's here alone," the blonde said as he took a peek.

"Anyway, that doesn't sound good. Let's see what they're doing," Marta suggested, to which Emil nodded.

The couple slowly approached the two adults talking in front of the hotel. They managed to get a good view at what they were doing and hear their conversation:

"Here," Martel said, handing Decus something that looked like a flask. "This is the last one I'll make for you."

"I know. You don't like lying to your husband. I can understand that," Decus said, his tone serious instead of his usual flamboyant. "Don't worry, I already learned how to do it and I can gather the materials by myself."

"That's good to know," Martel said, her tone as serious as her expression. "But did you really have to put it into that cologne of yours?" Martel raised an eyebrow as she scrunched her nose, seeming to recall the smell of said product.

"It's the only way to not call Alice's suspicions. Besides, I think it gives a certain charm to it, don't you think?"

Martel looked like she wanted to discord, but didn't say anything out of consideration for Decus. She just sighed and spoke:

"You should really talk to her about it."

"Alice doesn't have the need for somebody weak," Decus said, his tone turning serious once more. "If I want to protect her and stay by her side, I can't show weakness."

"Even if it destroy you later?"

Decus nodded, his face showing no signal of hesitance. Martel shook her head, knowing that she would have as much luck in trying to convince Decus as she had the other times she tried. The blue haired man turned to leave when he heard familiar voices:

"Decus!"

Martel and the half-demon turned to see Emil and Marta approaching them with serious expressions on their faces. Marta gasped at seeing them, worried of what they might have heard, but Decus didn't show any kind of reaction besides saying:

"Oh. Hello you two. Going out on a romantic night I see," he tried to offer a smile. Ever since his times spying on the Vanguard, Decus had noticed Marta's more than obvious attraction for the blonde.

"Martel, what was that thing you gave him?" Emil asked Martel.

"Aren't you two supposed to be enemies?" Marta inquired.

Martel seemed unsure of what to answer. Sensing her hesitance, Decus turned and spoke:

"There's no need to interrogate her like that. Martel was only passing me a potion that is made to keep my demonic blood in check."

Emil and Marta were surprised at hearing that. The two always suspected there was something wrong with Decus, with the way his aura seemed so twisted and the times he used fire infused attacks, the chaos on it seemed to get agitated and try to devour what was left of his human soul.

"You two certainly noticed how my aura is permanently unstable, right?" Decus voiced their thoughts.

"It's because of the demon blood injected in you, isn't it?" Emil inquired. Decus nodded.

"There is a reason why the procedure doesn't normally work on humans, or at least why they always ended up becoming mindless demons. The human body doesn't have the same magical resistance than that of a half-elf and by consequence the soul is more vulnerable to demonic energy.

"In the first weeks after I went under the transfusion, I managed to control the demon blood by my own will, but after that, it started to slowly take a hold of me. That was when Alice and I entered the Vanguard and the Renegades."

"Alice and Decus claimed they were attacked by demons and had a curse put on them," Martel said. "And since the effect on the soul is practically the same as that of an injection of demon blood, we believed it. However, Decus' case was significantly more serious than Alice."

"How so?" Emil asked.

"His soul was slowly being devoured by the chaos energy. And since it's now clear that he has demon blood, it's safe to say that the blood is slowly corrupting him from the inside."

Marta gasped and Emil's eyes widened as he looked back at Decus, who stood with a neutral and sad expression on his face. The blue haired man looked to the side to avoid looking to the eyes of his former companions. Martel continued:

"We then developed a potion that could keep the demon blood on his body under wraps and prevent it from taking over. However..."

"It only delays the process," Decus completed. "Either way, one day, the demon blood will completely take over my body and soul, at least that's what they say. Martel was the only one that could produce the potion and she gave it to me from time to time, but..."

"I just kept supplying him with it because I promised I would help him until he could prepare it by himself and I am a woman of my word. However, after he showed his true colors, I made it very clear that I would stop preparing it."

"So you were just supplying him because of your promise?" Marta asked to which Martel nodded.

The brunette sighed in relief at seeing Martel wasn't betraying the Renegades and her husband. Marta could understand what Martel had meant with keeping her promises. The reincarnated Sylph was brought up to always stay true to her words.

Emil was also relieved by the revelation, but that also worried him. Decus and he had talked to each other when the latter had been on the Vanguard and the two formed a bond of companionship, if anything else. Emil didn't see Decus as a bad person, he never showed any interest in gaining power or anything like that. However, Emil knew that when it came Alice, Decus was as fanatical as the most loyal followers of Cruxis.

"If you're going to die, then why do you keep following Alice and doing everything she tells you to?" Emil asked.

"Because I owe her my life," Decus said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Alice saved me when I was being harassed on the orphanage we lived because I didn't follow all of the rules that were made by the Church, which supported the orphanage. If it wasn't for her, they would have probably deemed me as a demon in disguise and handed me to the Church for a nice price. Kind of ironic when you think about it."

"Even so, with everything that she's done..." Marta started just to be interrupted.

"I don't care about what she does or not. I'll still follow her even if it is down the Ginnungagap and into Niflheim itself. And to protect her, I'll even become a demon if necessary. That's the choice I made all those years ago."

Decus' tone showed he was dead serious and from his actions, Marta and Emil could see Decus had no problem with keeping that promise even if it forced him to kill his former friends.

"You do know that there's no guarantee she'll be safe around the demons, right?" Emil asked, although he could already tell what would be the answer.

"Yes, I do. But that's the path Alice has chosen and it's my duty to follow her and make sure she won't be harmed in the end."

"You won't be able to keep your promise if both of you continue to follow Nebilim and the demons," Martel said.

Decus didn't have a counter to that. He stayed quiet for a moment, before eventually saying:

"Even so, I'll do everything I can to protect her," he turned and started to walk away, before stopping again and looking at Emil. "Emil, you're a nice kid. I know you two think I'm a bastard and all of that, but I just wanted you to know that I don't have anything personal against you."

"That doesn't change the fact that you're protecting Alice, or change everything that she has done," Marta said, her voice taking on a serious tone.

"You still intent on having revenge on her I see. Then I'll stop you when the time comes."

"Don't expect me to back away, just because you are different. You too will have to answer for what you have done yourself."

Emil wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. Decus then turned and left. Emil turned to Marta and asked why she wanted to take revenge on Alice so much. From what he knew, Alice only betrayed the Vanguard and was responsible for the attack which almost resulted in his capture, but for the brunette to say those things like that there had to be something more.

Marta saw that she couldn't hide the fact anymore and told the Lord of Monsters that in the night of the attack her mother was guarding the House of Salvation and was fatally injured, resulting in her death. Emil gasped and lowered his head, apologizing.

"It's not your fault," Marta said, shaking her head. "Alice was the one responsible for that."

"Yeah, but I'm the reason they attacked," he tried to counter.

"They would have attacked us anyway if they saw it as an opportunity to get rid of key members of the resistance."

The two stayed quiet for some time, until Martel caught their attention by speaking:

"I think you two should go get some rest. This was a long night for all of us."

The couple nodded to her and went their way, thinking about how, in the end, they would have to fight Decus...

- / - / - / - / - / -

The next day the group woke and had breakfast on a nearby kiosk. Emil and Marta decided not to tell the others about their conversation with Decus the other day. They didn't need to worry their friends with that.

After eating, the group met with Yuan and Martel on the entrance to the Elemental Rail. The green haired woman was smiling her gentle smile and Yuan simply made a motion for the group to follow him. As they embarked, Lloyd asked the leader of the Renegades:

"By the way, how is my fath… I mean, General Aurion?"

"He's fine. We sent him as emissary to Moria. Brolir sent us a letter saying he had something to deliver to us. With what you told, I think it is the hostages they rescued at the Toize Valley Mine," Yuan said.

"Brolir?"

"The current King of the Dwarves," Martel explained. "We talked with him during our journey in the Kharlan War. He's just, but a bit resentful. Marta, I'm not sure if your father told you about his visit to Moria to garner the dwarves' support."

"No. Daddy didn't tell me much about the Vanguard's operations or meetings," Marta replied.

"Where is exactly Moria, by the way?" Raine asked with her usual curiosity when it came to things she didn't know.

"I'm sorry, but we're under an oath not to tell anybody about its location," Martel said.

"We can just say it's in a safe location. The demons don't have a clue as to where it is and any diggers they sent were quickly killed by the dwarves in several different locations," Yuan spoke.

The group stayed in silence as they resumed the ride. They eventually came to a great, five-story building that awed the youngsters. It was the biggest building they had ever seen. There were, however, some parts of it that looked like they had been attacked recently, but the structure was in a good state nonetheless.

"It used to be eight-stories high," Yuan explained to them. "It was destroyed during the war. However, the foundations remained intact, so they managed to rebuild it. There's also an underground level for storage and access to the hotel."

Lloyd couldn't even begin to wrap his head around the idea of there being an underground installation so close to the sea. He knew that human's technology was fairly advanced during the Kharlan War, but he hadn't imagined it to be this much.

The group finally entered the building and left the Elemental Rail. According to Yuan, the meeting was to occur in the Sky Terrace, where nobody would eavesdrop on them. Raine looked around and could see some people shooting wary looks to Yuan, Martel and her, though they did their best to hide it. Some, however, quickly looked to the side the moment they noticed her gaze on them.

She wondered how many of those people reported what happened in the building to the Cruxis Church.

After checking with the receptionist, Martel received an ID card, which she inserted on a sloth inside the elevator. The double metal fences closed the door and the cubicle started its ascend. Lloyd, Colette and Sheena were absolutely amazed at everything they were seeing. Martel giggled at their expression until her gaze fell on Colette once more and she looked the blonde with an analytic look.

When they arrived at the designated floor, the fences opened and the group found themselves in an open courtyard. Yuan and Martel left the elevator first while the others followed them close behind. They circled around the garden's fence until they passed by an arch of shorts and saw a large table set in the middle of the gardens.

Sitting in one chair was a light-blue haired, blue-eyed man, who seemed to be on his late twenties or early thirties. He wore a blue, business suit with a swallowed tail, much like Yuan's midnight-blue one, and white pants with golden trimming and a business tie. Besides him was a pink haired woman with pale-blue eyes, wearing a maid uniform and with her hair arranged on a coquet.

The man got up at seeing them approaching and gave a polite smile on Yuan's direction, speaking:

"Yuan. It's nice meeting you again."

"The pleasure is mine, Duke Bryant."

"Please, there's no need for that. I know how you hate those titles," the man said with humor. He then turned to Martel who was wearing a summer, green dress and smiled gently at him. "And Miss Martel. A pleasure as always."

Martel offered him her hand and Duke Bryant took it, bowing to her and kissing her hand in the perfect manner of a gentleman. Sheena was honestly surprised men like that still existed. The most behaved one she had seen had been Lloyd, but Bryant was the very picture of a noble from the old stories.

"And who would your companions be?" Bryant asked, looking at Lloyd and the others.

"Do you remember the group I mentioned in my letter? These are the ones," Yuan said.

"Ah, I see. The reincarnated Summon Spirits," Lloyd and the others introduced themselves, shaking hands with Duke Bryant. Raine offered her hand on a manner much like Martel for the man to kiss, Sheena settled for a handshake, not so comfortable with all that etiquette. Bryant stopped when he noticed Zelos. "Representative Wilder?"

"Hey there Regal. Nice to meet 'cha again," the red head said. "I always knew you were too much of a decent guy to simply follow the Church."

"I could say almost the same about you. So… you're a Summon Spirit too?"

Zelos twirled his hand in the air and produced what looked like a card made of ice. He handed it to Regal, who took the item and read it aloud:

"_'Zelos Wilder. Reincarnated Celsius and hottest Summon Spirit before and after'_?" he looked at the womanizer.

"I know. I was surprised myself, but if you think about it, it all makes sense. How else would I know everything there is to know about the beauty and handling of the female body?"

Sheena faked a gag and Marta, Emil and Lloyd narrowed their eyes at Zelos, who stood in a proud pose. Regal decided to ignore that and threw the ice card away as he presented himself to the group:

"I'm Regal Bryant. Duke of Altamira and President of the Lezareno Group," he then motioned to the maid near him. "This is my personal maid, Alicia."

"A pleasure to meet you all," she said with a polite bow.

"You look familiar," Colette pointed out. She could swear she had seen that face and eye color before. She then remembered. The girl she had bumped into yesterday. "Maybe you must be related to that girl," Colette whispered, but Alicia caught that and her eyes seemed to widen in understanding.

"Regal," Yuan called the Duke, making them turn to him. "I brought them because there is something you must know."

Regal turned his look back to the group and Raine started telling Lezareno's President about their passing through the Toize Valley Mine and what they saw there. Regal seemed surprised at hearing that there were demons on the mine his company once owed, but didn't show surprise when he heard about the Exspheres.

"So, you know about the Exspheres too?" Sheena asked, noticing his lack of reaction to the information.

"Yes. It's shameful for me to admit, but my company was the one that supplied the Royal Army with most of its Exspheres. My father only came to know about the awakening process much later. He tried to cut off the supplying, but the Royal Family threatened to imprison our family for treason, so he was forced to cooperate."

"I see. Would you also happen to know anything about strange happenings going around or people with inexplicable powers?" Raine asked.

"Not really. Why?"

"We are on a journey to find the other reincarnated Summon Spirits," Colette said. "And we have noticed that all people that are Summon Spirits have powers that humans normally wouldn't have."

"That and a birthmark that is exactly like the emblems of the Summon Spirits," Lloyd completed.

"I see," Regal said. "If hear anything, I will contact you."

"In that case," Martel said, walking towards the group and pulling out a rectangular, black device with holes on the top and bottom. She handed it to Raine, saying. "It's one of the communicators we use. This one has a direct connection to Yuan's line. If I remember correctly, the Temple of Ice is located on Flanoir and there aren't any boats that go near there, but we can arrange transport in case you need."

"Thank you. We will remember that," Raine said, pocketing the communicator away. "Now, you three certainly have important subjects to discuss, so we will take our leave."

The group bowed/waved goodbyes to Regal and left for the elevator. When they entered the elevator and were out of sight, Regal turned to Martel and spoke:

"That girl, Colette. Are you two related by any chance?"

"Um?" Martel let out, confused.

"Her smile, manners, even the look on her eyes. It was like looking at a younger version of you. Does that mean you finally found… ?"

"We're not sure," Yuan said, cutting in. "But we will look into it if it is true. Kratos said they requested shelter to somebody, so maybe there is a chance…" Yuan stopped there. The subject was still painful for him to remember.

"Anyway, we have business to speak off," Martel said.

"True. Alicia, could you serve them some tea?" Regal asked.

"Huh?" Alice let out, seeming distracted and thoughtful. "Oh, right away Master Bryant," she said, resuming her smile and bowing to her employer as she went to fetch the cupboard lying nearby.

Regal noticed the distant and unusual behavior his maid showed ever since Colette and Lloyd spoke about reincarnated Summon Spirits…

- / - / - / - / - / -

"That went well," Emil said as the group left the elevator.

"Yeah. And Regal seems to be a nice person," Colette said in her usual cheerful mood.

"And a perfect gentleman," Sheena said. "Very different from a certain somebody we know," she added as she looked at Zelos from the corner of her eyes.

"Sorry, Sheena hunny, did you say something?" Zelos asked as he caught the insult. "It was quite hard to hear with my ears still hurting from your display of_ affection_ the other day."

Sheena seemed ready to pummel Zelos to the ground, not minding all the workers around, when the group heard somebody yelling "wait!" for them. They looked back to see Alicia exiting the other elevator to catch up with them.

The pink haired maid took a moment to regain her breath. She then straightened her posture and spoke, seeming unsure of how to put her thoughts into words:

"I… I heard what you said about reincarnated Summon Spirits being people with special powers and... I think I might know of somebody who fits that description."

"You do?" Lloyd asked. "Who?"

"Her name is Presea and she lives in Ozette," Alicia's tone seemed sorrowful as she spoke the name, but she quickly hid it. Sheena and Raine caught the change, but didn't comment on it. "We… lived next door to each other and she always had… something different about herself."

"Would you care to elaborate?" Raine asked.

"She… said she could… hear things… people, who weren't supposed to be there…"

"Spirits?" Sheena offered.

"I don't really know. I… we thought it was some kind of childish play or something. But when she started to say things… secrets that she said she had heard the voices saying about the people in Ozette, we started to… well… I think it's better you see it by yourselves."

"We will check it out. Thanks," Raine said.

The group then turned to leave again, but was stopped once Alicia called them again. She seemed once more unsure of what to say, looking to the side with an expression of embarrassment and shame. She then spoke up again:

"I think it would be better if you stayed here," she referred to Raine. "The people of Ozette, they…"

"Are highly discriminating about half-elves. Yes, I know that," Raine said with the same cold, serious tone she used when speaking about the discrimination against her race.

"Please, don't hold it against them. They have been very nervous with the Sybak Ranch being so close and…"

"I will judge them based on their attitudes towards me, but don't worry, I won't cause a scene or threaten them, even though I could."

Alicia seemed to gulp at that, but didn't spoke anything more, simply bowing to them and leaving back to the elevator. The group stayed in silence until they disembarked on the main street of Altamira. Sheena spoke first:

"Did you need to scare the woman like that? She looked like she was ready to faint right there and then."

"I merely spoke the truth," Raine said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"We know that you might not like it. After all, Ozette is known for being as fanatical to Cruxis as Iselia and more radical on its anti-half-elf stance," Marta said. "But we have to give it a shot if this story is true."

"You don't need to say that to me, I already said I'm not going to create a scene. I think I'm mature enough to differ between necessary actions and childish behavior."

"Raine," Lloyd spoke up. The Professor looked at him. "Maybe you should stay here, just in case. I mean, not that we don't trust in you or anything, but those guys might not be so willingly to be… civilized."

Zelos sent a thumbs up to Lloyd, with a smile on his face that said "nice going, bud!" and Raine seemed to consider it for one moment. She then shook her head and proclaimed she would go with them, whether they wanted it or not.

Hearing her adamant tone, Lloyd and the others decided to give up on trying to convince the stubborn Raine. As the group left the city, the Centurions materialized around them. Tenebrae was the first one to speak:

"That description Miss Alicia gave was much akin to that of Shadow's powers."

"The Summon Spirit of darkness? Why?" Colette asked.

"Shadow had the best magical and spiritual vision out of all Summon Spirits since he commanded an element that is, before all, used to hide away secrets and things that are not meant to be found," Solum said. "Actually that girl you encountered before, gracious Colette, had an aura blatantly alike to his."

"I noticed that too, but there was something strange with her," Sheena said. "Comparing to our auras, it seemed close to when we are in Spirit form, but, at the same time…"

"Incomplete?" Raine offered.

"I think that would be a way to describe it."

"Then we have to find out why it happened," Colette said in a determined tone.

She remembered the eyes of that girl again. Those lifeless eyes. She definitely didn't want to see that expression on that girl's, Presea's face anymore.

* * *

_If you asked anybody, be it Tethe'allan, Sylvaranti or even half-elf, who were Martel Yggdrasil and Yuan Ka-Fai, you would probably receive a smile in return and tales of two great leaders that gave their all for the restoration of world._

_Hailing from the times of the Kharlan War, both being half-elves, Yuan and Martel suffered the prejudice and hostility directed at those like them, which was so common at that time. But instead of giving up or joining their vengeful, Desian brethren, both stood up and managed to create an organization that not only proposed the restoration of the nation of Tethe'alla (which neither was originally from), but the abandonment of the old hatreds, which caused the war. _

_With an organization possessing around two thousand members, composed of humans and half-elves, with their alliance to the Sylvaranti Vanguard and cooperation of its leaders, Yuan and Martel proved to the world that humans and half-elves can co-exist and achieve great things together..._

_- Excerpt from "The World Regeneration", by Unknown -_

And here we have it. Oh, and in the spirit of Christmas, I also present to you a skit. This one is between Zelos, Colette, Solum, Sheena, Marta and Lumen:

The Resort

Zelos: Man, I wanted to go to the beach.

Colette: Don't worry, we can always come back another day.

Solum: Maybe after we save Aselia.

Zelos: That's going to take too long…

Sheena: Nobody said it would be easy and if you're going to start complaining, then stay in Altamira and have all the fun you want while we're out, killing demons.

Zelos: No way! I could never live with myself if I let my beautiful hunnies go out in a dangerous, world-saving journey while I stay in a resort. No thanks. I will take this sacrifice.

Marta: It's kinda strange hear you talking about sacrifices, considering you're always complaining about how uncomfortable it is sleeping in a tent.

Zelos: Well, you do too.

Marta: Good point.

Lumen: Guys, guys. Let's all calm down. How about we go to the beach after we talk to Presea and get her to come with us? I'm sure she'll like the idea too.

Zelos: She didn't look like she cared about it. She didn't even noticed my alluring ch…

Sheena: Zeloooos… !

Zelos: What? Uh, why are you giving me that look? Hey. Hey! OW! Stop that She… !

Solum: That certainly brings back memories.

Lumen: Yep! No doubt they're boss' family reincarnated.


	31. The Stranger of Ozette

SURPRISE-SURPRISE!

This is my Christmas present for you all: a double update to close the third act! ;D MERRY CHRISTMAS MY READERS!

First, thanks for all that that included this fic in your Favorites and Alerts. I want to know your opinion on how I have been conducting this story so far. This isn't an easy project, as most of you have noticed. I have basically remade ToS's reality and hastened things (from the point of view of canon), like the time Lloyd and the others were born. So, please review so i can know what I must better and if I made any mistakes or inconsistencies, like the mentioned time of certain events and the like. I simply can't let myself rest if I have committed the former.

Anyway, here's a skit for you all. Merry Christmas again!

This is one is between Raine, Lloyd, Aqua and Ignis:

Half-elves 1

Raine *looking down* : Ozette… I never thought I would have to go to that place.

Lloyd: What's up Raine?

Raine: Oh! It's nothing.

Lloyd: Are you worried about going to Ozette?

Aqua: Well, they do have a reputation about being radically against half-elves.

Ignis: They have?

Aqua: What do you think we have been talking about up till now? What were you doing anyway?

Ignis: Oh. I spotted this cute little bunny. He looked so cute I asked our lord if he could…

Aqua *sweatdropping*: Forget I asked.

Raine: Not really. I'm more worried about what they could have done to Presea.

Lloyd: You worried their views about half-elves might have influenced her?

Raine: That's a possibility. If that happens… it would be better if I traveled afar from the group.

Lloyd: I don't think that would be fair and, anyway, we don't know if she is discriminating of half-elves yet. So we should just worry about it when the time comes.

Raine: Lloyd…

Lloyd *grinning*: And don't worry. If anything goes wrong. I will protect you. I don't let my friends get hurt.

Ignis: Yeah! Sir Lloyd is pretty strong. He won't let them hurt you, Lady Raine.

Raine: Most people would crucify you for defending a half-elf like that, you know?

Lloyd: If you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have anything to be ashamed of. That's my moral.

Aqua: Don't you mean "motto"?

Lloyd: Yeah, that too.

Raine: Huhuhuhuh.

Lloyd: Umm… what's so funny?

Raine: You know Lloyd, if Sheena heard this conversation, she might start thinking you're actually interested in me, which would lead her to see me as a rival.

Lloyd *blushing*: Umm… well…

Raine: And maybe she has a motive to…

Lloyd *confused*: What?

Raine: Oh, nothing.

Ignis: Do you think Sir Lloyd is going to have several girls, like our Lord did?

Aqua: Yeah, but in this case, it's going to be at the same time.

Ignis *smiling*: Oh well. I'm sure it's going to be fun.

Aqua: That is, if he manages to survive…

Lloyd obtained the title "Unintended Casanova"

* * *

**Chapter 28**

**The Stranger of Ozette**

The "chop" followed by a "crash" echoed in the empty forest as the ax started to meticulously shorten the downed tree to a log. Holding the big ax was a fourteen year old-looking girl with pink hair arranged in pigtails and lifeless, pale-blue eyes. When the log was finally ready for transport, the girl made a small groove on it with her ax for her to drag the log back to her home… with her bare hands. She was already used to that routine.

One could even say it was relaxing, being outside with the nature and working to earn your living. However, to that girl, it all became routine in another empty day of her pathetic life. For her, she could very well be attacked by a monster or even a demon and she wouldn't offer resistance or even fight for her life. But she didn't have such luck until now. She knew her mere _presence _was enough to send most monsters away from her. Even the demons seemed wary of attacking the pink haired girl. However, the same could be said about people, like her neighbors and coworkers.

She grabbed the grove made on the log and started to drag it on the forest floor. She stopped once she felt another presence, a familiar one that she hadn't sensed in a long time, sixteen years to be exact. Ever since then she had become quite good at picking up people's _presence_ (not that she prided herself for that ability).

"What do you want?" she asked, not even turning to greet Richter, who was behind her and near the log.

"I came to see how you are doing," he said in that same serious and curt tone she remembered. He hadn't changed one bit, but he at least had a motive to be like that.

"I'm fine," she said in a cold, emotionless tone, the same she had been using for as long as she could remember.

Richter didn't say anything. He didn't feel any hostility coming from the girl, but neither had he felt any warm to her voice. He guessed that was to be expected. He said:

"Listen, I know what you have been going through…"

"You were spying on me?" she asked, her tone devoid of accusation or anger.

"No. I say that from my own experiences. Anyway, you should know you are not alone. There is a group of…"

"I don't want to know," she cut him off.

She didn't want to know. She didn't need to. She just wanted to get done with her job and go back to her house, like she always did. The last time she wanted to know… she didn't even wanted to recall _that_. It took her a long time until she could keep the memory at bay.

"But you should know that…"

It was then a dull "tunk" was heard. Richter raised his eyebrows at seeing her fist making a small crater on the log. He knew that she wouldn't listen to him, at best. He sighed and decided to drop it. He then turned and was about to go when he heard:

"You look different," the girl uttered.

"How so?" Richter asked.

"I… don't know. You just do," she said.

_That's probably because you can sense it in my aura. _wouldbe Richter's answer, but he knew better than to try and force knowledge on her. She showed she clearly didn't want anything to do with it, even though it directly affected her one way or the other.

Richter almost felt sad for the situation the girl was in. Almost. In his opinion, she could very well go to another city and make her life there with no problem. People would probably think of her as a survivor from a demon attack. The demons wouldn't bother her either, her aura was just too strong for them to decide to pick up a fight with her. Just the bigger ones would think they had a chance to get at her, and even so Richter doubted they would be victorious.

But that was just his suspicions. The way she spoke and behaved clearly said she wouldn't even defend herself should she come into a fight. It was really a pity. She and her family had been the only decent people he had known in that village infested with racist imbeciles.

"Do you hate me? Presea?" Richter finally asked.

Presea lowered her head, never looking at Richter once. From her posture he could tell she was thinking. However, instead of an answer that should have been obvious to such question, she said:

"I've forgotten what is like to hate sixteen years ago…" without saying anything else, she grabbed the grove on the log and started to drag it on the forest floor again.

Richter sighed and left.

_Sixteen years ago…_ he thought, reflecting. _That was the first time I wished I were somebody else…_

Presea arrived in her house and left the log near the fence. She then walked to a grave nearby and looked at it. She wanted to say something like "I'm home" or "Hello daddy", but she didn't find it in herself to say so. Why should she, when she had no right?

"Hey, girl! Come here!" a villager armed with a short sword said.

Presea looked and saw he was part of the village's guard. She didn't even take into notice the look of disgust and contempt he casted at her, she was already used to those. After all, the "Stranger of Ozette" was rarely a figure that was welcomed in anybody's home.

"You have a job. A bunch of outsiders came and they have a half-elf with them," the man spat at that.

Normally, Presea would have rolled her eyes at that, but she no longer felt the urge to do even that. She simply nodded to the guard and followed him. She would this job and not get any appreciation or even a "thank you" like always. After all, nobody would feel the need to thank an "emotionless freak".

Presea held no illusions that the only reason she wasn't thrown out of the village yet or even sold off as a slave, like the elders said that they did with half-elves back in the Kharlan War ("That was the time this city prospered the most," they would say. "Good business and those filth scoundrels were put into their place. I miss the old days."), was because she was the only one who could detect disguised demons.

Since the city didn't host a base for the Purge Inquisitors and was out of the way of most pilgrimage routes, although it was said they were the closest to Cruxis' hidden base, the Tower of Salvation at the center of the world, Ozette was sometimes ignored by the Church. They still had an Obelisk of Mana, but didn't have any representative since the number of people living in the village didn't even reach three digits.

Because of that and the fact that some time ago the Desian Grand Cardinal Pronyma established the Sybak Ranch over the ruins of said city, the people of the city became desperate enough to ask for Presea to use her "curse" to aid them. She could recall the priest saying it was an opportunity for her to redeem herself for her sins. However, just because they were desperate, didn't mean they would be any more willingly to put up with her.

_Whatever… _Presea thought. _It's not like it changes anything…_

_-_ / - / - / - / - / -

The plan was quite simple: they would arrive in Ozette, find Presea, convince her to come with them (which shouldn't be difficult, considering what they had heard from Alicia) and leave. Simple as that. Not even the need to pass the night in the city. That _would have_ been the case, had the watchman at the entrance of the city not noticed that Raine looked "odd".

"You had to open your mouth, didn't you?" Sheena grumbled to Raine as they were now surrounded by a group of people with lances and swords, all of bad quality from what Raine could tell, but sharp enough to make them bleed.

"He said I looked like a half-elf, so I hardly saw the need to hide it," she retorted in a nonchalant tone.

"But you didn't need to confirm it! This was supposed to go nice and smooth, not raising any suspicions."

"You are the ninja here, not me. I'm just a Professor," Raine said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Hey! Quit your whining!" one of the men guarding them said.

Sheena felt the urge to respond with a "bite me" to the man, but decided not to give the brute any ideas. Instead, she said:

"You don't have a wife, or got laid lately, do you?"

"Why you…" the man wearing a conic helmet and holding a rusty sword berated, but didn't do anything.

Emil looked nervously at the guard, while Ratatosk seemed to be suppressing the urge to laugh. When asking his other self, Emil received the answer:

_"Just look at what they're holding. Are those even weapons? A toothpick would look better for wear than those. I could shatter those sorry excuses for weapons with my bare hands."_

Emil resisted the urge to point out that it was _his_ hands that Ratatosk would use and probably end up cutting as a result. Marta was giving the guards an ugly look. Lloyd was with a neutral expression on his face, but Zelos was the only one of them with his hands in the air, in a signal of surrender. Lloyd rolled his eyes at the Representative and said:

"Can you lower your arms? You're starting to make me nervous."

"Nuh-uh. I don't think so," Zelos said, looking at Lloyd. "What if one of these ugly brutes decides I look too pretty to show my face around the village? No thanks. I rather continue living."

Lloyd rolled his eyes at that. One of the men then said, approaching the lance to Zelos' stomach as he berated:

"Who are you calling 'ugly'?"

"Tch, so inelegant," Zelos said in a reproving manner. He gave his best sly smile as he said. "Have your mother never taught you that it's not polite to point sharp things at people?"

Lloyd honestly had to stifle a laugh at that. Zelos might be an obnoxious pervert most of the time, but he knew how to make light of a situation like nobody. The guard, however, seemed to not share the same opinion as he brought his lance up and made a trusting motion near Zelos' nose. Te Representative jumped back, with a frightened look on his face, saying:

"Not in the face! Not my beautiful face!"

Before anything else could be said, the guard that had gone to call in their "detector" returned. Part of the group was surprised at seeing a pink haired girl with lifeless, pale-blue eyes.

"Presea..." Colette whispered, loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. So that was the girl they were looking for.

"Be quick about it," the guard that brought her begrudgingly said.

Sheena and Raine frowned at the tone he used with the young girl, but Presea seemed to not pay any mind to it. She approached the group and looked at them one by one. Zelos tried to put in place his charming smile to try and woo her, but he found himself suddenly incapable of doing so as those lifeless eyes focused on his. He felt like she was staring into his very soul.

Presea found that group had very peculiar _presences _about them. It wasn't exactly bad, nor anything close to the demons, but rather... familiar. She then locked her gaze onto the silver haired woman. She could already tell she was a half-elf. Only half-elves had a _presence_ like that. There was also something mixed with it. She recognized it as being demonic energy.

Presea was about to tell the village guard when her eyes fell on the blonde girl. She remembered her. Hadn't they bumped into each other back in Altamira? If that was so, those people were probably traveling with her, but what were they doing all the way out here in Ozette? There was nothing interesting in this region that would attract their attention.

Maybe they were researchers. The half-elf woman certainly looked like one of those archeologists Presea saw in Altamira once. The red clad boy's pose and built looked that of a warrior. Maybe a mercenary... the man and the blonde boy she couldn't really picture, but that boy had a _presence_ so... unique to himself. Then there was the other woman. Presea's gaze wandered to the rest of her body and she felt a flicker of heat. She had almost forgotten what it felt like when she saw attractive ladies. The brunette girl also didn't look so bad herself, but why really care about it?

"Well... ?" the guard asked, already getting impatient.

Presea looked to him and back to the group. She saw the blond girl giving her a begging look, as if telling her not to tell on them. Presea didn't really sense any hostility to that group anyway, so she might as well spare them some trouble.

"They're clean," Presea said.

"Are you sure? What about her?" the man said, making a motion to Raine with his head, like that hadn't been the answer he was waiting for.

"What about her?" Presea repeated the question. She couldn't remember when was the last time she felt the need to come up with a retort.

"You… get out!" one of the guards sporting a hand ax berated at Presea for her answer.

The pink haired girl turned and walked away wordlessly. Sheena had enough of that and spoke up:

"Shouldn't you show a little more respect for the one defending your village?" Presea stopped at hearing that. What was the last time somebody had spoken in her defense? "She's just a little girl anyway."

"Shut up! What do you know?" the head of the guards said. "And be happy that the Faith states: _Senseless killing is what separates men from mindless beasts and demons_. For me, you all would be punished for bringing that 'thing' to our village."

Raine didn't seem surprised as he pointed at her. She was already expecting that kind of treatment from them. Lloyd, however, seemed angry at hearing those men talking about her like that and spoke:

"What did you say? Raine is a much better person than you!"

The man scrunched his face in an angry expression and seemed ready to start a fight with Lloyd, but Emil put himself in front of them, with a serious expression on his face as he told the two:

"We didn't come here to start a fight. We just want lodging for one night. After that, we will leave in the next morning."

"And why should we let you, half-elf loving brats, stay?" one of the guards asked.

Presea decided to leave while the travelers tried to convince the citizens of Ozette to let them stay. She didn't understand why those people seemed so adamant on staying around when they had a half-elf on their group. Surely they knew they would face resistance with the fame Ozette had. Then again, why was she even bothering with that? It wasn't like it was any of her business.

"Because we also want to make a donation to the church," Marta said, betting on the "prove of faith" card. "You certainly wouldn't deny that to followers of Cruxis, right?"

And just as Marta thought, the man seemed to consider for one moment, before letting them stay, but warned them he didn't want to see their faces in the village in the next morning. The other guards left the group alone. Raine was the first to congratulate Marta:

"Good to see that you learned it."

"Yeah, but I don't really know if it is a good thing or not," Marta said.

"It's useful and that's enough," Sheena said.

"Besides, women that bend the rules tend to be more attractive in the eyes of men," Zelos said.

"Really?" Marta asked, her tone going from worried to curious.

"Of course. Girls that know their way out of situations like this prove just how dependable they can be."

"That was surprisingly flattering, coming from you," Tenebrae said while still hidden.

"Of course. After all, I _am_ the Last Romantic."

Sheena, Raine and Marta sighed while Emil and Lloyd shook their heads at Zelos' behavior. The group then decided to book themselves rooms in the Inn. Upon arriving there, they were told that there was only one room vacant. The party suspected it was a lie, since the Innkeeper shot a disgusted look at Raine while saying that, but the half-elven woman said it was ok for them, deciding it wouldn't do to start another scene here.

The group followed the silver haired woman to the room, hearing the Innkeeper mumbling something about "disinfecting it later". Lloyd turned and was about to give the man a piece of his mind, but Zelos grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to their room. After the door closed, Zelos said:

"Well, it's no wonder why little Presea looked so gloomy. I would be too if I had to live around uncivilized barbarians like this."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Meltokio as averse to half-elves as Ozette?" Sheena inquired.

"Are you implying that I'm like them? I'm shocked and deeply hurt, Sheena," Zelos said in a dramatic tone, putting his hand on his chest.

"Yeah. After all, he wouldn't call himself the Last Romantic if he didn't appreciate half-elven women too," Ignis pointed out.

"Thank you, my exotic hunny," Zelos said with a smile. "It's good to see that somebody appreciates me," he added, casting a narrow glance at Sheena, who had a vein pulsing on her forehead.

Raine asked for them to calm down before they attracted the attention of the owners of the Inn. The reincarnated Undine then spoke:

"It's obvious we aren't welcome here and Presea seems to be in a similar predicament from the way she was treated."

"But why would they do that?" Colette asked.

"According to what Miss Alicia said, it seems that her powers manifested themselves when she was still a little child," Ventus spoke, putting his wing in its hand-mode under his beak. "And considering what she said when she was a child, it would be obvious the villagers want to avoid her. Considering this village's reputation ever since the war, I'm not surprised that wariness evolved into outright disgust."

"How was Ozette during the war?" Marta asked in curiosity.

"You probably won't believe it, but…"

"It used to be a famous slave-trading center specialized in commercializing half-elves," Raine said, her tone cold and regal.

"What?" the youngsters let out.

"You mean they sold half-elves off like they were objects?" Lloyd asked, his tone one of pure indignation.

"Although it might not look like it, that was a time when Ozette prospered the most. So, after the end of the Kharlan War, its money reserves were lost in the attacks of the demons and the Desians," Tenebrae explained. "In face of this, it's understandable they have a natural aversion to half-elves."

"I think that's just because they couldn't let go of the past. I mean, can't they see that kind of attitude was what put them in this situation in the first place?" Marta asked.

"Try to tell them that and see what answer you will get," Zelos said in his serious tone.

Marta fell silent. Emil looked like he wanted to speak something in response, but kept his mouth shut. After all, Zelos was right. Those people looked too stubborn to admit their past ways were wrong.

"All the more reason we should take our little flower Presea away from this awful place," Solum said.

"I don't think we can force her to come with us. She might fight back," Aqua spoke.

"We should first access the situation and then decide on the best course of action," Raine proposed.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Presea approached her house while the group was discussing their plans at the Inn. She wondered why she still came back to the solitary cottage she once had called her home. It was in shambles from all of the time it went without care and since Presea was always out, going to Altamira to sell her artisanal charms. She rarely had the time to clean it up. The only thing that could be called neat and tidy in the entire terrain was her father's grave, which she made a point of cleaning every week.

_It's a futile way of apologizing to him, but I guess I should at least show my respects. _Presea thought.

She was quite sure if she had never opened her mouth about the strange voices she heard as a child, none of it would have happened. But, alas, she was just a child at the time, so how would she have known that just talking about her "talent" would lead to this entire tragedy?

After she got back, it started getting worse. She could now see faint, dark silhouettes and, sometimes, almost see their features, but they were so covered by grime and filth that it was difficult for her to even point out their gender. However, one thing was common between all of these strange "people": they were not part of this world anymore, but refused to go on and clung to the nearest thing they could find and in that case it was Presea.

She didn't know if it was because of her _talents_ that these "strangers" stayed around her, but in the end it mattered not, for they were slowly driving her insane and she knew it. Sometimes, their moans and whispers wouldn't let her sleep at night. Sometimes, one would try to touch her, granted, they never achieved it, but it did leave an unpleasant sensation on her entire body, like she was covered in grime and filth herself. She once tried to convince these "strangers" to leave, but they refused, knowing that if they did, the demons would be out there, waiting to take them away to Niflheim to serve as a snack.

After her sister ran off, Presea only had these "people" for company and, although she felt as if she had lost most of her feelings during the course of the years, they still managed to disturb her. Sometimes, she thought the edge of her ax looked very tempting, almost inviting, but she always stopped before the sharp metal reached her skin. It was like something else took control of her body, refusing to let it bleed to death.

_I'm stuck on this worthless life and can't get out. This must be my punishment for all the things I've done. _Presea thought in contempt, deciding that since she wasn't allowed to leave this life behind then she would live and suffer as she was supposed to.

When she opened the door to her house, however, what she found wasn't the dark, filthy silhouettes waiting to sip away what still remained of her sanity. Instead she found something equally annoying, but not so mind-degrading.

"About time you came back," a boy, not older than fourteen, with straw-colored hair and brown eyes, said.

"Hello, Neil," Presea said in her usual emotionless tone.

That boy was brother to the village's priest and had a habit of using his brother's status to demand things from other kids. Presea had seen him grow up and not change at all, even thought she took care of him when he was a little child. Granted, it was just because the boy's parents didn't have a choice and because they took it as Presea owning to them since they didn't kick her out of the village (the Church of Cruxis was the one that effectively controlled everything in Ozette).

"So, have you already thought about it?" Neil asked with a smirk.

Presea would have glared at him if she weren't so empty on the inside. The boy had come to her the other day saying that he would make his brother tell everybody that Presea was to be forgiven if she agreed to become his pet. The pink haired girl thought it was probably because Neil didn't have any friends to play with, being too occupied intimidating the other kids and because she looked like she wouldn't care about it either way.

Normally, she would have given it a thought. After all, her life was an empty mess and she didn't see herself as being any more valuable. However, something held her back. If it was the pride that she thought to be dead long ago or a last shred of her soul that refused to give its freedom away, she didn't know. She then decided there was no reason why she should indulge the brat. Everybody would still hate her either way, they just wouldn't speak it out loud.

"No," that one word was spoken with such finality that made Neil step back in surprise. It seemed to gain even more strength with Presea's cold tone.

"What? What do you mean by 'no'?" the boy asked.

"I won't be your pet. I won't give away my freedom like this."

"Freedom? What are you talking about? Do you think you're better than anyone in the village? You? A freak that never grows and ages so slow that looks more like a half-elf?" the boy said with contempt in his voice. "What do you think? That somebody would be friends with a weirdo like you? Even your own sister abandoned you."

Presea tuned Neil off. She didn't need that brat to remind her of what her life had become, she already had her father's grave for that. When she turned, Neil saw she wasn't listening to him anymore and got angry, reached and grabbed her hand, making Presea immediately turn and look at his grip on her wrist with wide eyes.

"Don't just ignore me like that. I'm not done with you!" Neil berated, but Presea wasn't paying attention to his words anymore.

"… let go…" Presea said, her voice sounding worried and her face with a frightened expression.

"You don't give me orders, you weirdo!"

"Let me go," Presea said a little louder and trying to get out of his grip. Normally, she could since she was practically the strongest person in Ozette, but she didn't want to hurt him, but even that concern was slowly drifting it away, giving place to another feeling.

Presea hated it when people touched her. Ever since she was a child she could feel a person's mood just by touching them. It felt like a flood of feelings that traveled their bodies and flowed right into her. She could tune it out sometimes, but there were occasions, when the feelings were directed at her, that she couldn't.

Her father and her sister had been always been bearable, even when her sister slapped her that one time she wasn't bothered by it. With the other villagers however… their scorn and anger was like a poison that slowly entered into her very core. Malicious thoughts, like the ones she felt from Neil when he touched her, demanding things, were even worse. They made she feel corrupted… dirty.

"And don't think I haven't notice the way you look at the lady at the general store. Is that why you don't have any boyfriend?" Neil said with a malicious smile.

This time the pink haired girl wasn't able to not pay attention to him. It wasn't his words, but the feelings that they carried that seemed to be invading her body. She knew she was different like that, she didn't need him to remind her of another detail that, if combined with everything the villagers already thought of her… well, she would probably be better off being a demon in disguise.

Presea felt attracted to women. She had discovered that after her sister "pointed it out" and she started to take notice of her reactions near men and women considered attractive. She had never noticed that her tastes were different until she had it (literally) slapped into her face. Presea always felt more comfortable around women than men, her father excluded, or at least her body did. She even caught herself feeling warm and fuzzy around attractive women.

It didn't happen so much in Ozette, where she would be lynched if they ever caught her giving one look that they considered strange to their women, but in Altamira. In the resort city, she constantly found herself staring at some of the girls clad in bikinis, showing off their bodies around the beach. Some noticed Presea's stares and even winked at her, intensifying the resulting heat. Presea thought that reaction was more of a hormonal response than an emotional one, since she had, technically, the body of a prepubescent girl.

And now she had that thrown back at her with such malicious intent, never mind who was accusing her. Neil then gripped her arm tighter and that had been the last straw.

"I SAID LET GO!" it was the first time in years she had yelled and the effect was just amplified as she sensed that accursed power of hers surfacing.

Doors and closets banged open as objects flew out of their places in the shelves and anything made out of glass in the house practically exploded. Neil let go of Presea's arm, a look of pure terror on his face as he saw the chaos around the house, like it had been possessed. It was over as fast as it started.

The ax wielder stood holding the wrist that the boy had held, her eyes wide and with an almost wild look on them. However, the boy was without doubt the one frightened the most. He felt like something had tried to smash his body when Presea had given that yell. Neil then pointed at her, stuttering:

"Y-y-yo… you monster! I'm gonna t-tell on you!" with that, Neil bolted out of the house like he was escaping from a demon.

Presea didn't care. She didn't care of what would happen as she sunk on her knees and hugged herself. She felt water coming to her eyes and falling to the floor. She had almost forgot what it was to cry…

- / - / - / - / - / -

"You would think it's easy to find somebody in this small village," Zelos asked as they looked around the small plaza, where the Obelisk of Mana stood.

"So much for the discretion part," Sheena mumbled upon seeing people casting them wary glances.

As they continued to walk and came close to what looked like a giant root, which served as bridge to a lower part of the town, the group felt a strong surge of power, combined with the sound of shattering glass. It had been for just a second, but it was strong enough for even the members of the group with less developed, spiritual sensibility feel it.

"That energy was…" Aqua said.

"Shadow's," Tenebrae completed for her.

The group then hurried down the bridge-root and passed by a boy that was running like a bat escaping from hell, passing by them without even seeming to notice their presence. The group spared a brief glance at the boy before running the rest of the way and arriving near a small, worn-out cottage.

Instantly, Sheena and Raine felt five presences there: one twisted aura with thick darkness enveloping it and other four ones that definitely didn't belong to this world anymore. Sheena then muttered:

"It seems things are worst than we thought."

"What do you mean?" Marta asked.

"I'm sensing the presence of spirits inside that cottage."

"Spirits? You mean like…" Lloyd started, but Ventus interrupted him, shaking his hand/wing.

"No. It's normal spirits of people who are not alive anymore, but refuse to leave this world. Either that or they are fearful that the demons will drag them to Niflheim."

"As a result, they become wandering spirits, or ghosts as they are more popularly known," Raine finished explaining.

"Do they pose some kind of danger to Presea?" Emil asked in concern.

"Not really. You could say they are more of a nuisance than technically a threat, however that would be for one who knows exactly what they are and how to deal with their presence. They tend to flock around to people with some kind of spiritual sensibility and, as a consequence, harm that person's sanity with their auras full of negative emotions. It's even worse when that person doesn't understand what's going on."

"Then, we can't let them around Presea if they're hurting her," Colette said.

"Unfortunately it's not that easy to get rid of possessive spirits like that. Just the person which attracted their obsession can do, either by seeking advice or by her willpower," seeing Colette's desperate look, Raine decided to add. "However, we could push them away, but only temporarily."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sheena said, pulling out a seal card.

Inside the cottage, Presea was curled in a fetal position near a corner of the bedroom. Around her, four of the "people" only she could see were whispering things to her ear, of how much of a monster she was, how nobody cared about her and how she would always be alone, having only their company. In short, they were tormenting her like always. It was especially worse now, since she felt so vulnerable.

Why did she have to be like that? She never asked for these abilities, these powers, or whatever they were called. She just wanted to be a normal girl, live, get old and maybe marry in the future. However, she knew those were only childish dreams. The world wasn't what it used to be anymore.

Now they had demons to worry about, Cruxis' teachings to follow, less their little village lost their protection, and, to top it all, Presea would probably never get married for the simple fact that she wouldn't ever find a man to love. Not by lack of choice, but because she didn't feel attracted to them in the least. At best, she could have become a single woman, working to sustain her family. But she didn't even have a family anymore.

Her father was dead because of her. Her sister ran off because of her and Presea didn't even know if she had reached the next city or was attacked and devoured by a demon mid-way. Worse still, she knew these memories were coming back to her because of _them_, but there was nothing she could do.

It was then her destiny took a drastic turn...

"Hey there," a voice said, attracting the attention of the "strangers". "Piss off."

Next thing she knew, there was an intense, bright light. The spirits screamed and left the cottage faster than the eyes could catch. Presea looked up, not feeling their _presence_ anymore. In front of her was a voluptuous, violet haired woman who was guarding on her pocket what looked like a piece of paper.

"Tch. Typical, wandering spirits," more people started to enter as the violet haired woman looked at Presea. "Are you alright, Presea?"

She gasped. That was certainly an unusual situation. The pink haired girl got up at once, asking:

"Who are you? How do you know my…" it was then she noticed something. "You could see them?"

"Well, I for myself couldn't," a red headed man said with an easygoing smile on his face and his arms crossed behind his head. "But I'm sure Sheena here co…"

Before he could complete his line, he was elbowed in the ribs by a brunette girl with a thin frame. She looked angry as she said:

"We're trying to calm her down Zelos, not make she thinks she's some kind of freak!"

Presea would have retorted something about her already being one, but she couldn't find her voice. It was then a silver haired woman came. She was wearing an orange coat and a brown, adventurer hat. She had beautiful, exotic features too. Too exotic to have been human. And her _presence_…

"You're… a half-elf?" Presea asked.

"Yes. Does that bother you?" the woman asked in an interrogative and devious tone.

Presea knew that tone, having heard it being directed at her several times. She immediately answered:

"No, it doesn't."

"Anyway, we came here because we wanted to talk with you," a boy wearing a red jacket with a white shirt beneath it and two swords strapped on his waist said, coming up to her. "Are you alright? We saw that you had some spirit guys bothering and…" when he was about to take another step that would have left just three inches of space between them, Presea found herself saying:

"Don't get any closer!" the boy stacked at his place, looking confused. Presea then noticed her unintended outburst and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm not feeling so well."

"Why? Does it have something to do with those spirits? We already sent them away," a blonde girl said. When Presea looked at her, she recognized the face.

"You're… that girl on Altamira… and then at the entrance of the village."

Presea then remembered. These were the people she was asked to analyze to see if they were demons, the ones with the strange and different _presences_. What did these people want with her?

"We came here because we wanted to meet you," the blonde girl said, flashing a radiant, gentle smile at her. "By the way, I'm Colette."

One by one, the travelers introduced themselves to her. She could also feel other presences there, like silhouettes around them. It didn't look like _them_. Actually, these looked more like beasts than anything else, but they didn't feel as disturbing as the spirits. If anything, they seemed almost… familiar in a way.

Presea decided to leave it be by the time being and concentrated on what these people wanted with her. She asked why they were after her. The blonde boy called Emil come forth and said:

"We've been looking for you. We heard about your powers and the trouble you've been facing here due to your special abilities and we…"

"There's nothing special about me," Presea cut him off. Emil seemed surprised at the reply. "I'm… a freak… a monster… you don't want to know about me."

"That's not true," the brunette, Marta, said. "Look, we know that it might sound strange coming from a group of strangers, but we're the same as you. We're…"

"No, you're not," Presea interrupted her. "Believe in me, if you got to know me, you wouldn't want to stay around me. I'm… dirty… stained."

Raine raised her eyebrow at hearing that. That way of speaking and the signs that Presea was showing left her no doubt; the girl had already discovered about her powers and it seem to have led to some kind of trauma. There was also another thing strange on the pink haired girl…

"What do you mean by 'stained'?" Colette asked.

Presea stood silent. She shouldn't speak about that, not with these strangers, they had nothing to do with her. Sheena decided to try and get Presea to speak, so she put her hand on the girl's shoulder. Presea looked up, seeming a little surprised, but she didn't repel Sheena, nor asked her to get back.

"You can tell us. We're not going to incriminate you or anything."

Presea felt warm from her touch, her sincere feelings pouring into her. Together with them was another warm, completely different from anything she felt before. It felt like it was balancing her in some short of way, like a force that was supposed to regulate her presence.

She then felt other things, in special a feeling of understanding, like this lady knew exactly what she was talking about. Presea couldn't help, but let her cheeks gain a pink tint as she found the contact welcoming. She decided to blame it on her hormones. It was then she realized she was leaning too much close to that woman and stood back, getting out of the woman's warm presence and back into her cold world.

"I'm sorry, but… please leave. I have a job to do," that was a lie, since she had just got back from her job, but if this woman realized what she was feeling right now and how she had appreciated the contact, she would never want to look at her face again.

Sheena looked surprised. She thought she had been doing good when Presea looked like she was ready to hug her when she started leaning on her. She looked kind of cute with the way her cheeks became tinted of pink. Actually, that look she shot at her before was kind of familiar.

The ninja was about to say something else when she felt Raine's hand on her shoulder. She looked at her silver haired friend, who said:

"Let's go. She doesn't look like she will listen even if we speak."

Sheena wanted to try and insist, but the look on Raine's eyes told her that it wouldn't do them any good. She sighed and decided to follow the others out of Presea's house. Emil decided to try approach Presea and said:

"If you need anything you can talk to us at the Inn…" he stopped when he stepped too close and Presea took a step back, like she didn't want him to invade her personal space.

"I'll think about it," she said in an emotionless tone. "Now, please leave. I have work to do," Emil sighed and also left. Colette stayed at the door to wave Presea goodbye, giving her a sad smile as she left.

When the group was outside of the cottage, the Centurions appeared, their bestial faces wore what looked like worried expressions. Tenebrae was the first to speak:

"The situation doesn't look good. Her aura was in complete disarray. It was like she awakened too soon, or not completely."

"There's also another thing that worried me," Raine said. "You might not have noticed…" she looked to the youngsters. "but her aura was almost stitched to her body. Also, her eyes were so strange. It's hard to believe a fourteen years old would have that kind of look."

"Fourteen? I thought she had twenty eight?" Lumen said with a confused look on his face.

"What?" Lloyd asked.

"We Centurions can pinpoint the age of people by looking at their auras," Ventus explained. "I was also surprised when I noticed it."

"So, you're saying that Presea is twenty eight years old, but has the body of a teenage girl?" Marta asked. "How is that even possible?"

"I believe I can explain that," a new voice said, coming from the path that led to the forest.

The group turned and saw Richter coming, wearing his usual regal look. Emil and Marta were pleasantly surprised in meeting their friend once more. Richter looked at Zelos and said:

"Hello, Representative Wilder."

"Actually, I think after all I've done, ex-Representative would be better, don't you think?" Zelos said in his carefree tone, with a wave of his hand.

"You met him before?" Sheena asked.

"Well, you see, this guy came to my residence saying there was a group of people that I _should_ meet. Next thing I know, I'm leaning myself against the Obelisk of Mana, speaking with a group of people containing the most attractive females I've ever seen… and some other guys."

Marta and Emil widened their eyes and looked at Richter. They then smiled at seeing their friend had tried to help them in Meltokio after all. Richter adjusted his glasses and said for them to come with him to the forest, where they wouldn't be overheard.

The group followed the half-demon until they were at a good distance from Presea's house. Richter turned to them, crossing his arms, and started his tale:

"Eighteen years ago, I was traveling to find more knowledge about the mark on Emil's chest, the Crest of Ratatosk. In my travels, I came across a rumor about a girl in Ozette who was said to hear things, people that nobody else could see. I came here and met the girl and her father. Her aura reminded me a little of Emil, but in a different way. With some research, I found out the aura matched with that of Shadow."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Raine asked.

"I used to study things, like the use of mana... back in the war," Richter said in a heavy tone. He then resumed his story. "Anyway, when I found out, I tried to get closer to her and her father, offering my services to study her powers and find a way so she could control it. By the course of two years I gained enough of their trust to convince Presea's father to come with me to the Temple of Darkness and bring Presea along. If we did that, we would be able to better understand her talents and how they could affect her future.

"After traveling to the Fooji continent, we climbed the mountains and entered the temple. Presea was able to undo the seal, proving that she indeed had a tie with the Summon Spirits. We reached the altar and found there the fragment of Shadow's soul."

"Did Presea manage to unite with it?" Colette asked, surprised that the other half of the girl's soul would show itself when Presea was just a child.

"No. The fragment said she was too young to take up her destiny. We decided to go back, but then we found ourselves surrounded by demons."

Lloyd and the others gasped. Colette asked how that was possible and Emil explained that once the seal was undone, anybody could enter the temples, even the demons. Richter proceeded to tell them him and Sieg, Presea's father, fought the demons, but became quickly overwhelmed by their numbers.

"In an attempt to save us, Presea tried to plead with Shadow's soul half to help us with its power, but he refused again. Presea tried to insist and ended up touching the fragment. She absorbed part of it before being repelled. The power intake proved to be too much for her to handle and she ended up releasing a burst of energy of darkness.

"The demons were all killed by the blast, but it also ended up hitting me and Sieg. I managed to survive thanks to my magical resistance, but Sieg didn't have the same luck. The attack killed him, draining his body's life completely."

Colette brought her hands to her mouth, gasping while Lloyd and the others widened eyes. Raine finally understood why Presea acted that way. She probably blamed herself for the death of her father. Richter continued:

"We took Sieg's body back and Presea and her sister had a fight. I won't get into details, since... well, the things Alicia said weren't things you should tell to your own sister. Anyway, after that, Presea ordered me to leave and I did. It seems things have gotten worse after that," Richter said in a thoughtful tone as he looked back at the solitary cottage Presea called home.

"Wait? Did you just say Alicia?" Sheena asked.

Richter nodded and the group started to understand why Regal's maid had told them about Presea. Watching their expressions, Richter asked if they had met the woman.

"We met her at Altamira. She's working as Duke Bryant's personal maid," Marta said.

"Maybe she regrets leaving Presea," Emil suggested. "I mean, she did look sad when she told us about it. Maybe she wants to make peaces with her sister."

"Even so, sixteen years is a long time. And from what I saw, Presea traveled to Altamira to sell her charms. Alicia would probably have had several chances to talk with her sister," Richter pointed out.

"Maybe she doesn't know how to approach Presea. I mean, if she really ran off," Colette said. "We have to tell that to Presea. Maybe that would help her to cheer up."

The group nodded at the idea. Richter then said he would be leaving, since he wasn't necessary there. Emil called the former half-elf before he could go and said:

"Thanks for your help."

"I didn't help you, I helped Presea," Richter said, though the message behind his tone was clear to the reincarnated Ratatosk. "Anyway, I better go. I already did too much damage to that girl, so I'm the last person she will want to see."

"Wait," this time, it was Raine who held Richter off, making the red head turn to look at her. "About her aura and the fact she doesn't seem to age. Was her aura already in that state after she partially united with Shadow?" the half-demon nodded to her and Raine put her hand over her mouth in a thoughtful pose. "Then it's possible it has slowed down her biological clock."

"What do you mean, Raine?" Zelos asked.

"The most logical way for one to turn immortal would be for him or her to stop his body's internal clock. When that happens, the subject stop aging and can live longer, if not eternally. I suspect the Summon Spirit's souls have that kind of power."

"Then you mean that Presea is already immortal?" Sheena questioned.

"No. If that were the case, then she would look exactly the same she did sixteen years ago. What may have happened is that her body's internal clock was slowed down in a way it takes years for her to physically age. The proof is the fact her aura is hugging her skin like a blanket."

Raine then saw the group's confused faces and sighed again. Richter decided to spare her the job of having to explain that and spoke:

"Normally, the aura of a person flows to outward their body. However, it is possible for somebody to compress that energy and use it to shield themselves against magical attacks. The most skilled ones can even use it to enhance their skins and gain a bigger physical resistance.

"However, Presea's aura is protecting her body from time itself by using the energy of darkness to slow down her biological clock. Either way, she will eventually stop aging when she unites with Shadow."

With that, Richter bid the group farewell and left. Raine suggested for them to go back to the Inn, since Presea would probably still be reluctant to talk to them. As the party went back to Ozette, Colette was still thinking on all that was said...

- / - / - / - / - / -

Night was falling on the quiet village. As most of the lumberjacks went back to their houses after another day of work, in the solitary cottage in the shout-most entrance to the village, Presea finished eating her meal, which consisted of some meat from a deer monster she hunted in the woods.

Even hunting and eating had become a routine for her. She considered stop eating at some time, but found the urge was just too great to let herself starve to death. Once more, Presea wondered when she her survival instinct had gained a mind of its own.

_Probably when I... _Presea stopped her train of thought there, not wanting to delve into those memories yet again.

Her thoughts wandered to those strangers she met today. They seemed to be good people, but she didn't doubt they would soon leave. The people of Ozette weren't very welcoming of outsiders, that is, unless they were willingly to "prove their faith to the church". The pink haired girl didn't like the way the church controlled things in her village, but nobody seemed to care. After all, Cruxis kept the demons away and the church didn't favor the half-elves, so what was there to complain?

As she got up and went to the sink to wash the dishes, Presea heard somebody knock on her door and raised her head from the sink in curiosity, since she never received visits. Presea went to the door and opened it to see a cascade of blonde hair greeting her with a radiant smile.

"Hello," Colette said in her usual cheerful tone.

Presea was surprised to see the girl and even more that she didn't see her companions around. Had she come alone? But why?

"Um... can I enter?" Colette asked, fiddling with her hair when she noticed Presea's surprised face.

The pink haired girl recovered her usual emotionless expression and merely nodded with her head, giving space for Colette to enter. While the blonde did, Presea unconsciously eyed her. She noticed Colette was taller than her and both still had to develop any curves at all.

"Why did you come?" Presea asked Colette in her cold, emotionless tone. The blonde didn't seem intimidated as most people did when Presea spoke like that.

"I wanted to talk with you in particular. Don't worry. The others are in the Inn."

Presea wondered why this girl still insisted in speaking with her when she had made it clear she didn't want to be bothered. However, the lumberjack didn't find it in herself to tell Colette out this time. The girl's _presence_ had a strange effect on her.

"I know you said you didn't want to know, but I think you should at least hear this," Colette gave a pause to see if Presea would object or not. Fortunately, the pink haired girl merely stared at her in inquiry. "We were told about you by your sister, Alicia."

For the first time in years, Presea's eyes widened in surprise. It was also the first time she had heard the name of her little sister after so long. But why would Alicia tell them about her? Colette seemed to catch the question on the girl's eyes and said:

"She looked worried about you. I think she wants to forgive you about the fight you two..." Presea's face changed from surprise to one of horror and Colette then realized she had given too much information in too little time.

"She... told you about... ?" Presea didn't find it in herself to finish that question.

Memories were already coming back to her and she could hear _their _voices, whispering things like "murder", "father-killer" and many other insults. Colette noticed the presence of the wandering spirits and was decided to not let them harm Presea any further.

Assuming a serious look on her face, she entered in spirit form, bathing the rundown cottage in brown light as her clothes changed. The surge of power resulting in the transformation made the spirits ran away in fear of the strong aura it carried.

Presea opened her eyes and stared at Colette in awe. She... looked like an angel. And her _presence_... Presea had never felt something so beautiful in her entire life. Colette then touched her shoulder and she then felt the flood of emotions through the girl's touch. There wasn't a single ounce of malice, or deceit in Colette, like those emotions didn't have a place in her at all.

"Are you alright? I felt those wandering spirits approaching again," Colette asked in a worried and gentle tone.

So that was how _they_ were called? It seemed fitting. Presea merely nodded, still to stupefied to come up with a verbal answer. Colette then noticed the girl's stare and smiled as she said:

"That's my spirit form. You probably have one too since you're a reincarnated Summon Spirit like me," at Presea's confused face, Colette noticed she had, again, let out too much information at once.

"Summon Spirit?" Presea asked.

"It might not look like it, but I'm one. Sheena, Lloyd, Emil and the others are too and you're one too."

Colette kept her smile the entire time while explaining that. Presea didn't detect any lies coming from the girl, but... Summon Spirit? Her? There should be a mistake. There was no way somebody like her... she then remembered: if Colette knew about her fight with her sister, she probably knew the motive behind it.

She shook her head while backing away, away from Colette's warm and comforting _presence_ and touch, her look one of denial as she said:

"No. It can't be. There's no way a murderer like me..."

"Are you talking about your father? That wasn't your fault," Colette said, her expression turning serious as she tried to convince Presea. "The demons were..."

"IT WAS ME!" that was the third time she raised her voice in one day. Presea didn't know why, but she needed to tell Colette, to show her she couldn't be one of the guardians of the world. She was too stained... too dirty to be one. "I WAS THE ONE THAT TRIED TO PLEAD WITH SHADOW! I RELEASED THAT ATTACK ON DADDY AND KILLED HIM!"

Colette stopped talking when Presea had that outburst. She knew what she was feeling better than anyone. She felt the same when Maki and her friends from Iselia were killed right before her eyes. From the looks of it, Presea had kept her emotions of guilt bottled up for a long time. Too long to be healthy.

"I... I'm a monster... a monster and a murderer," Presea felt tears coming to her eyes again as she lowered her head and held it in her hand. "My own sister said so... I'm weird and now I'm dirty... dirty with his blood. I can't be a Summon Spirit. I don't even deserve to live and..." it was then Colette decided she had watched enough and decided to act. She approached Presea and before the girl could object, she hugged her.

Presea stopped speaking at feeling Colette's firm and steady grip on her, like she was trying to pass her warm to her. Presea didn't understand that at all. Why was an angel like Colette taking pity on a murder like her? It was then Colette spoke, in a voice that was laden with sadness:

"I understand... I know what you're feeling. I felt the same when my friends and loved ones were killed because of me," Presea's teary eyes widened. She didn't feel any lie in Colette's words or emotions. "You think you don't deserve to live and that you should just disappear, so everybody would be happier without you there to bring them pain, right?"

Colette then leaned her face away to look into Presea's eyes. The pink haired girl could only look at those beautiful, bright, blue eyes as the reincarnated Gnome spoke in a firm and serious tone, putting all of her emotion in her words:

"But it's not right. You can't simply stop living. There are people who would be sad if you were gone. And... dying won't solve anything. My friends taught me that and for that I'm grateful to them with all my heart. So, please, don't think that nobody will care if you're gone. If anything, I would be sad. You deserve to live, Presea. If not for you, then for those that you can protect."

Presea had never heard anybody speaking like that before and, although she had denied it herself several times, she found she couldn't contest Colette's words. And what she said that she would be sad if she was gone... Presea wanted to say that Colette was only speaking that to make her feel better, because she (apparently) was a Summon Spirit too... but she couldn't.

She could feel it even in only Colette's words. She had never before met somebody who could put their heart in their words. She actually thought somebody like that didn't exist at all, but here it was. She never thought much about angels before, but... she could say, with one hundred percent of certainty, that Colette was one of them.

She suddenly found herself leaning closer to the blonde. Colette also noticed and started to get nervous. Last time somebody had gotten this close to her, it had ended up in a kiss. Did that mean Presea wanted to kiss her? Could it mean that... ?

It was then hell broke loose as the sound of an explosion shook the cottage...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"She's taking too long," Sheena said.

They had let Colette go alone to Presea's house after she had insisted that she needed to talk to Presea. Raine tried to convince the blonde, but she had been adamant on the subject. Her determined stance and look remembered the half-elf quite a bit of Sheena. Maybe Colette did get some of the voluptuous ninja's traits.

"Sheena, calm down," Lloyd said, trying to tranquilize his amorous interest. "I'm sure she's alright. Presea didn't look like the violent type."

"Besides, she showed a better response to Colette's attempts to talk to her," Raine pointed out, while making notes in her large book. "I'm sure the two of them will be alright."

"I really hope so," Marta said. "From what we heard, their situation seems to be quite the same. I mean, do you remember how Colette looked after the attack on Iselia?"

The group could just lower their heads in thought. Indeed, Colette looked like she was ready to abandon herself then and there. Zelos, who was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed behind his head, smiled as he shrugged and said:

"I'm pretty sure our angel is doing fine. If anything, those two will probably grow quite close."

The tone the red head used in the word "close" was not lost on the group. Emil looked at Zelos and asked what he meant with that. The ex-Representative looked at the blonde and asked, with a surprised look:

"What? Do you mean you guys hadn't notice it, yet?"

Emil, Lloyd and Marta looked confused, as did some Centurions. Raine looked stoic as always, but Sheena was silently sending him hand signals for him to stop talking. It was then Zelos understood Sheena and Raine hadn't told the group about Colette's "preferences". He started to wonder if he really should break the news to them, but the prospect of a painful retribution at the hands of Sheena didn't make it that much…

It was then the entire Inn shook with an explosion...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

People ran away as the Desians invaded the city, killing any who were foolish enough to oppose them. The city guard tried to stop them, but their bad-quality and rusted weapons were no match for the Desians' crossbows, whips and blades.

The half-demons had grins on their faces as they killed anybody they encountered in their path. One man fell with a gash on the left side of his face, scowling at the invaders:

"You filthy half-elves! Cruxis will crush your damn ra..." the man was decapitated by that affront as the Desian let out a "humph" of contempt.

"These humans from Ozette are pretty gutsy."

"What did you expected?" the Desian archer besides the one that killed the man said. "But I'm pretty, damn happy we're finally destroying this hell hole of a city."

It was then the two saw people coming out of the Inn. These ones were carrying weapons and one of them scowled at seeing them. The Desians smiled, thinking they had encountered more humans to slaughter. It was then a sphere made out of light appeared above their heads. The last thing they saw and felt were several beams of light coming out the sphere and burning their auras out of existence.

After casting Ray, Raine quickly accessed the situation. From the looks of it, the Desians had finally decided to destroy Ozette. She could also guess who approved that order, considering what Human Ranch the city stood near to.

"Damn these Desians!" Lloyd cursed as he saw the corpses of the guards of the city nearby. He hadn't liked them, but they didn't deserve to die like that.

"Seems they finally decided to exterminate the city. But why only now?" Raine wondered out loud.

Before the group could argue with her, the Desians noticed their presence and surrounded them…

On the other side of the town, Colette and Presea exited the lumberjack's cottage and saw people running to the forest as smoke and fires could be seen in the city. They also heard some of the people screaming about Desians.

Colette quickly called for her chakras, taking them up. She then turned to Presea and said for her to stay hidden. The pink haired girl looked at Colette and shook her head, going to grab her ax and coming back with the great weapon in hand:

"This is my hometown. I will defend it too."

Presea wondered when she started to worry over Ozette's fate, considering nobody in the city would spend a drop of sweat to save her. She then realized, as she and Colette ran to the upper sections of the city, cutting down any Desians on their way, that what she wasn't worried specifically over Ozette…

Lloyd and the others fought against some transformed Desians. He also noticed there were some spearwomen in their rankings who transformed into what looked like demon birds with their hands turning into talons with elongated claws or long spikes sprouting out of their wrists in the place of their lances. Raine advised the group not to transform yet, since it seemed the Desians didn't recognize them as Ratatosk's group.

Marta killed three Desians attacking an unarmed woman being defended by a man with an ax. The woman and man didn't give her a second glance as they bolted away. Marta didn't stop to dwell on that and concentrated on fighting as she saw Colette coming. To her surprise, Presea was right besides the girl with an ax that should have been too big for her to carry.

"LISTEN UP, WORTHLESS HUMANS!" a loud voice echoed in the village. The fighting temporarily stopped as everybody looked up to the platform where the convenience store was located. There stood a man with slick, black hair and ashen-colored eyes wearing a uniform of a different design than the other Desians with black, metal gauntlets and greaves engraved with golden symbols covering his arms and legs. "I am General Kaliar of the Desians! By order of the great Lady Pronyma, Leader of the Five Grand Cardinals, your city shall be purged by its past crimes."

"Crimes?" a priest being cornered by the Desians with what looked like his family said. They had stayed like that since the invasion began and it seemed the Desians had orders not to kill them. "The only criminals here are you lot! How dare you attack a city protected by Cruxis? The holy judgment will…"

"Do us all a favor and spare me the sermon, father," the general mocked, making the other Desians laugh at the man, who gritted his teeth. "I don't really expect you hypocrites to remember, but in the case your memories have dulled like your brains, let me clarify for you: Ozette in the past was a loathsome slave-trading center, which specialized in selling our kin as if we were objects. We decided that some payback was in order."

With a smile, Kaliar lifted his hand and was about to order the execution of the Cruxis' priest when he noticed something flying at his direction in high speed. The half-demon dodged the projectile and looked from where it came, seeing a blonde girl with her arm stretched and serious look on her face.

"Tch. Well, well… looks like we have some stubborn ones," Kaliar murmured as the Desians closer to Colette turned to her, angry expressions on their faces:

"You! How dare you to threaten General Kaliar?"

"Kill her!"

Some Desians transformed as others advanced on Colette. The girl used her powers to make the chakras float around her arms as she stretched them and spun in her place:

"Ring Whirlwind!" the sharp, metal rings slashed at anything that was close to Colette.

Presea entered in action too, bashing and cutting down anything that got too close to Colette while the blonde used long-ranged Artes to cut lines of enemies down. Lloyd and the others opened their path through the Desian troops.

Kaliar scrunched his nose up at seeing the group of humans fighting off his troops. He flexed his feet and jumped in a vertical line to the group. Emil barely noticed the Desian General practically flying to him as he brought his sword up to block a powerful kick that was aimed at his face. The sound of metal against metal echoed in the plaza.

As soon as he put one foot in the ground, Kaliar threw a punch and, this time, Emil had no way to block and the force of the blow sent him flying back. Marta saw that and went to help Emil, her spinner a blur as she swung her arm, dodged and stepped out of the way of attacks with all the grace and agility of a ballerina.

Raine casted support spells and offensive-light magic. Sheena met the Desian General's punches and blows with her own. She had to admit that even with her physical endurance, his blows hurt. She pressed her offensive on the general, forcing him to guard. When she got him where she wanted, she threw a multitude of guardian seals, which floated around him. The ninja then used her magical energy to blow the Desian away with Demon Seal.

Kaliar recovered in midair and landed on his feet. That Arte had actually managed to harm his aura. He would have felt humiliated that he was hit by a human whore if it wasn't by the fact that when she casted that Arte her magical energy spiked and he managed to catch a glimpse of it. That woman wasn't entirely human.

_A mixed blood? Damn! Just, who the hell are these guys? _Kaliar thought, but didn't have much time to dwell on it as a chakra came flying, aiming for his neck. He leaned to the side to avoid decapitation.

Kaliar decided to stop playing with the group and get serious before this humiliation went on any further. Concentrating on gathering his magical energy on his feet, he flexed his knees again and shot forward, his body being enveloped by a spiral of wind, forming an arrow-tip in front of him.

"Drill Shot!" Kaliar passed by the group of reincarnated Summon Spirits, his body spinning in the air. Although Lloyd and the others noticed him approaching, they weren't able to defend in time as lightning-fast blows rained on their bodies as the wind spiral hit them.

That attack gave the other Desians the chance they needed to land some blows on the group, drawing blood, from Lloyd, Sheena and Presea, before they could block the attacks again. Kaliar stopped near Raine and raised his fist to strike. The half-elven woman blocked with her staff, but cracks appeared on her weapon, making Raine's eyes widen.

Kaliar smiled and approached the half-elven woman, head butting her on the forehead with enough force to make Raine back away, dizzy. He was about to be hit again when Colette stepped in and blocked the attack with her metal chakra. The Desian General grumbled and released a flurry of punches on the girl. Colette defended some, but wasn't fast enough to block all blows, receiving several bruises as she concentrated on protecting at least her face.

The reincarnated Gnome went to the ground after a well-placed kick on her chest. Kaliar then charged chaos energy on his fist and prepared to bring it down on Colette's head:

"Impact Hammer!"

The blonde saw that and used her power to make a rock wall rise between her and the Desian General. Kaliar hit the wall and it immediately exploded on several shards as Colette got up and jumped back. The Desian got confused at what had just happened, but decided to think on it later as he followed up his attack.

Presea swung her ax with great strength at another Desian that tried to attack her. Thanks to her fourteen years old body, she wasn't a very easy target to hit. That combined with the length and size of her ax, made her a very dangerous adversary. Each strike of her weapon turned the armor of the Desians into a crumpled mess and reduced their bones to fragments. Even in their demonic form, the half-demons stood little chance against her as each of her blows slashed skin and crushed limbs indiscriminately. Lloyd, Sheena and the others noticed that and stayed out of the powerful girl's way, not wanting to be accidently caught in one of her ample swings.

It was then Presea looked to Colette's direction and saw her receiving another powerful blow to her stomach that took the air out of her lungs. Colette went on her knees and Kaliar joined his hands, ready to smash her head when Marta and Emil threw themselves at him, pushing the Desian away. He recovered in time to see the two swinging their weapons his way.

Kaliar held his arms up and stopped the blows with his gauntlets, producing sparks and the weapons were deflected. He prepared to counter when a cry of "Infinite Destruction!", followed by several, hard rocks impacted with his side and pushed him away. The Desian General turned to see a girl with pink hair wielding an ax too big for her. However, what called his attention the most was the girl's unusual aura. Kaliar smiled as he spoke:

"I see, so you're that strange girl they've been talking about. That's perfect! Once I kill you and present your corpse to Lady Pronyma, they'll make me a Cardinal for sure."

Raine, who had been near and heard Kaliar's speech felt the urge to curse once more.

_Of course, how hadn't I thought of this possibility before? _Raine berated at herself. _If words of Presea had reached other cities then it wouldn't be unreasonable to think the Desians had also heard about her. They probably dismissed the stories until now, when it was confirmed that people with strange powers were actually Summon Spirits reincarnated._

Presea didn't seem to care about that in the least, as she merely took a look at Colette, noticing the several bruises on her body and her difficulty to stand up. The reincarnated Shadow pointed her ax to the Desian General, her pink bangs casting a shadow over her eyes as she said in a voice laced with piercing cold:

"You hurt Colette and attacked my home," Presea didn't think she ever used that tone before… and what was this? This unsettling irritation that burned inside her? This... urge to slice the Desian General to bits in retribution to what he did to Colette? Was it anger?

"Oh? And what are you gonna do?" the half-demon taunted as his aura started to flare up. From the stories, this girl had an acute spiritual sensibility and an aura powerful enough to ward demons off.

The Desian General entered in his demon form, turning into something that resembled a wolf with two yellow horns. His hands and paws were now covered by boots and gauntlets of a feral design with claws on their tips. Presea didn't seem impressed in the least, only facing the half-demon with her eyes overshadowed by her bangs. Kaliar crouched on the ground, giving a lupine smile as he spoke:

"Prepare to die, little wench!"

The Desian-wolf demon then shot to Presea at incredible speed, turning into a blur, however, Presea didn't move from her spot one inch. Part of the group stopped fighting at seeing the General rushing to the reincarnated Shadow, his knuckle and metal claws closing as he prepared to deliver a crushing punch.

Presea swung her ax against the half-demon, however, when the weapons collided, Presea's ax was violently repelled, its blade cracking and breaking. Colette gasped as she saw the transformed Desian hit Presea on her stomach, the girl's small body flying back and hitting the wall of house with a painful "thud". She slid down, blood starting to come out of the cuts on her belly.

The wolf-Desian smiled and plunged his claws on the ground, five lines scarred the ground in their wake, going for Presea, who didn't budge an inch from her spot.

"Presea look out!" Colette yelled to the pink haired girl.

Sheena, Emil and Raine suddenly felt a huge agitation in Presea's aura. If they didn't know better, they would have thought she was about to enter in spirit form. When the lines arrived close enough to Presea, five grey spikes shot from the ground, ready to skewer the ax wielder. However, in the blink of an eye, Presea disappeared as the spikes pierced the wall.

Kaliar freed his hand from the earth, the spikes retracting back as he looked around, trying to locate the girl. It was then he sensed a rush of magical energy on his feet. He looked down right when several dark current of winds shot out of a black hole on his feet and lifted him up, attacking and sucking the chaos energy on his aura. The attack passed as quickly as it came and he was dropped on the ground, near where the dark hole had formed. Something then started to come out of the dark hole.

The entire party and even the Desians stopped to watch the fight and saw Presea emerging from the dark hole, however, as she came out she changed. Her entire figure was covered by wisps of thick darkness as her aura got thicker, her body and silhouette grew until she reached the height and proportions of an adult. Her pigtails became undone as her hair fell down. From the contours of her body, it seemed she wasn't wearing any clothes, but it was difficult to guess with the thick darkness covering her entire body. When she opened her eyes, the pale-blue was replaced by a glowing yellow that covered the two sockets.

"Oh. So you think you're going to scare me with that?" the Desian general mocked with a canine grin. "Try again, human whore!" he then ran to Presea, claws poised to slash her apart. However, when the claw came down, his hand suddenly stopped.

Kaliar tried to force it down, but it wouldn't budge an inch. He then saw Presea holding his hand in place. He blinked and Presea's face was suddenly very close to his. Next thing Kaliar knew, a blackened hand punched his snout with tremendous strength, making he feel like its bones had broken.

The transformed Desian staggered back and looked at Presea with a look of pure anger. With a roar and nose dripping blood, the Desian General shot to Presea again and unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches. Although each of the blows hit home, making Presea look like a rag doll taking a beating, it didn't look like it was doing any real damage.

Emil and the others could just watch it. The Desians had also stopped, too stupefied by the display and transformation of the pink haired girl. Raine was especially worried at sensing something that shouldn't be showing off on Presea's aura.

It was common knowledge the element of darkness had a close tie with negative emotions and, sometimes, could even be called forth by them. Shadow was the regulator of such ties, lessening their impact on the world and darkness mana, so, in a way, he could use such feelings to empower his own magic, but one of the main precepts of magic was to never let it come into contact with your emotions, for those were the worst kind of medium, even more if the person was emotionally unstable.

And here, she could feel Presea's aura resonating with anger.

_This is not good. If she doesn't calm down, her emotions can make her powers become unstable. _the silver haired half-elf thought.

"NOW I GOT YOU, INFERIOR BEING!" the Desian claimed, aiming for Presea's head. However, when he brought his claws down, Presea shot her hand up.

It took one second for the burning pain to be felt by the Desian General as Presea's limb morphed into a blade and his hand and gauntlet were cut in the middle until the wrist. Kaliar retracted the destroyed limb, holding it as he howled in pain. Presea "dived" into the ground again, forming a "puddle" of darkness, which positioned at the feet of the Desian. Dark winds came out of the black hole once more, lifting Kaliar in the air as Presea emerged, her arms crossed, forming an "X" as she slowly turned in her place.

Kaliar dispelled the dark winds with his aura and tried to stomp the turned-adult girl. However, Presea released a dark smoke and stepped of the way, transforming her fingers into claws and slashing at the Desian's leg. Kaliar held a yell of pain back and jumped to the side, using his good leg to land.

"Wow, she's completely trashing him," Zelos cheered.

"Yes, but not in the right way," Tenebrae said in a worried tone.

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked.

"You probably can't feel it, but Presea is using her anger to empower herself."

"And how is that bad?"

"Why do you think the first thing spell casters are taught is to discipline their minds and keep concentration?" Raine inquired, starting to explain. "Feelings can empower magic, however, that is not advisable, because emotions for themselves are unstable. If you let your emotions control you, the probability of a spell backfiring increases tremendously."

"Darkness is an element highly malleable, so much it allows you to easily channel feelings through it," Ventus said. "However, due to its ties with negative emotions, it can make your own heart unstable if you use your emotions as an enhancer."

"So, you mean that Presea..." Marta started. Surprisingly, it was Lumen who completed, with a rare serious look on his cheetah face.

"If she doesn't cool down, Shadow's power will take over her heart."

Colette was about to say something when the group heard a loud "THUD". They turned and saw Kaliar had hit the floor after Presea had jumped, grabbed one of his horns and threw him over her, breaking the horn and making the transformed Desian's body impact with the floor. He still got up, but slower this time and had to go on all fours.

The Desian's face was full of bruises and he had several cuts and injuries along his body, making his fur coated with blood. Presea simply stood in her place, staring at the Desian with her glowing yellow eyes. The wolf-Desian then smirked as he plunged his hand on the ground and the five spikes dug through the ground until they reached Presea and shot out of the earth, impaling the reincarnated Shadow.

The party gasped as the other Desians smirked. However, their smiles soon turned into expression of horror when Presea started moving again, grabbing two of the spikes and breaking them with her bare hands. Kaliar roared in pain again as he retracted the other spikes on Presea. He looked at his hand with the broken claws while Presea landed, still with the claws on her body, removing them like it was nothing.

"How did she… ?" Marta asked, not being able to complete her sentence.

"Her body seems to have turned into dark matter," Raine thought aloud. "This is not good…" she added, gritting her teeth.

Colette looked from the group to Presea. She wanted to help, but there was a high chance that she would be attacked if she approached the two combatants and getting attacked certainly wouldn't help Presea to calm down.

Kaliar charged at the reincarnated Shadow again, jumping in the air, ready to slash at her with his remaining claws, but Presea thrust her hand forward, fingers extending and forming sharp tips that skewered the Desian General, making him stop in mid air. Kaliar coughed blood once more at having three vital points pierced. He was about to throw a hateful insult at Presea when five more sharp appendages from her other hand impaled him once more, piercing his throat and lungs, silencing the half-demon once and for all.

The group stared as blood started to drip and run on Presea's extended fingers. Then, to their surprise, she smiled. It was a curved and cruel smile, her mouth another yellow line of glowing light amidst her body enveloped by wispy darkness. When it seemed the reincarnated Shadow finally had enough of that, several spikes ripped from inside Kaliar's body, making blood rain on the ground. The group saw these were formed from Presea's extended fingers.

With a final motion of her hands, Presea moved her spiked fingers away, tearing the corpse of the half-demon apart, gore and limbs raining on the earth. The remains then turned into chaos energy and disappeared. The remaining Desians were shaking on their feet as Presea slowly turned to them, smile vanishing in the darkness that now composed her body as she stared at them, seeming to be analyzing their very souls. One of the Desians gulped and, in a final effort to carry out their orders, ordered the others to attack and avenge their general.

Presea lifted her arm with her palm upwards. A sphere of darkness formed above her hand as the Desians charged at her, ignoring the other reincarnated Summon Spirits and the village of Ozette. Presea then widened her eyes and dark tendrils shot from the sphere, impaling the bodies of the several Desians like they were made out of paper and lifting most bodies in the air with the force of the impact. In seconds, the entire troop was killed, like pigs in a slaughterhouse.

Colette decided that was enough when she saw Presea giving another cruel smile while the Desians were skewered by the dark tendrils. The blonde girl then shouted:

"PRESEA STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

It seemed the pink haired girl had heard her, for her eyes widened as soon as Colette stopped speaking and the dark tendrils faded immediately, letting the Desians fall to the ground in heaps. While the corpses disappeared, Presea fell forward, the darkness around her body dispelling as she was back to her normal form, sans hair style.

Colette and the others ran to her when she hit the floor. Raine immediately started to check for any wounds. Finding none, she sighed in relief. It seemed Presea's aura had also gone back to how it was thanks to Colette.

They heard the pink haired girl mumbling as she opened her eyes, slowly getting into a sitting position. Colette was immensely relieved at seeing Presea was alright. Emil was the first to ask in concern:

"Presea, are you ok?"

"Yes… I… think so…" the girl said with some hesitance. What had just happened? She remembered battling with Kaliar and killing him and then the Desians, but it all was a blur to her.

It was then the sound of an arrow cutting through the air was heard. Presea looked up and saw it coming in the direction of her face, but it was intercepted by Sheena in mid-flight. The ninja grabbed the arrow and looked from where it came to see several of Ozette's citizens back, most of them with terrified looks on their faces. She saw one of them with a bow and glared at him as she said:

"What are you doing? You could have killed her!"

"SHUT UP! That monster has to die!" one man said, stepping forward. "Just look at what she did to our village!"

"'She'? Are you that dumb or what?" Zelos said, his expression one of anger. If there was something that he simply couldn't stand was people bullying or attacking defenseless girls. "Do you have some form of amnesia? Because that would explain why you just forgot the Desians were the ones who…"

"She made them come here. I heard that Desian General guy saying he was after her," the woman that had been close to the priest when he was surrounded said. "And everybody knows she killed her father. She's nothing more than a murderer and a monster!"

Presea's eyes widened at having those words thrown at her face again, this time with the support of the entire village. She started to remember the battle… and the satisfaction she felt at killing Kaliar and the Desian like they insects. She looked at her hands with an expression of shock in her face. She could even see blood in them, although they were clean.

Marta had enough of that too and stood up, yelling at the people of Ozette:

"You don't know what really happened, so shut up! Can't you see she's suffering? If she is a monster, then why would she feel so depressed and guilty over her father…"

"Shut up you too, bitch!" one man carrying an ax yelled. Emil and Marta widened their eyes as the blonde felt Ratatosk growling. The reincarnated Lord of the Monsters had to use all of his will power to keep his old self from beating the man to a bloody pulp, although he himself was starting to consider the idea.

"You're outsiders, you have no right to speak," the Innkeeper said. "And you brought a half-elf with you! I bet she was the one that gave the signal for the Desians to come."

Many people voiced their approval of the claim. Raine remained as calm and stoic as always, like she was accustomed to the scene. Lloyd and Sheena were already tired of hearing all of that crap and when two men stepped forward, weapons bared, they also drew their weapons. Their expressions made the men stop on their tracks.

"You touch Presea or any other of my friends and I won't forgive you," Lloyd said, his expression a cold, angry one. "And if you want to toss the blame around, how about starting with yourselves? Wasn't Ozette a slave-trading center of half-elves?"

"Those creeps are unnatural. They shouldn't even be born in the first place," the priest of the Cruxis Church said. "They will soon receive the judgment of heavens for their crimes!" more people voiced their approval at the speech. "Now, you all get out of our village or else we will… !"

That had been the last straw to Ratatosk and Emil himself was also feeling quite angry at how those people blamed them and Presea. Their combined anger let Ratatosk take over and approach the priest at high speed, turning into a blur. When everybody realized what had happened, Ratatosk was holding the priest by the collar of his cloak, raising him in the air, almost choking him.

"Or else what, fucker?" Ratatosk said, his voice one of anger and his expression an intimidating one. "You wanna fight?"

"Ugh… you… brat…" the man said. "Cruxis will punish this affront of…"

"You know what? I'm sick tired of hearing you spouting your crap about Cruxis," Ratatosk then brought one hand back, still holding them man with his other and partially drew his sword. "I'm going to show you the _true_ judgment of heavens!"

"STOP!" this time, it was Presea who shouted, making everybody in the plaza look at her, including Ratatosk, who still holding the man with one hand, while his other was on the handle of his sword. "Please… no more deaths… I don't want any of this," Presea's tone was a tearful one and her eyes were wet as she looked pleadingly at Ratatosk.

The Lord of the Monsters looked from her to the priest. He then let out a huge sigh of annoyance and let the man fall to the ground without ceremony. The priest scrambled to the crowd and Neil stepped forward, speaking:

"You leave our village too, you father-killing freak! It's because of you this happened," the people nodded in approval to the boys words, some calling Presea names as cruel as the ones said by the boy.

Ratatosk was starting to consider giving the child a good spanking, however Presea finally let her tears ran and sprinted out the plaza in the direction of her house. The group could just watch as she left the scenery. Colette was about to speak something when the sound of weapons colliding was heard. She looked to Ratatosk and saw he was holding back an ax held by a lumberjack. Ratatosk shoved the weapon, but more men stepped forth.

"You don't think you can get away like this. We demand some compensation for the damage you bastards caused!" one man said.

_These guys simply can't let it go, can they? _Raine sighed and Zelos shook his head as they thought the same thing.

Ratatosk eyed them. He closed his eyes and opened them again. This time, it was Emil who spoke:

"You think you know what monsters are like?" with that, he spoke in a commanding voice. "Centurions!"

Lumen, Tenebrae and the other Centurions all appeared, startling the citizens of Ozette. The servants of Ratatosk acknowledge his command and summoned several monsters of their elements, forming a cordon around the people, keeping them away from the reincarnated Summon Spirits.

Emil turned to the group and started to instruct them:

"Sheena, Lloyd, you go and take our things at the Inn. The rest of us are going to find Presea."

Marta could just look at the blonde in wonderment. There was something about Emil acting like a leader and taking the front like this that made him look very handsome. She suppressed the urge to throw her arms around him as Lloyd and Sheena nodded and went to the building.

The group followed Emil to Presea's cottage and arrived in time to see her leaving the building in a hurry. They ran after her just to stop in surprise when a dark portal suddenly opened ahead of her. She didn't look like she would avoid it.

"Presea, wait!" Colette called, but Presea either ignored or didn't hear her as she entered the portal. The group tried to follow, but it closed before they could reach the mass of swirling darkness.

"Damn. We were too late," Zelos cursed.

"This is a problem. That portal could have taken her to anywhere in the world," Raine said.

"I seriously doubt it," Ratatosk said, taking the control again. The group looked to him as he turned to them. "There isn't enough darkness energy spread around the world to allow long-distance teleportation. At best, she might have reached the coast line."

"So, how can we find her?" Marta asked.

"I can use my monsters to track down the flow of energy and her aura signature. Tenebrae will be able to tell us where she is with no problem."

"In that case, let's leave. It's not prudent to stay around Ozette any longer," Raine suggested as the group nodded and waited for Lloyd and Sheena to come back.

While they did, Colette was becoming worried sick with the way Presea had just left. She just hoped they could reach the girl before she did anything reckless like… no. She shouldn't think like that.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Presea didn't know how she had ended up here. She just knew that she wanted to get as far away as possible from Ozette and next thing she knew, she was in the forest at the other side of the mountains that surrounded the village.

Presea sat down in a rock and hunched her head over her body, while covering her face with her hands, crying once more.

_Why do all of these things have to happen? Why me? _was all that the young girl could think of. _I didn't ask for any of this... I never wanted any of this power. I would give anything for everything to go back to the way it was. _

However, she knew it was impossible. One couldn't change the past. Her father was dead, killed by her. Her sister hated her, no matter what anybody said. The people in the village thought of her as a murderer and a monster. And even if all of this hadn't happen she wouldn't be able to live a normal life due to her liking women, which would certainly gain the aversion of the people of Ozette and probably the church either way.

At any angle she looked at, she would eventually cause problems for her daddy and her sister, the two people she loved more than anything… or used to… she didn't even know if she would be capable of feeling it ever again thanks to…

It was then it became clear to her. Shadow's soul... everything started because of it. If she hadn't tried to absorb Shadow's soul in the Temple of Darkness, none of this would have happened. If she didn't have it, she wouldn't be hearing the dead, she wouldn't be a Summon Spirit like Colette said she was and she wouldn't feel like this.

"I wish I had never had Shadow's soul inside of me," Presea said out loud, to nobody in particular.

"That can be arranged," a voice answered her. Presea looked up in alarm and turned to the side.

There, standing in the forest ground, was a boy who looked no older than herself (physically). He had silver hair arranged in spikes with two, longer strands falling over his front and aqua-blue eyes very similar to Raine's. He was using a long, pale-blue cloak with a swallowed tail and silver runes sewed on it, a black shirt and dark-blue pants with a silver belt holding it. He also had grey gloves with yellow symbols engraved at their back and maroon shoes with the back part more elongated. At his neck was some short of silver collar with more symbols engraved in it.

However, what impressed Presea the most was the fact that she couldn't feel his _presence_ at all. In fact, she hadn't even noticed he was near her until he spoke. Could it be he was hiding it from her? Also, there was a strange look on his eyes. They were cold and calculating, like he was analyzing her constantly.

The boy then spoke, his voice devoid of emotion and containing an analytical coldness that no boy his age could possibly possess:

"Greetings, Presea Combatir. My name is Genis Sage," he then gave her a devious smirk, one of who had the situation under his complete control. "So, is it true that you would be willingly to part with Shadow's soul?"

_End of Act III_

* * *

Cruel Cliffhanger Alert! I have basically gone from creating evil cliffhangers to outright cruel ones.

Now all of the main, canon cast has been revealed, however, as you all can see, their situation and positions are different from those in the games, one way or the other.

Anyway, see you all next year folks! Happy new year for you all!


	32. Interlude: The Demon's Student

Finally, we're ready to begin Act IV. And, like always, we start it with the Interlude.

But first, a little response to the reviews:

**Dr. Bob** - Thanks, I appreciate that you liked my version for Alice and Decus' first meeting, I try to keep the canon character's origins as close to the originals as possible, so people feel more at home with AU's. To be sincere, in the game why Alice saved Decus in the orphanage was never really explained. She might have liked him from the beggining or not. Well, I think it goes as that old saying: love and hate walk hand-to-hand.

Also, their story sounds like something out of Shakespeare. I mean, what with the whole "You said I despised you, but... I always loved you." *dies* "Oh Decus... don't worry... we'll meet again..." *dies*?

**Emil C **- If you really like Genis and you and other Genis' fans wanted him to have more space, I think you'll love this version of him.

Now, this interlude has the sole objective of introducing to you all the last member of the original canon heroes, Genis Sage. Or rather, General Sage. As you all could see from the last chapter, Genis wasn't raised by Raine. Quite the contrary. Here I'll give you a basic idea on his personality, thoughts, values and whatnot.

Thinking now, I never saw good fics with a Desian Genis that weren't parodies, but I always thought that if he applied ot them, he would quickly raise ranks with his expertise on magic. My basic intent is to turn Genis into one of the party's most powerful foes; an ass-kicking, master spellcaster of questionable sanity.

Genis: Yeah! ... wait. Questionable sanity?

Also, he gets to pwn Lloyd

Genis: That sounds interesting. *smiles*

But, unfortunatly, as you all must have guessed, there won't be any GenisXPresea in this fic, or anything remotely close to it.

Genis: WHAT?

After all, he was raised to hate humans and think of them as scum.

Genis: But... but... you mean I'll stay alone the entire fic?

Not necessarely. But who you might like is a closely kept secret that I won't reveal under any kind of torture.

Genis: Oh reaaaally? *grins and changes title and costume to "Demon's Student"* Soldiers! Capture this mongrel!

Oh-oh. Gotta go! Good reading! *runs off with a horde of demons following*

Genis: I think I'll like this General thing.

* * *

_Interlude: _  
_The Demon's Student_

The setting was a battlefield and the opponents were a battalion of the Martel Knights. Their weapons consisted of ballistae, catapults and even some rifles which were used before the magitechnology canons and bazookas were developed.  
_Relics of the old times._ the general who coordinated the demonic troops thought as the two sides clashed in a fierce dance of fire, steel, blood and death. _This is boring…_  
A fourteen years old-looking boy with silver hair and aqua-blue eyes was resting his head on his hand, with this one set against a rock which he was sitting near to. The boy was dressed in a royal blue cloak with white linings and black, runic symbols along its edges, black shirt, gray gloves with yellow symbols engraved at their back, platinum-colored boots with bat wings-like ornaments at the sides and a silver collar on his neck with more golden runes engraved. Anybody who looked at him, would have instantly dismissed him as a bored child, however, such description couldn't be further from the truth.  
"Rahishi. Tell them to press the attack on the left flank and the Tyrants should concentrated on throwing the humans up in the air, while the Scion Snipers shoot them," the boy called in well-pronounced demonic.  
A demon with a woman's appearance, wearing a crimson and golden armor, bearing a wicked-looking sword at her waist looked at him, not in a contenting manner like demons normally would do to the Aselians, but with military professionalism and respect, like they would do to a commanding officer.  
"As you wish, my General," the demonic woman with golden eyes, crimson hair and fanged canines replied. She then passed on the orders to the other demons who immediately complied, turning the tide of that battle.  
The Purge Inquisitors' left flank immediately collapsed under the overwhelming numbers of the demons and the operators of the artillery couldn't fire in fear of hitting their companions who were sent airborne by the powerful bashes of the Tyrant's limb-shields.  
Brown demons using gray-dull armors, helmets with glass visors and bearing two wrist mounted longbows, fired several arrows in a rapid succession skewering the airborne Martel Knights. Some of their arrows were deflected by the blessed armors, but others managed to hit the humans in the gaps of the armors, making blood rain in the battlefield, which made some of the demons of the beast species go into frenzy and attack with renewed vigor.  
"Battle is proceeding as expected, General Sage," the demon woman said with a smile of admiration.  
General Genis Sage was one of the most famous and feared members of the Desians. The Renegades and Vanguard never faced him if they could help it. The boy might have a young appearance, but the Desians and the resistance organizations knew better. Genis was what few could call a true prodigy.  
Since he was a little child, Genis had been trained by Nebilim himself and ever since he learned to speak, the half-elf was already uttering enchantments and spells. Genis was a peerless spellcaster with proficiency in all elements, save for chaos. However, there was one thing that differentiated him from the other Desians and that was the motive why he strived so hard to win every battle he faced: Genis was a normal half-elf. The transfusion ritual which normally would result in him having demonic blood was a failure, because his body and soul rejected said blood completely.  
He was mocked by that, since that would make him "weak". However, Genis proved that just because he was still a pure-blooded half-elf that didn't mean he was useless. With his great intellect and natural talent for magic, Genis asked Lord Nebilim to intensify his training and eventually became more powerful than any other Desian General.  
His acute brain was also capable of forming excellent tactics, which always resulted in victory. However, even with his shining career and perfect score, Genis was still looked down, but his own kinsmen.  
_No… by half-demons._ the young-looking General corrected himself. _They ceased to be of the same race as me._  
The demons, naturally, looked at him with scorn. But there was also another motive why he refused to take another attempt at a transfusion…  
"You carry within yourself the heirloom of the elven people," Lord Nebilim once said to him. "So, you must learn everything about your people's lore, otherwise, who will keep their memory and culture alive?" when Genis asked him why he was saying that, all Nebilim did was smile and say. "You have the potential for great things, Genis. Never doubt that. Someday, you will revive the memory of the elves."  
Genis took those words to heart and asked Nebilim to teach him every spell known to the elves. In only one year, Genis already knew every spell known to Aselia. He then started experimenting to create some of his own. The silver haired boy's enthusiasm for magic knew no bounds and his "colleagues" often said he got a freaky gleam on his eyes whenever someone mentioned a different form of magic or a new spell near him, but Genis didn't pay attention to them. Some people simply didn't realize the wondrous science that was the study of magic or the beauty of manipulation of the elemental forces.  
Since Genis couldn't properly command demonic troops due to his lack of a connection to them that would put him in a disadvantage in comparison to the other generals. Nebilim then decided that Genis would be allowed to choose aides who would relay his orders to the demonic troops. It was then that Genis met Rahishi, or Sun's Blade.  
She was a demon of high species that was sent to Aselia as a test to enter the Knight Guild, the organization that served directly under Grand Demon Lord Nerithmas and which was said to only accept the best-of-the-best between the high demons. Granted, getting her support hadn't been easy, like the other demons, she was skeptical to follow Genis, but after a series of events and a particularly violent sparring session, Genis managed to convince her that he was worthy serving.  
When they entered the battle field, Rahishi's first reaction to how Genis led things was a jaw-drop, later it became admiration and soon it turned into pride. Genis had that calculative look about him, like he was constantly thinking on how he could make things go his way.  
Since Genis had so much to prove, he didn't fight for the fun of making the humans suffer or for vengeance. He fought to win. Genis utterly crushed any resistance on his path and didn't spare his adversaries, if orders didn't dictate the contrary. However, he also felt some contempt for the humans, like the other Desians. For the way they twisted the world, oppressed his race and nearly destroyed all forms of magic when they burned the mana out of existence.  
_Plus, the bastards killed my family with their stupid war._ Genis thought. He might not fight solely for vengeance, but he thought a little retribution was in order.  
He looked at the battlefield again, where the Martel Knights were struggling against the fierce onslaught of demons. It seemed they decided to play serious, for they brought strange, spherical devices and placed it on the catapults, firing them over the demon hordes. When the devices exploded, Genis felt all of the chaos energy around burn while some demons either lost their powers or were severely weakened by the sudden shortage of their element.  
"Disruptive Bombs, huh? Well, aren't they a clever bunch of hypocrites?" Genis said with a smirk.  
"General?" Rahishi asked, looking at her superior.  
"The Church condemn the study of the demonic lore, but how do you think they are able to produce something like this if they don't have a good understanding of the workings of demonic energy?" he replied in his aide's native language.  
"Why would they condemn the study of the enemy's strength when that would allow them to fight better? That doesn't make any sense," Rahishi said, rolling her at another example of what she called "human stupidity".  
Genis smiled to his aide. That was one thing he liked in her; she saw things from a logical standpoint. Genis looked and saw the battle was now titling once more. He sighed.  
"Alright, enough of this waste of time. Rahishi…" he said, looking at her. The demonic woman nodded and Genis muttered a quick enchantment.  
A runic circle appeared under the demoness' feet and in a blink of eyes she disappeared, just to reappear at the other extremity of the battle field, near the ballistae and catapults. When the Martel Knights noticed her approach, she had already drawn her sword and ignited the blade. What came next was a show of flames, burnt wood and charred corpses. The Purge Inquisitors tried to fight back, but even their so-called blessed blades were unable to counter Rahishi's flaming sword and their armors quickly melted at the super-heated strikes of otherworldly fire.  
Without the artillery support, the Martel Knights quickly started losing ground and were effortlessly killed by the demons. Rahishi walked back to Genis, looking at the bloodbath that the once equilibrated battle had turned into. She shot a look of contempt to one of the Martel Knight's corpses and soon reached Genis.  
The young-looking half-elf clapped at her with a smile on his face. He spoke:  
"Bravo! Truly, I could see the fires from here."  
"Thank you, my General," Rahishi said, putting one hand over her left breast and bowing to him.  
"Now, pack it all up, we're done here,"  
Before Rahishi could reply, a runic circle appeared in mid-air and moved revealing another demon woman, this one with black hair and blue eyes without irises. She used what appeared to be a white garment in the same style as those of Mizuho (a kimono, if Genis wasn't mistaken) and pink hair ornament at the right side of her head.  
"Greetings, Master Genis," the demoness said, bowing to him from her waist up.  
"Reriki," Genis acknowledge her with a smile.  
Reriki was Genis' second aide, a demoness who was very proficient at the usage of seal spells, although her chaos magic was considered mid-level at best. Recruiting her had been easier for the half-elf, for she seemed to immediately have taken a liking to him, if her insinuations that he was cute and that he looked like he could satisfy her (something that Rahishi greatly disapproved of).  
She smiled to him and took something from inside her white kimono, giving it to Genis:  
"A message from Lord Nebilim."  
"Really?" Genis asked, his interest perking up. He just received assignments directly from Nebilim when it was something important.  
Generally, Genis was tasked with dealing with minor resistances or some bothersome Martel Knights by the Desian Grand Cardinals. The young-looking half-elf considered these duties quite dull, since he still had to find a decent adversary that could match his prowess. He heard the rumors about some human named Kratos Aurion giving trouble to even General Narom and had hoped he would cross paths with this Kratos, but had no such luck until now.  
_That man sounded quite competent, if what the rumors say is true._ Genis thought as he opened the message and read it.  
He saw it was his next assignment and… here his smile turned into a grin as he chuckled. His aides asked what was it and the small general answered:  
"Finally! Lord Nebilim has given me permission to go after Ratatosk's group. And from what he says here, there is also suspicion of there being a reincarnated Summon Spirit in Ozette. I'm to meet up with him to set a trap. It seems he already informed Pronyma to set up a situation that will allow us to take care of the subject."  
"Oh, is that so? Do we get to have some fun with this Summon Spirit?" Reriki asked with a smile.  
"Why would you want to? They are our enemies, remember?" Rahishi replied.  
"Oh Rahishi… you're such a close-minded person. It doesn't matter what somebody is, what matters is what he can do in a bed," Reriki said that with a bright smile on her face.  
There was a moment of silence. Rahishi then bashed Reriki's head with the blunt side of her blade. While the kimono-wearing demon was nursing a bump on her head with tears running in the sides of her face, Rahishi scolded:  
"Honestly, I should have known what kind of _fun_ you were talking about, you succubus whore,"  
"I'm a spiritual demon," Reriki complained.  
"Then you must be part succubus."  
Genis sweatdropped at watching the banter between his two aides. Apparently, the two had met each other before, if Rahishi's accusations of Reriki being an air-headed, perverted, half-succubus was anything to go by. He wondered if the spiritual demon had stolen Rahishi's mate or something.  
_That wouldn't be a surprise, considering Reriki's promiscuous behavior and the way she flirts even with me._  
The silver haired Desian never stopped to think about his looks or how the opposite sex viewed him, that is, until Reriki came under his command. Thinking about it now, the reason why she joined him was because she said she was "bored of those guys that were all just talk, but couldn't properly satisfy her." Fortunately, that had been after he had recruited Rahishi, otherwise he might have been raped by the nymphomaniac demoness (he didn't know why, but whenever she approached him, looking like she wanted to _take_ him, he found himself unable to concentrate and cast a spell to repel her).  
"Anyway, prepare everything," Genis said, regaining control of the situation, his two aides composing themselves again. "We set out immediately."  
"Yes, General Sage!" the two women said and proceeded to command the demonic troops to clean up.  
Genis turned and started to walk away of the battlefield, his eyes shining with an almost maniacal gleam as he thought:  
Ratatosk… I heard you use a unique kind of magic, one that utilizes your own spiritual energy as fuel. I can't wait to see just how strong your magic is!


	33. Voice in the Darkness

Hey there people! Time for another action-packed chapter.

Also, a little warning: this contains thoughts of suicide, extreme violence and whatnot.

Also: God, I'm hating this new format of copy in where they undo the typing. So annoying!

Well, you've been warned. Now time for the action!

* * *

_Act IV: _  
_Forgotten Truths _

**Chapter 29**  
**Voice in the Darkness**

"Are… we there yet?" Presea asked in an unsure tone, hugging herself as she looked at her surroundings.  
"A bit impatient, are we?" Genis said with a sly smirk on his lips, a smirk that gave Presea chills throughout her body.  
"I… just wanted to know," she said.  
Presea and Genis had traveled by means of a portal to the Fooji continent. What unsettled her even more was that they reappeared right at the entrance to the Temple of Darkness. Presea didn't like the place, not since her father was killed here by her hand.  
When she was a child, she had already been uneasy about the temple. But now, older and with a greater sensitivity, she could feel the thick darkness in the air. Strangely enough, this darkness wasn't as oppressing or scary like the ones in stories. They felt… balanced, like they were supposed to be this way. It was almost welcoming and…  
_Stop it! That must be Shadow's soul confusing you._ Presea berated at herself. She shook her head and continued to follow Genis, deeper into the temple.  
The talk they had before was still on her mind…

- / - / - / - / - / -

_"Extract Shadow's soul?" she asked to the half-elf who was looking at her intently._  
_"Yes. I'm sure you noticed everything you are now is all because of Shadow's soul," Genis said. "So, if it is extracted from you, you can go back to live your life as a common human."_  
_Presea looked away from him and crossed her arms, thinking. She never thought there was a way to extract Shadow's soul from her. Granted, she didn't even know what exactly had happened to her until Colette explained it. Maybe… maybe she should give it a shot._  
_"Think about it…" Genis spoke again. "If you have never touched Shadow's soul, your father would still be alive and your sister wouldn't have left," Genis' smirk was present as he spoke._  
_It was true. Everything went down to hell because of Shadow's soul, so why not simply get rid of it? Maybe, after she did it, she could go to some city and remake her life. Maybe even contact her sister and talk to her again. Presea looked to Genis in the eyes and nodded to him. The boy smiled again._  
_"In that case, come with me to the Temple of Darkness, my master is waiting there," he said as he waved his hands a runic circle appeared beneath them. "He will be able to extract the Summon Spirit inside you and give your life back to you."_

_- / - / - / - / - / -  
_

Genis had to smile at how easy it had been. The girl was so desperate she didn't even notice the fact that there should be no way he knew about what happened with Presea's father and between her and her sister. Desperation was a great ally when convincing one to do something. He almost felt sorry for the naïve and traumatized girl. Almost.  
_Either way, Master Nebilim wins._ he thought as they now neared the bottom of the temple, where the altar was located.  
Genis then stopped, and turned to Presea. His voice tone and expressions were neutral as he spoke:  
"My master is down at the altar. I can just take you to this point, from now on, you go alone."  
Presea started to get suspicious. What if this was some kind of trap? The boy was certainly strange enough, the ease with which he could change his expression and the smile he gave were all was just too suspicious, even if he was a half-elf.  
But… she had to see it through. If there was a chance for her to return to her normal life again, then she should take it. And if it _was_a trap… well, she didn't have anything left to lose. She nodded her head to Genis, strengthening her resolve and walking down the staircases left. As she went deeper, she could swore she heard the half-elf chuckle as he left, going back to the surface.

- / - / - / - / - / -

"You really sure they came here?" Sheena asked as she and the others rode in monsters, going to the Temple of Darkness.  
"Positive. Her aura was unmistakable," Tenebrae, riding besides the group in the middle of the air, said. "However, what worries me is the means she used to come here."  
"I doubt it was her. Presea didn't have any trace of usage of chaos magic in her aura," Raine said.  
After the group had left Ozette and Ratatosk asked Tenebrae to use his monsters to find a trace of the girl's aura, Tenebrae informed them, with a very worried expression, that she had just teleported herself to the Fooji continent using chaos magic.  
Sensing they didn't have any time to lose, Raine decided it was time to call in their favor with the Renegades and contacted Yuan, requesting their fastest boat to the Fooji continent. They were quite surprised when they arrived at Altamira (after an overnight ride in Ratatosk's newly recruited, beast monsters) and found a modified Elemental Cargo of the Lezareno Company ready and waiting for them.  
Alicia was there and quickly explained them how to ride the boat (while Raine was trying very hard to ignore the fact they were going to ride on the sea again. For the duration of the trip, she stayed inside the cabin, hugging a table's feet) and urged them to find her sister. Colette looked her in the eyes and said they would do everything in their power to bring Presea back.  
Several scenarios were running through Raine's mind, one more dangerous than the last. There was only one explanation to how Presea suddenly managed to appear from one continent to the other: a demon or a Desian managed captured her and was now taking her to the Temple of Darkness. The only question was "why?".  
"Do you think the Desians captured her?" Marta asked.  
"If that was the case, why didn't they execute her if they knew she was a Summon Spirit? That would make more sense," Zelos inquired.  
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Zelos' right. It doesn't make sense. Unless…" Sheena spoke  
"Unless this is a trap to lure us in too," Emil finished for her.  
"The possibility is very high," Solum spoke.  
"Either way, we can't just abandon her like this. We promised Alicia we would bring her back," Colette said. She had kept a serious expression on her face since they heard from Tenebrae where Presea had gone to.  
Zelos and Sheena looked to the blonde, both thinking that she was somewhat different from her usual self. Sheena wondered what had transpired with the two of them in Ozette, while Zelos just shook his head with a smile and closed eyes, before opening them and resuming his serious expression as they rode towards the Temple.  
Lloyd stayed quiet during most of the travel. He didn't know why, but he felt like they were about to face serious danger…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Presea looked around the dark space that was Shadow's altar. It hadn't changed in the least from the last time she had been there. However, there was a new element in the scenery, a silhouette standing near the exquisite altar.  
When Presea approached, she froze in her place. That _presence_… she never felt something so powerful in her entire life. It was like she was feeling an entire legion of _presences_ rather than that of a single being. Was this really Genis' master?  
"Hello, little one," the figure said in a melodious, smooth tone, walking forward and entering in Presea's sight.  
She saw it was a man with elven features, blood-red hair and eyes with slit-like pupils, wearing a silver set of armor which was open in a "V" line from his collar to the middle of his thorax, showing he wore nothing underneath it. His metal boots and gauntlets were clawed.  
"W… who are… y-you?" Presea asked in a wavering voice, noticing her body was starting to shake.  
She didn't like the feeling around the man, not in the least. She wasn't even touching him, but she was already feeling like his presence wanted to invade her body and crush her soul. She didn't even want to think on what would happen should he touch her.  
"Neran. Neran Illirium, at your service," the man gave her a bow in a very gentlemanly manner. "So, are you Presea Combatir, the one tormented by Shadow's soul?" he gave her a warm smile, like he wanted to soothe her, but Presea knew better than to trust it.  
"Can you really… extract it?" she used the same words as Genis, but still kept her distance from Neran.  
"Of course," he said in a reassuring tone. "That is, if that is what you truly want."  
There was something in Neran's tone that sent warning bells on Presea's head, but she decided to dismiss them. If he could really make Shadow's soul vanish from her life then she would be taking the risk. She was already tired of all of that anyway.  
Presea steeled her expression and nodded. Neran smirked and beckoned her to come closer, instructing her to stay near the altar. Presea did so and, suddenly, she felt an agitation in the darkness over the altar. Shadow's soul's half materialized at the pink haired girl's presence. It seemed about to speak when it suddenly took notice of Neran's presence.  
"YOU… ! … Dan…" the fragment was silenced when Neran snapped his fingers, a cage of fire materializing around Shadow's soul, silencing it. The fragment tried to break free, but each time it did the flames agitated to keep it in place.  
"Tsk, tsk. So unruly," Neran said walking closer to Presea, who could only look in awe as the man effortlessly dominated Shadow. "Now, shall we start?"  
The girl shook out of her stupor and nodded once more. Neran started to recite a chant as a magical circle appeared beneath Presea. Ethereal, glowing runic circles appeared in her hands, chest and forehead. After Neran finished, he spoke:  
"Now, touch Shadow's soul and the process will be reversed and you'll finally be free of this torment," Presea looked to the man and then to Shadow's soul, which was still trying to break free. "I'll dispel the cage as you reach to touch him," the magician guaranteed.  
Presea let out a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. As she raised her hand, thinking on all the years of suffering and emptiness she had to endure because of Shadow. How she earned for all of it to end, to have all of this pain and emptiness go away and finally make something meaningful with her life. Surely, it would be better if all of it had never happened.  
Neran's smirk turned into a malicious grin as he dispelled the fire cage when Presea's hand was almost touching it. The moment it vanished, Shadow let out a desperate warning:  
"Nebilim… ! …" however, it was too late, for in that moment, Presea touched the dark, gaseous-looking mass.  
Her eyes widened as her body emitted a heartbeat-like pulse and she felt as if something was being drained from her. It was painful, like a part of her was being ripped off. When she was about to say something she felt somebody touch her shoulders… Neran touch her.  
The effect was immediate. Her mind went numb and she felt like her heart had practically frozen. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move… she couldn't _think_. It was like her soul had been completely paralyzed as Presea could only widen her eyes. Then it came. It was only for a fleeting moment, but so clear that it seemed to last for hours.  
Agony… fear… despair… hatred… rage… greed… sorrow… So many emotions passed so quickly through her… and they all came from Neran, but… they didn't feel like they were _his_. Nobody that touched her before ever carried this much emotions within him. Amidst all of it, she caught a name:  
_Nebilim…_  
The last thing Presea heard as her consciousness started to fade away in darkness was Nebilim's voice as he leaned near her ear, whispering:  
"Now, sleep child… sleep your pain away, for all eternity…"

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Lloyd and the others entered the dim-lit temple. Tenebrae told them he could feel Presea's presence from the depths of the temple, at Shadow's altar. As they arrived in the main room, which gave access to Tenebrae's altar and the lower levels of the temple, the group descended the stairs.  
Unknown to them, a small figure was observing the party from the higher platforms. He just eyed the group with an analytical look as he thought:  
_So, they came. Just as predicted…_ Genis smiled at that. _These fools are in for a nice surprise._  
Raine suddenly stopped, feeling a strange and yet familiar presence. She turned and looked to the upper levels, but saw nothing. It had been for only a moment, but she could have sworn she felt an aura.  
_Was that my imagination?_  
Shaking her head, Raine followed the rest of the group to the depths of the temple. As they hurried their pace, the group suddenly stacked when they felt a powerful presence down. Even Colette and Lloyd could feel it and it made they start to tremble in their place. Sheena, Raine and Ratatosk knew that aura very well:  
"He's here," Raine said.  
"Nebilim…" Emil said as he let Ratatosk take control.  
"That's bad. Presea is down there too. Do you think… ?" Zelos started.  
"It's really a trap. He's waiting for us to come and try to save her," Raine spoke.  
"But we can't let Presea with him," Colette said. "We have to save her."  
"Colette's right. Let's go and…" Lloyd proclaimed, but was interrupted by Zelos.  
"And be slaughtered? Have you forgotten that we didn't even manage to get past his shield?"  
"So what? Should we just leave Presea like that?"  
"We're losing time. We have to go now!" Sheena spoke and the rest of the group, minus Zelos and Raine followed her hurried step towards the altar.  
Zelos sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Did they have some kind of hero complex to go rushing in a situation like this without even a plan?  
_I swear… someday this will end up killing me. Oh well…_ Zelos thought in resign.  
"This is so reckless," Raine mumbled with as sigh of her own.  
"That it is," the red head agreed with her.  
The group finally arrived at the last platform. The darkness here seemed less thick, allowing them to see better. When their eyes adjusted to the environment, they let out gasps.  
Suspended above the altar was Presea, strapped to what looked like some kind of giant cross made out of solid, flowing darkness. Raine, Sheena and Ratatosk's eyes widened at realizing the cross was actually a manifestation of Presea's own aura, which was flowing outwards in an unusual manner. The reincarnated Shadow seemed to be sleeping, her eyes closed and head hanging down, bangs of pink hair obscuring her face, but there was no movement in her chest, indicating she possibly wasn't breathing.  
Part of Presea's body seemed to have been absorbed by the dark cross as her arms, midsection, legs and neck were held by dark straps. At the foot of the cross stood a blood red haired figure using a thin, silver armor with otherworldly inscriptions carved in it. The group drew their weapons as they heard Nebilim's voice, chuckling as he slowly turned to face them:  
"Welcome my friends. I see you arrived just in time."  
"You… what have you done to Presea?" Sheena yelled at the Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops.  
"Nothing that she didn't wish for," Colette and Marta seemed mildly confused by that while the others merely scoffed at Nebilim.  
"Probably because you messed with her head," Zelos said.  
"Did I? I don't know. She seemed like she was already pretty much broken before she came to me. Isn't that right, dear angel Colette?"  
The group turned to look at Colette, who just stood in silence, before she asked:  
"You were spying on us?"  
"I don't need to. Your emotions are very easy to read. You must sympathize with her, right? After all, you two share similar experiences; she killed her father in this very temple and you ended up killing your friend and amorous interest back in Iselia," Nebilim smirked at that as he mildly narrowed his eyes in a piercing and malicious smile and expression. "Is that why she feel so connected to you, I wonder?"  
"SHUT UP, YOU MONSTER!" Marta yelled at Nebilim. "What gives you the right to talk about this? It's your fault things like these happen!"  
"Was I the one who turned Presea's life miserable?" Nebilim countered. "Was I the one who kept accusing her of murder and calling her names? Was I the one who said to Iselia's Mayor to chase Colette out?" here Nebilim's expression turned steely as he looked at Marta, who seemed like she wanted to counter, but could only grit her teeth. "Before tossing the blame around, start by looking at your own mistakes and sins."  
Lloyd widened his eyes in surprise at having something he had once said being thrown back at his friends. Ratatosk grumbled and decided to speak up:  
"You're avoiding the subject. What have you done to Presea?"  
At this, Nebilim's smile came back as he spoke:  
"As I said; nothing that she didn't wish for. Presea was feeling miserable, she wanted her hollow and meaningless existence to end, she wanted it so much she would abandon even her own soul to do so. So, I merely granted her wish. By extracting Shadow's soul, she will have the normal, quiet life she always wished."  
"That's absurd," Raine said. "Presea is Shadow. Extracting it would mean her death."  
"Indeed it does," Nebilim closed his eyes as he chuckled once more, Colette's eyes widened. "But I'm sure that letting her know that would be just as devastating as saying the only way for she to become free of this hell she has been plunged into is by death."  
"So you played with her feelings?" Lloyd accused.  
Nebilim didn't answer to that accusation. He just looked at the cross behind him, staring at Presea. His smile turned into an enigmatic one as he spoke once more, his tone one of divagation now:  
"Humans are such sad creatures… they are the only creatures that kill their kin for petty reasons and have the ability to drive themselves to extinction. In the end, they drown in their sorrow and despair, dragging others around with them," he turned to the reincarnated Summon Spirits. "Presea is no different from the many humans who had their lives ruined by others of their same species. It's so ridiculous…" Nebilim's expression turned into one of what looked like sadness. "Why do they have to torture their own kin over such idiocies? Why must they find someone to hate and put the blame for every single mishap in their lives?  
"In the end, they will be punished by their conscience, even if they don't realize it. Humans also have the incredible ability of creating their own, personal hell, several times worse than Niflheim or any other lower spiritual realm could be. Even you, my friends, know this place," Nebilim smiled a sad smile, as if he really pitied them. "You visit it several times in your live, although you never realize it.  
"It is in there that resides all of your fears, your failures, everything you learn to hate comes from it. And it was this hatred that called me back to this world. Yes… I'm here to unleash this hell you created to yourselves in this world and make you wallow into it until you desire for extinction. Aselia itself scream for retribution. The mana cries for this vengeance. And I am its harbinger," his smile turned into a malicious expression. "In the end, I'm just giving you more material to add to your personal hells. I'll raze the world that you know and let you agonize," he stretched his hand forward and closed his fist for emphasis.  
"What the heck are you babbling about?" Zelos asked. "And what do you mean with personal hell?"  
"Heh heh heh. Presea knows, even you know. The worst and last hell you will ever know is right here…" Nebilim then pointed to his forehead, tapping it with his finger.  
Zelos, Raine and Colette stepped back at that declaration, but Lloyd, Ratatosk, Marta and Sheena stood on their stances, glaring at the red headed demonic commander. They comprehended what that demon said, but they wouldn't let he make Presea suffer any longer.  
Lloyd, Sheena, Marta and Ratatosk charged at Nebilim, who stood on his place, not moving a muscle and simply smiling at them as the three latter transformed and swung their weapons against him. There was a loud "CLANG!" and the group saw their weapons stopping in mid air, pressing against Nebilim's flame shield.  
"Really, do you all need to be so rash?" he asked, as if inquiring why they used certain type of silverware, closing his eyes. When Nebilim opened them again, his pupils contracted into slits as his smile turned into a maniacal and gleeful one. "You never learn to look into the situation, DO YOU?"  
Faster than the blink of an eye, Nebilim unleashed a powerful, flame-charged kick on the group, piling them all, side-by-side and holding them in his stretched leg as he made a 360° turn and threw the reincarnated Summon Spirits on the ground. The battle finally started as Raine and Zelos charged spells and Colette threw her chakras, which multiplied in mid air. All bounced against Nebilim's barrier, who turned to Colette and before she could blink, the Demonic Commander was already upon her.  
Nebilim brought his arm down and Colette put her chakra up to defend. The fist then let out a jet of roaring flames between Nebilim's closed fingers, but it slid around the reincarnated Gnome, not reaching her body thanks to the protection of her chakras. Colette felt her weapon heating fast. It was then several, big, ice shards hit the red head on his side, pushing him away from the blonde. Lloyd and the others recovered and attacked Nebilim all at once.  
However, the demonic commander easily countered them all, batting away their blows or letting them hit his flame shield. The fact the four also didn't have much of a synchrony in their attacks also helped Nebilim, who found openings to counter-attack using ridiculously strong blows, which produced sound waves in the air each time they connected. If it weren't for their Summon Spirit defenses, the group knew they would already have half of their bodies' bones shattered to pieces.  
Raine casted Ray, just for Nebilim to dodge every light beam, and Zelos tried using Ice Tornado, but their elven-looking adversary simple teleported out of it and fired flame beams on the group. Nebilim then materialized his two flame-swords and attacked the melee combatants. His blows were fast, precise and left a trail of scorching heat at every swing.  
Colette tried controlling the earth to trap Nebilim, but he quickly jumped or simply sent a sphere of compressed, magical fire against any stalagmite that appeared where he would land, making it explode in several shards. Raine tried using Brilliant Shackles, but just as the ethereal, light seals were to close around Nebilim, they were stopped by his flame shield. The red head smiled as he waved his hand.  
"Insanity Reverse!" the seals were repelled, disappearing in mid air and reappearing right over Raine. However, even their color and element had changed from light to darkness as they closed on Raine and exploded.  
"He can reflect magic?" Sheena exclaimed. That few seconds of distraction was enough for Nebilim to appear right over her and grab her head once more, releasing a jet of roaring flames over her body. "Oh no, YOU DON'T!"  
Concentrating her aura, Sheena produced a strong pulse with it, pushing Nebilim away. Ratatosk came in, using Destroyer's Song near the feet of their powerful opponent, the resulting pillar of spiritual energy consumed Nebilim. However, he easily shot his hand out of it in a spear thrust, nearly hitting Ratatosk's eyes, who leaned to the side, but still got his face grazed by the claw-like tips.  
Nebilim then summoned his fire blade on his still stretched hand and swung it at Ratatosk, who blocked with his sword. Lloyd then used Blazing Fang as his blonde friend jumped away before the attack hit Nebilim's flame shield. The red head merely smiled as the flames spread around, trying to engulf his bubble-like shield.  
"Really? Using fire on me?" he snorted.  
"That was only the first!" Marta called from up. Nebilim looked at her as the girl quickly concentrated her power. "Typhoon Saw!" a wind tunnel involved him and several wind disks impacted with his barrier, which started agitate violently at being attack so much in such short intervals of time.  
When the attacks passed, Nebilim noticed a concentration of magical energy beneath his feet. He looked below and was instantly encased in an iceberg. The ice formation then exploded around him, once more agitating his flame shield. It was then Nebilim felt a growing concentration of Ratatosk's energy and looked in time to see the Lord of the Monsters unleash his Ain Soph Aur.  
Nebilim was about to block the attack when he felt someone approaching him from behind and attacking his back, leaving ice formations on his wake:  
"Frigid Star!" Zelos cut Nebilim's back five times, forming a star pattern and ending with a wind infused thrust, which pushed against the flame shield and distracted Nebilim long enough for Ratatosk's attack to collide and Zelos to jump back.  
The flame shield agitated with more violently and finally broke as if it were made of glass. Nebilim's eyes widened as he was consumed by the multicolored mass which exploded around him. As their adversary was consumed by the multicolored flames, Zelos charged another spell, looking at Ratatosk, who understood his intend and touched his shoulder. The two then casted an Absolute spell which froze the flames of Ratatosk's attack solid.  
The group sighed in relief, seeing the ice didn't immediately break. Colette took the opportunity and rushed to the base of the dark cross that was still holding Presea in place. She looked up to the pink haired girl and called:  
"Presea, we came for you!" there was no response from the reincarnated Shadow. "Presea, we're here. We've come to help you. Please, talk to me."  
"It's useless..." Nebilim's booming voice sounded in the chamber, making the group gasp and look at the ice formation, which started to crack until it exploded, releasing fire and mist. A gust of heated wind forced them to protect their eyes. "The girl has lost herself in pain and sorrow, her soul drowning into it," footsteps sounded as the group could see Nebilim's smiling silhouette emerging from the mist. "She is now completely overrun by the darkness she should command. Your voice won't reach her soul."  
The group stood in battle positions again. Colette stood protectively in front of Presea's bound form. Nebilim simply smirked at all of them as he said:  
"I must congratulate you all. You became strong enough to break my flame shield," he closed his eyes. "However..." in the blink of an eye, Nebilim was gone from his spot and in the next second, appeared near Lloyd, who widened his eyes at not even sensing him approaching. "You are still way out of your league!" with his eyes wide and pupils narrowed into slits, Nebilim kneed Lloyd's stomach with incredible strength, more than before.  
As Lloyd lost all air and bent his body in a mute gasp of pain. He was unable to defend himself from the next attacks. Nebilim attacked Lloyd with a sequence of combos utilizing several fire weapons that pushed Lloyd's Summon Spirit's defenses to their very limits.  
_He's… too... fast…_ was the only thing Lloyd could think of between the rain of blows, not being able to put up his defenses or to counter the fast and vicious strikes of the red head. The only thing that saved him from reverting back to his human form and being slaughtered was his resistance to fire.  
He sensed Sheena flying to his direction, ready to attack. Nebilim teleported again and, to Sheena's surprise, appeared directly in front of her, his fist closed. She didn't have time to avoid the ridiculously, strong punch that connected with her face, stopping her on her place and producing another sound wave in the air. Nebilim's closed fist quickly opened and closed its grip on Sheena's face, bringing it down on the floor with gargantuan strength, making a crater around her.  
Nebilim then produced a jet of roaring flames from the hand that was still holding Sheena on the ground. She could feel her defenses being eaten away very fast.  
_It's even stronger than before._ Sheena noticed.  
"Leave them alone!" Marta shouted as she launched several wind disks against their fearsome adversary.  
Nebilim only gave a side glance at the disks that were closing in before he ceased his attack and teleported several more times, looking like there were copies of the demonic commander manifesting themselves. When Marta noticed it, Nebilim was standing still again, his almost maniacal smile in his face. He brought his hands up and in each of them where Marta's wind disks, trying to cut through Nebilim's gauntlets, but only being able to produce sparks.  
The disks were then consumed by flames, turning into scarlet saws that Nebilim threw back at Marta, who gritted her teeth and flew to avoid the deflected attack. However, she noticed too late Nebilim disappearing again and reappearing behind her.  
"Really… don't you all ever learn?" he said before applying a violent chop on Marta's side, making her body bent as she gasped in mute pain.  
Nebilim then stretched his free arm forward and produced another jet of flames, but this one rocketed him backwards, his back against Marta, pushing her along in high speed. They only stopped when Marta's front painfully collided with a pillar, dust flying from it.  
The Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops jumped off Marta's body as she fell to the ground. He was met by several ice projectiles in mid air, which he broke with his gauntlets, and even a giant sphere of light, ready to shoot light beams at him. Nebilim crossed his arms in an X pattern and reunited chaos energy:  
"Soul Reaper!" the claws of his gauntlets glowed an orange light as they seemed to grown in length. Nebilim cut through the light sphere with his claws like it were made out of paper and cut through several other dark blades that flew to meet him in the air.  
Zelos and Raine were surprised that their adversary could actually dispel their attacks like that, so much that when Zelos noticed, Nebilim had already landed near him and tried to impale his face in a spear thrust of his clawed gauntlet. Zelos put his shield up and deflected the blow, however, he didn't notice in time Nebilim opening his still stretched hand. The reincarnated Celsius was hit by the jet of roaring flames. Zelos screamed in pain and trying to put up a barrier as he was pushed back by the strength of the fire. Fortunately, his shield and barrier managed to block off most of the fire, before Zelos had to discard it due to the scalding metal, but it didn't spared the reincarnated Celsius from getting horrible burns on his side, making him go to his knees.  
Raine immediately casted Cure over her companion, his skin regenerating at a fast rate, leaving no scars behind. However, Nebilim took advantage of that and teleported near Raine. The half-elf tried to bat him away with her new staff, however Nebilim effortlessly caught it with his hand. The Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops closed his hand on the weapon, breaking it. Raine was about to jump back, when Nebilim's hand shot forward and grabbed her throat, cutting off her air ways.  
The silver haired woman closed her eyes, waiting for the red head to break her neck just like he did with her weapon, but was surprised when a stone column rose from the floor and hit Nebilim from the side, making his grip on her neck go. The column continued to rise until it eventually crushed Nebilim against one of the pillars on the room.  
Lloyd and Sheena flew to the point where Nebilim had collided against the pillar, their weapons drawn, just to be surprised when their adversary appeared in front of them and reared his arms back. They managed to block off the double punch sent their way, however the strength had been enough to push their weapons back. Again, the red haired wraith quickly opened his hand and grabbed the face of his opponents, thrusting them down and diving as his palms let out fierce, otherworldly flames. The three seemed to convert into some short of scarlet comet. When they hit the ground, the impact created a strong explosion.  
Nebilim landed a few feet away from the explosion, behind him was another crater with Lloyd's and Sheena's unmoving bodies in its center, the two back to their human forms. Colette started to get desperate as she saw Zelos, Marta and Ratatosk lunging at Nebilim, just to have their attacks deflected and magic dispelled.  
She then turned to Presea, who was still unconscious and unresponsive. She tried against to wake up the girl:  
"Presea! Please, wake up! We need your help!"  
"Towering Fear!" came Nebilim's cry as three pillars of flames rose around him, sending Marta, Ratatosk and Zelos in the air. "Rejection Core!" he thrust his hand forward as the three fell to his level, producing a giant fire ball, which burned the group before it exploded, pushing them all away. Marta's spirit form was dispelled and the force of the explosion seemed to have knocked Zelos out.  
Raine casted Healing Circle over the group, but without a weapon to serve as a focus, the effect of the healing Arte had been greatly reduced. Colette turned to Presea again and ran to the base of the dark cross. She grabbed the hem of the pink haired girl's black dress while pleading for her to wake up:  
"PRESEA!" Colette called, but seemed to have just as much success as in her previous attempts. She felt somebody grab her shoulders from behind and a voice sounded near her ear.  
"Didn't I tell you she won't respond?" Nebilim's smooth and dangerous tone sounded. "The girl gave herself up to her despair and sorrow. She's nothing more than an empty shell now," he then dragged Colette back and threw her to the middle of the room. Raine rushed to the side of the blonde girl, glaring at Nebilim all the way. "You would do better to simply sit down and wait for your end."  
"Not… in… your… lifetime…" Ratatosk's ragged voice sounded. The three looked to the side and saw the Lord of Monsters struggling to get up, supporting himself on his sword.  
"Is that so?" Nebilim asked with a grin on his face. "Well then, you leave me no choice…"  
With that, the Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops swept his arm in the air, leaving an arc of flames on its path. With the same hand, he grasped the middle of the newly formed, large, flame bow as he brought his other hand forward, closed and brought it back, forming a giant, fire arrow. The elven-looking wraith then took aim on Ratatosk. Colette and Raine could see what was about to happen and, ignoring the eminent danger, Colette got up and ran to shield Ratatosk.  
"Solar Pierce," Nebilim then let go of the arrow and it turned into a beam as soon as it flew out of the bow.  
Ratatosk could only look at the beam coming to him, but his vision was blocked when something yellow came on the path of the beam, calling out her defensive Arte:  
"Terra's Shield!" a bubble-like, brown sphere with Gnome's symbol on the front appeared around Colette as she crossed her chakras. However, it proved to be too weak against Nebilim's attack.  
The shield shattered the moment the beam hit it and the chakras melted as the beam passed by them, hitting the center of Colette's chest. At first, she was only forced back a little by the impact, however her eyes widened when energy quickly concentrated on the point and it released a powerful explosion, launching the girl back. The explosion made Colette revert back to her human form and, unfortunately, her defenses weren't able to absorb all of the damage, having already absorbed, unknowingly to Colette, the penetrating effects of the beam before.  
The group watched as part of Colette's skin was tore open by the explosion, blood flying as she was flew in arc as if in slow motion. She then hit the floor and skidded to a halt, her eyes open and unfocused, her expression frozen in surprise. She didn't even have the time to scream. Nobody spoke as they looked at the blonde.  
Raine then snapped out of her stupor and called for Colette, running to her and looking over the damage. Without Raine noticing, tears started to come to her eyes as she saw Colette's state; the girl's head was turned to the side, blood was quickly pooling around her, her breath was uneven and deep and the wound… Raine was immensely relieved Colette was still alive.  
The silver haired woman quickly went to work on healing her friend, however she knew there was little she could do to a wound like that without the a weapon to use as a focus. The most she could do was to repair the damaged muscles and stop the bleeding. She and Ratatosk then heard Nebilim sighing as he said, his voice sounding strangely sad:  
"She's going to hate me for this, but…" he then walked to Colette, but Ratatosk quickly put himself on his feet, ignoring all pain in favor of standing between Nebilim and his friends. Putting up his best hateful expression, the fierce Summon Spirit lashed out:  
"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM, YOU DEMON!"  
Nebilim stopped on his place at seeing Ratatosk still had the strength to stand. He then chuckled, but unlike before, it was a sad one, like he was remembering a particularly bad joke. Ratatosk raised his eyebrow at his enemy's behavior as Nebilim spoke:  
"Demon? Yeah… I think that's just fair…" his tone was strangely hollow, bearing none of its usual smoothness and eagerness in battle. "Still…" he then looked at Ratatosk, his eyes now with a piercing and serious gleam. "We all have roles to play… and this is mine."  
With that he produced his two fire blades and continued to walk to Ratatosk, who knew he stood no chance in the state he was.  
_Marta, Colette, everybody… I'm sorry. If only I…_

_- / - / - / - / - / - / -  
_

Everything was dark…  
She couldn't feel, couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't think…  
She felt like she was floating, but didn't know if her eyes were open or not. All around her was only darkness as memories replayed on her head:  
Her father falling, dead before even hitting the ground, his life sucked by a stray, dark burst she released…  
Her sister slapping her and calling her a monster and a freak…  
Her banishment from Ozette…  
Years spend in solitude, feeling empty…  
Being tormented by wandering spirits…  
It was like a bad movie put on "Repeat" that she couldn't stop watching. It played again and again, until the only conscious thought she could think of was:  
It would've been better… if I was never born…  
Presea now wished she could just stop all of it. She wished she could just disappear… cease existing. Be swallowed by the darkness that surrounded her once and for all. Oblivion would surely be better than this life.  
_… ea…_  
She heard something…  
_… Presea…_  
Was somebody calling her? But why?  
_It's useless… another voice spoke._  
Presea then felt other images coming to her mind:  
A lone child crying over the dead corpses of her parents. A devastated village on the background…  
Soldiers rushing to the battlefield, half of them were falling at the first barrage of bullets. Fighting in a war they had nothing to gain from…  
A person, a half-elf by the looks of it, his body twisting and mutating into a hideous, green creature…  
Death… destruction… corruption… sadness… hatred…  
_Is life even worth living?_ Presea thought as she saw all of these scenes, the tragedies caused by her own kind.  
_… Please… Presea…_  
There came the voice again. Presea thought she saw something amidst the darkness. It also had sounded familiar? Was it somebody she knew? She felt like her own sense of identity was slowly disappearing…  
"Presea, wake up!"  
It was then she finally opened her eyes.  
Around her was darkness, but she could now see her body. Ahead of her was what looked like some kind of water mirror, swirling and slowly becoming clear, like a fogged window.  
_The world… cries… always…_  
A new voice sounded, this one very different from any Presea had heard. She looked to her side and, to her surprised, she saw what looked like a mass of dark-purple darkness with two red eyes and a silver, belt-looking ornament around what should have been its waist, it was hard to tell.  
The creature turned its red eyes to her and the pink haired girl immediately knew who it was…  
"Shadow…" Presea didn't know if she had spoken that or voiced it in her mind, but creature seemed to understand her nonetheless, as it nodded its head to her.  
The mass of darkness then turned to the window and Presea also looked, a little curious. She saw images on it:  
A boy crying over the corpse of a green haired woman, swearing revenge on her death…  
A monster (however, Presea somehow knew that wasn't its true form) towering over a man holding a sword, behind him a passed-out child and a creature that looked like a big, white and green dog. The man charged forward and attacked with tears on his eyes…  
A little girl with black-violet hair was crying over the corpse of an old man with signs of burnt. Lightning fell around her, striking and instantly killing anybody that dared to approach…  
A village burning…  
A giant, gruesome tree made out of roots destroying a port city…  
The boy from before, claiming that if the world rejected him he would destroy it and build a new one before multicolored, ethereal wings sprouted from his back…  
A rebellion. Masked people killing anybody in sight…  
More death… violence… deceit… anger…  
_The world… no matter… time… space… reality… always suffer…_ Shadow spoke. _This… nature… of existence…_  
Presea looked at the window again. Indeed, suffering was a constant in the world. There would always be disasters and catastrophes. So why even fight? It would always end up in pain and suffering all over again. No one could fight against the inevitable. One life wasn't enough to assure the safety of the world.  
_… we need your help…_  
There came that voice again and, strangely enough, Presea thought she knew who was talking. It was then she realized, with a jolt, that she indeed knew the person.  
"Colette!" Presea turned from the mirror and looked around. She could hear sounds of battle. Was Colette in danger?  
_No use…_ Shadow spoke. _The world… life itself… won't change… pain and sadness… again…_  
Presea then turned to her old self. She knew it was right. No matter what she or anybody else did one thing was certain; sadness and pain would always exist in everybody's lives. The world wasn't a utopia. There was no way to make it eternally peaceful and make everybody happy.  
_"COLETTE!"_  
Presea's eyes widened as she turned again to where she thought she had heard the voice. It was another one that she knew. Was Colette in danger? In that case, she had to help her.  
_Still going… ? …_ Shadow asked as Presea turned and made mention of start running before she stopped.  
There was silence between them as the girl lowered her head. The images from before replayed in her mind, but this time she disregarded them all.  
"It's true… the world will always witness sadness and pain. Our lives are made of that," Presea spoke, more to herself than to Shadow. "But…" she slowly turned to face her past self. "I don't care about any of that. There are… things I want to do… people, I still have to talk to.  
"Colette… she tried to help me, said I should live, if only for those that I can protect. I… I don't know what she exactly meant by that, but I want to ask… talk to her again."  
_You… end up… hurt… sadness… suffering…_ Shadow replied in that hissing and deep voice of his.  
Presea thought on that. True, there was no guarantee she wouldn't suffer and be abandoned again, but even so…  
_"STAY AWAY… !"_  
She looked up at hearing that. She was losing time thinking on these things. Finally, the pink haired girl spoke:  
"I don't care if I'm hurt. I am already dead inside, but… if my life can have an actual meaning, if I can make something good out of my existence, then I don't care how much pain I'll have to endure. Besides… I don't want for Colette to die. At least that much I'm certain of… she deserves to live and be happy."  
_You… not enough… power…_ Shadow spoke. _Will you… take power… darkness? …_  
Presea looked at him and then felt the sadness and desperation from before invading her. She knew that if Colette was out there, it was possible she had met Nebilim and was fighting him and Presea wouldn't be able to help her the way she was now. No, she needed power if she would want to defend Colette from Nebilim… power like that of a Summon Spirit's.  
But could she actually take up the power that she tried so much to reject? She had thought she could finally get rid of Shadow's soul and have her life back…  
_Am I… willingly to trade that for Colette's life?_ Presea asked herself. Resolve washed away the uneasiness and the despair she felt before. She already knew the answer. _No. My life isn't worth hers. Colette deserves to live more than me. She has friends and she has a future. She faced the same things as me and she still has the strength to fight, to live._  
"I know you might hate me for wanting to get rid of you…" Presea started speaking to Shadow. "But… please… I'll accept any punishment, anything you want, so I beg of you…" Presea never thought she would be in a position like this, asking for the power she tried to shun her entire life. But for Colette … "Let me have your power, just this once. So I can save Colette!"  
Presea felt tears coming to her eyes as she plead with Shadow. The Summon Spirit stood silent on his place until he finally nodded with his head.  
_Your resolve… strong enough… conquer darkness… remember… this determination… the bond with… Keeper of Terra's Oath…_ Shadow then extended his hand to Presea. _You're ready…_  
Suddenly she remembered of the day she first met the other half of Shadow's soul. That day, he said she wasn't ready to take up her destiny, but now… Presea only nodded. No use thinking on that. Her mind was set. Protecting Colette was the priority for her and for that she would even merge herself with Shadow if it was necessary.  
Presea then reached and grasped Shadow's stubby hand. Dark winds started to blow around them, but the two stood unaffected. Liquid darkness started to crawl up Presea's feet, but even so she stood in her position, fearless. It actually felt… good. Like a warm water running up her body. Presea closed her eyes.  
Then Shadow's voice sounded for the last time:  
_Reborn… Warrior of the Deep Abyss…_  
Finally, Presea opened her eyes…

* * *

Well... that's done for now.

Oh, and before I forget, here's a skit for you, starring...

Genis and his aides Rahishi and Reriki! Let's see what these guys are doing while our gang of heroes is fighting for their lives:

The General's Aides  
Genis: Wonder how long it's going to take…  
Rahishi: What is it, my General?  
Genis: Lord Nebilim. He said he wanted to evaluate in which level things are. I wonder if maybe I should have stayed with him.  
Reriki: Oh, anxious for some action, Master Genis?  
Genis: Not really. I just want to see how strong they are, so I can form the best strategy to deal with them. I don't want to get caught off guard if they are more experienced than I anticipated.  
Reriki: Heheh. Yeah. I get it.  
Rahishi: Urgh. You're so immature. Anyway, there's nothing we can do, but wait for Lord Nebilim. Otherwise, we will be breaching orders.  
Genis: Yeah, but… I really wanted to see Ratatosk's magic. That's not fair!  
Reriki: Oh. Here, here, Master Genis, let me give you a hug.  
Genis: Huh… thanks, but I don't… mmmfh, uuumf!  
Rahishi: RERIKI!  
Reriki *smiles*: See? A hug always makes anybody feel better.  
Rahishi: Not when you're suffocating him with these overgrown pillows you call breasts! Let him go!  
Reriki: Awwww, you're no fun!  
Rahishi: Honestly, I don't even want to think what would happen to General Sage if I wasn't around to stop this shameful behavior of yours.  
Reriki: For your information, I would take very good care of Master Genis. I would always make sure his bed is warm at night, that he sleeps in comfort and have a nice and tasty breakfast each morning.  
Rahishi: Let me guess, with you as the food?  
Reriki: Of course. What else?  
Genis: Um… excuse me. I have to…  
Rahishi: Oh, General Sage you're bleeding by your nose. Here, let me tend to it.  
Reriki: No fair! I wanted to tend to him.  
Rahishi: And you certainly would stop the bleeding by smothering him on another one of your "hugs".  
Reriki: Wrong! I would lick it clean.  
Rahishi: AH! My General! Damn it Reriki, you made him faint!  
Genis *thinking*: Sometimes, it's really inconvenient having this body... or keeping composure around these two.

Review and Reriki will give you a hug! (C'mon, you know you want it)


	34. The Warrior of the Deep Abyss

Ok, first many people complained about the format of the story last chapter. Problem was: the copy-paste seems to be bugged (at least for me), because it completely undo all the formatting I did, forcing me to re-bold and re-italic the entire chapter. I'm now forced to upload the chapters directly into the site.

Anyway, enough of my ranting, time for some Presea-kicking-Nebilim's-ass, action packed chapter, though it will be explained why it happened this way.

* * *

**Chapter 30**

**The Warrior of the Deep Abyss**

Nebilim was approaching the injured figure of Ratatosk when he suddenly felt a powerful agitation of darkness energy and mana behind him. He turned and, to his surprise, saw the dark cross shrinking itself around Presea, who was enveloped in a cocoon of darkness.

Two red eyes shone in the midst of the darkness as the cocoon soon compressed around the girl, who once more turned into a grown up dark silhouette. With a heartbeat-like pulse from her aura, the darkness that covered Presea's body started to recede even more.

Raine, Ratatosk and Nebilim watched in astonishment as the darkness that covered Presea now showed the pale skin of her arms and face. The darkness in her body turned into a formfitting, dark jumpsuit, without any features. Ratatosk idly noticed that her body now easily rivaled Sheena's; with an hourglass figure, ample bust and long legs. If not for the seriousness of the situation, he would have noticed his other half blushing at the sight.

Two steel boots formed from the darkness on her feet and her now long, pink hair was flowing freely behind, with only a small string tying it on the level of her shoulders, only for her hair to open in a fan again. Her grey, fingerless gloves were replaced by violet ones that reached just until her wrist and covered her fingers with Shadow's crest, the Eye of the Abyss, engraved on their back. The Summon Spirit's symbol appeared on her collarbone, as if it was being drawn through the formfitting, black fabric that covered Presea's body up till her neck. However, Raine was sure she didn't notice any symbol on Presea's collarbone when she had been wearing that black dress which was open on her collar.

The darkness around the pink haired woman's waist agitated and stretched forming a silver belt with a buckle of the same form as Shadow's waist ornament, the red eye in the center opening. A gray skirt sprouted from below the belt, stopping just above the knees. Finally, from her hands came threads of darkness which took the form of two hand axes with purple, serrated blades and a thin extension that stretched to the back of the weapon in the form of a crescent moon and dark handles with two lines of red runes on opposite sides.

Finally, Presea opened her pale blue eyes and four tattoos appeared; two around them and two on her cheeks, resembling war paintings.

Nebilim seemed surprised at this development to say the least. If Presea had freed herself and taken this form it could only mean the girl had somehow overcome her darkness. Plus, the sheer power radiating from her aura that seemed to be amplified by the mana that remained in the Dark Abyss could only mean she had finally merged herself with Shadow. He chuckled at that.

"So, you've accepted Shadow and managed to break my spell…"

Presea didn't speak. She merely looked at Raine and the bloodied unconscious form of Colette. The newly merged Summon Spirit didn't show any reaction to the sight, simply looking back at Nebilim and uttering three words in a smooth, emotionless, adult voice:

"You hurt Colette."

Nebilim merely chuckled again, closing eyes as he spoke:

"So wha… ?" he never managed to finish his line, for in the moment he opened his eyes, Presea was already upon him. The demonic commander had barely sensed the rapid movement of her aura and had even less time to grab the purple, ax blade that swung viciously in the direction of his face.

Nebilim's expression twisted into that of a grunt as he held the blade in place. For the first time in a long time, he was actually being forced to use his strength to hold it back. It was then dark winds were produced from the blade and blew on his face, forcing him to narrow his eyes. Although the darkness emanating from the weapon couldn't harm him, it still limited his vision enough so Presea managed to kick him in his chest, sending him away. The strength of the blow was nowhere near his, but it was enough to make him fly a few feet behind.

Presea kept a straight face during the entire attack and looked down on Nebilim as he regained his balance. She then stood in a battle position as she looked at him once and spoke:

"Prepare to die."

"Heh, good luck on that, child," Nebilim said, despite the situation. "I'm already dead in case you haven't notice," he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, his pupils narrowed in slits as he let that same deranged and gleeful smile surface and charged at Presea, who met him on course.

The two clashed weapons against each other as the other reincarnated Summon Spirits could only watch in amazement. Nebilim was finally being hard pressed with landing a hit on Presea. She had been strong before, the weapon which she carried was a testament to that. However, now that her body was bigger and her weapons were hardly her own weight, the gain in the speed, which she lacked before, was absurd.

Nebilim beat his swords on the ground, creating a pillar of flames, but Presea merely sidestepped it. The red head found it as his chance and tried to hit her with an ignited kick, using his hands on the ground as levers. However, Presea "dived" into the ground, forming a puddle of darkness, which quickly positioned itself on Nebilim's feet. The demonic commander realized the woman's intent and jumped behind as dark tendrils and winds shot out of the hole.

The dark puddle then positioned itself where Nebilim would land, but the demonic commander shot a concentrated fire ball on it, creating a great explosion. The smoke resulting didn't allow Nebilim to see the result, but he thought that it had worked. However, when he landed, Presea suddenly shot from the ground, where the puddle of darkness had been… and was still, completely intact.

The pink haired woman attacked him with a horizontal slash of her two axes, hitting Nebilim dead on. A trail of darkness was left behind as the weapon cut the air and Nebilim could feel it attacking his aura several times, sucking its energies. Nebilim jumped behind, just for Presea to jump after him, curling on herself while stretched her hand axes and spinning in the air.

"Dark Tempest!" Nebilim tried to block by summoning a flame shield with his gauntlets, but it broke apart after several rapid strikes and the purple blades managed to cut him.

Presea landed and turned to him while Nebilim backed a few steps away, feeling more of his energy being drained. He smiled at her:

"Well, you surely bounced back, eh? Even more so… such power."

"It is because we are at the Temple of Darkness and so close to the Dark Abyss that you can't use _your_ powers properly," Presea stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Ratatosk and Raine gasped at the revelation, while Nebilim smiled a simple arrogant smile.

"Ah, so, you've noticed."

"I found it strange my darkness managed to drain part of your reserves so easily. Considering all I've heard about you, your defenses should be better than this. You've probably already burnt some of your power battling against Colette and the others."

"Heh heh heh… you're certainly are an attentive girl, Presea," Nebilim said, positioning himself for combat once more. "However, that doesn't mean I'll simply back away."

"In that case…" Presea disappeared and in the blink of an eye was upon Nebilim again, but this time he was prepared.

"Towering Fear!"

Like he predicted, Presea was caught off guard, not having any way to defend herself after using her power to charge at him. He held his right hand with his left, fire involving it. He then shot it up and a flaming, giant impression of it was produced, grabbing Presea's body and squeezing it.

"Madness Grip!" Nebilim then proceeded to throw his hand down, with its giant copy following the movement, slamming Presea on the ground. However, instead of a dull "thud", she dived into it, forming another puddle of darkness, that quickly positioned itself bellow him.

With his powers and strength diminished, Nebilim couldn't avoid the dark tendrils and winds that shot out of the black hole as Presea emerged, arms crossed on her chest and making a slow turn as she looked up.

Nebilim teleported out of the way of the attack and when he was about to reappear, Presea managed to track down the path he took by observing the agitation of chaos energy against the omnipresent mana of darkness. It was like watching a boat sailing from underwater, observing its bottom causing ripples on the surface. She took position and threw her hand ax, which spun in the air at high-speed while traveling to its destination. When Nebilim reappeared, he just had time to look surprised before the weapon's blade sunk into his chest, cutting through his thin, albeit strong, chest plate.

Raine and Ratatosk gasped and, for a moment, they thought that Nebilim was finally defeated, however their hopes quickly deflated when the red head recovered his equilibrium with the ax still on his chest, where his heart was supposed to be. He looked at it and chuckled.

"Well, this…" he then grasped the ax's handle, which released a burst of darkness to repel his hand, however, he ignored it and pulled the ax out with a grunt. "...certainly hurts," he then threw it away, just for the ax to dissolve into dark wisps. Presea raised her hand, summoning it back.

"Time to end this…" Presea simply said.

"Indeed."

Nebilim charged at her again, however, Presea's aura pulsed once more as power was accumulated around her. Nebilim noticed too late what her intent was. Another heartbeat-like pulse came from her and the Warrior of the Deep Abyss' aura expanded, leaving behind a thick curtain of darkness that quickly formed a dome around Nebilim.

Ratatosk and Raine couldn't see what was happening inside and Nebilim tried to break through it with fire arrows and beams, but the attacks seemed to vanish in the dark reaches of the dome. He knew it wasn't even that big, but from his point of view it seemed to stretch for miles, not even his enchanted sight could pierce through the magical darkness. When he was about to run, he felt Presea's presence nearby. It was so faint he barely even registered the agitation in her aura as she reunited dark energy in the edge of her ax.

"Feel fear…" she said as she swung her weapon. She was a good two feet away from Nebilim, however, her weapon evoked a dark wind that easily reached the demonic commander and attacked him several times, following the same movement pattern as the reincarnated Shadow's weapon. Nebilim felt her presence again in another point. He tried to teleport away, but discovered that particular spell had been somehow sealed inside this space. "... Bow down to despair…" Presea attacked again and once more a dark wind slashed through space and attacked Nebilim several times, he felt his energy being drained and his aura in complete disarray. "... Give up your dreams…" Presea reappeared once more in another position and attacked again. "...Let sorrow conquer your heart…" the reincarnated Shadow appeared in several points as she spoke, attacking Nebilim each time. Finally, she appeared above him twirling her hand axes in her hands and pressing them together, side by side. "There is no future for you… Hope Shredder!"

Presea then pointed her axes to Nebilim and two thick beams of darkness were shot from the extension of the blades. Nebilim's eyes widened as he did the only thing he could:

"Force Field!" he never thought he would use that kind of magic again, but there was no other option, unless he wanted to end up crippled from the deprivation of magical energy.

The bubble-like shield held for some time as the beams spread darkness around him like they were some kind of liquid. The defensive Arte finally failed and Nebilim was swallowed by a sea of dark matter. The darkness was gone just as fast as it had appeared.

Raine and Ratatosk observed as Nebilim fell on his knees and supported himself with his hands. Presea landed softly on the floor and pointed her hand ax to him. The Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops looked up as he panted, his reserves drained.

"How is it that you don't bleed?" Presea inquired him. "And how come you just used mana to create that shield? What kind of demon are you?"

Ratatosk was so surprised that he gasped at that.

_He knows how to utilize mana? How's that possible? _

It was a fact some demons had evolved to adapt to the mana of Aselia, giving birth to the demon-type monsters. However, these were not the same as the original demons anymore, becoming a part of Aselia's environment and balance, cutting their servitude ties with the demon lords completely. No true demon could utilize mana, because it was a poison for them.

_In that case, what is Nebilim? _Ratatosk thought.

"Truly, you are Shadow…" Nebilim said with a mild smile as he struggled to get up. "He never let anything escape his eyes too. Yes, it's true, I'm not a demon, not in a literal sense of the word, at least…" he casted a quick glance at Raine. "Your dear teacher knows who I am, or rather, was…" Presea and Ratatosk looked at Raine and that brief moment of distraction was enough for Nebilim to mutter a quick enchantment, flames raising around him and enveloping his body. Presea and Ratatosk looked back at him in time to hear. "I'll concede the tactical victory for you this time, but remember: outside here, the world itself gives me strength for my vengeance…"

With that, the wraith disappeared between the hellish fires before his voice stopped speaking. Presea didn't move while Nebilim teleported himself away, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop him this time, since he once more used mana for his spell instead of chaotic energy. Her body was enveloped by darkness once more, shrinking as she returned to her teenage appearance. When the shadows dispersed, Presea was back to her human form.

The pink haired woodcutter turned and joined Raine near Colette. Marta was also waking up as Ratatosk gave the control back to Emil. Presea saw Colette's state and a look of worry finally settled at her face. She asked if Colette was okay, to which Raine replied:

"I've managed to stop most of the bleeding and repair the internal damage, but it'll take some time until she can move again, let alone fight."

"In that case, I'll protect her," Presea said. She then looked around and shook her head. "No, not just her. I'll protect her friends too."

Emil helped Marta up, who was still a little dizzy and weak from the battle. The blonde then spoke:

"Anyway, we should leave. None of us are in condition to fight."

Presea and Raine nodded to him and the pink haired girl proceeded to help the carry the others out of the temple…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

General Sage and his aides were, contrary to what one might think, drinking tea in a table set up in the plateau of a mountain near the Temple of Darkness. Genis was waiting for Lord Nebilim to return from dealing with the reincarnated Summon Spirits.

_Just hope those idiots don't die. It would be a waste to have them killed before I could take a look at their magic. _Genis thought.

He had initially scoffed at the group when he saw they had come, even though it was clearly a trap. However, according to the reports his aides managed to collect from the other Desians and demons (he was quite surprised when Reriki presented him one from Narom's encounter with the group, considering how unwillingly the Demon General was to talk about his failures, and that was wording it nicely), the group always fought together, keeping close bonds to each other. There were even suspicions some of them had actually claimed others as mates.

_Ah, but there also lies their weakness. _Genis thought with a smile. He already fought against squads of Renegades that survived thanks to their team work, but once you disabled one, the others quickly followed. _However, they are also strong individually with their spirit forms, but that can be easily countered._

"How long are we going to wait?" Reriki asked, sipping the drink that she herself had made in the cup.

"Until Lord Nebilim is done dealing with them," Rahishi said, she hadn't touched her cup ever since Reriki had poured tea on it.

"But if Lord Nebilim is the one who's going to fight them, they'll be dead by the end of it."

"Nothing we can do there," Genis replied, though in a sad tone. "I also would like to see them in action, but Lord Nebilim's orders are absolute," he took another sip. "Rahishi, you haven't touched your cup even once. You shouldn't waste good tea like this."

"Yeah… but…" she then shot a look at Reriki, who tilted her head to the side in confusion.

Genis sighed. Rahishi really needed to work this grudge she had with Reriki out. He would like nothing more than the two of them getting past that and function more like they were supposed to, however, he knew when it came to grudges between demons an eternity could pass and they would still dislike each other. Good thing it appeared to be one-sided, since Reriki acted like Rahishi was her friend, even though the latter sometimes applied physical punishment on her.

"Just take a drink, will you?" Genis insisted. "Honestly, if Reriki's intent was to poison you, I would be dead by now, considering she served our cups from the same teacup."

Rahishi sighed and decided to accept the advice from her superior, reaching for the cup and taking it to her lips. She took a sip… and soon spat it all out in a jet, coughing afterwards:

"What the hell is this tea made of?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot it tastes different to mortals. So sorry," Reriki said, putting her tongue out in what one could assume was a cute way.

"What did you use to make it? I didn't taste anything like tea," Rahishi asked the question again, holding the table with her hands. She knew Reriki had to have tried to reproduce the one the Aselians drank, since the tea demons normally consumed, like most of their food, was a poison to mortals.

"My milk."

The cheerful smile which Reriki gave while saying it made Rahishi take some time to process the information and understand what the other aide meant with that. Genis' eyes widened as he looked at his cup, which he had even refilled. Two minutes passed before Rahishi finally exclaimed:

"WHAAAAA… ?"

"I didn't have normal milk, so I decided to use mine," Reriki replied with that same cheerful smile she used.

"Ummm… correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't normally put milk in a tea, do you?" Rahishi asked Genis.

"No. You can mix it with coffee at best," Genis said, his expression turning neutral as he looked to Rahishi and then back to his cup. He shrugged before Rahishi turned to her companion and lashed out:

"What kind of brain dead slut are you? You know that demon drinks are poisonous to mortals!"

"For your information, I have tested it before and mortals can consume mine just fine," Reriki said.

"I don't even want to know how you tested it…" Rahishi said, putting her head in her hands.

"Oh, but Master Genis liked it," Reriki pointed out with a sly smirk.

Rahishi looked to their general and saw Genis was once again drinking his cup. Her jaw dropped. The silver haired Desian noticed the look his aide have and looked to her, asking a "what?" towards her direction. He then noticed her look was mainly directed at his cup. Against his will, he felt his cheek taking a minor pink tint as he found himself unable to look at Rahishi's eyes, looking to the side as he said:

"At least it's good."

Rahishi looked like she wanted to cry, even though it was virtually impossible for a demon. Reriki beamed a large smile to him and spoke:

"If you want, I can give you more… right from the source, Master Genis," she cupped her large breasts for emphasis as she spoke in a sensual tone.

Genis suddenly found the sky seemed pretty interesting right now and that maybe it would hide the scarlet tone that was assaulting his cheek as he felt blood rush to his face and… other parts of his body. Why did he always have to react like this to Reriki's remarks? Damn his teenage body. The only other time he remembered feeling like that was when he walked in on Rahishi taking her armor off. The red haired demoness wore nothing underneath her armor set, if the fact her cleavage, legs and arms' skin showed when she was garbed for battle meant anything.

Rahishi and Genis never talked about the incident, though he could see her blushing during that day and being unable to sustain eye contact with him for more than five seconds. Genis also had to admit that his other aide was quite the beauty: perfect, hourglass figure, curves fitting in all the right places and breasts that were at least a D cup (though he noticed Reriki's were bigger, later wondering why his mind even made the comparison).

The Desian General also didn't tell Reriki any of that, because he knew if she ever thought he had seen Rahishi naked, she would get jealous and immediately strip herself so he could also "admire" her body. Strange thing was she was supposed to be a spiritual demon, thus not having a physical body and should not care about things like appearance. Maybe Rahishi was right and Reriki was a cross-species demon, which was pretty common in Niflheim.

Rahishi looked like she was ready to draw her sword and slice Reriki into bits, but before she could do that a great agitation in the chaos energy around made all activities stop as a pillar of hellish flames rose near them. The three immediately knew who that was and stood, ready to greet Lord Nebilim as he emerged, standing like he had never nearly exhausted his powers before.

"Greetings, Lord Nebilim!" the three uttered at the same time, bowing to their superior.

Nebilim made a motion with his hand as he said for them to stand, which the three did. He then noticed the table set and the tea in it. Smiling he asked with humor:

"May I invite myself for your little tea party?"

Genis looked to Reriki, who nodded and immediately summoned an arm chair out of thin air with her magic. Nebilim took it and sat, while Rahishi looked worried as he asked for a cup and some tea, which Reriki gladly served. The others sat down and waited for their Lord to start speaking:

"They got stronger," Nebilim started with a serious tone. "And the Presea girl managed to merge with Shadow, despite her previous state."

"What? But she was clearly disturbed. How did she manage to bounce back from a suicidal mindset?" Genis asked.

"You still have much to learn, General Sage," Nebilim said. "Humans are notorious for their persistence. They are able to overcome mental obstacles by sheer willpower."

Genis stood quiet at that. He had hoped that at least the Shadow girl had been devoured by her darkness. From what he had seen on her performance in Ozette and what he sensed from her aura, she was the one with most sheer power out of that little group.

_And she wasn't even complete at the time. _Genis thought. "Was she the one that repelled you, my lord?"

"Yes. Her power was greatly increased. I dare say she could even take a demon of General ranking head on," Nebilim spoke.

"In that case, that takes out five of my plans to deal with them."

"Oh. So you already have an idea of how to deal with them?" Nebilim asked with a smirk.

Nebilim knew that Genis was the kind of person to make plans in advance with the information he gathered on his targets. He never went on battle without a plan if he could help it. Now all that was left was for him to wait for his general to say which resources that he required and Ratatosk and his group would soon find themselves in more trouble than they could handle.

"I also managed to virtually disable at least one of them," Nebilim completed his statement.

"Even so, it's better to play it safe, so I'll utilize the plan which eliminates most of the obstacles. I also have the element of surprise on my side, since they don't know I'm after them."

Nebilim smiled at the thought process of his student. The demonic commander sipped some of the tea and Rahishi seemed to hold her breath as Nebilim drank it. The Supreme Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops then lowered the cup and looked at the drink, speaking:

"It tastes good. What kind of tea is this?"

"Oh, I made it with some of my…" Reriki never got to speak, for in that moment Rahishi hastily got up from her seat, making her chair fall back and ran to Reriki, clamping her hands on the demoness' mouth, leaving her mumbling.

Nebilim raised his eyebrow at the two, while Genis scratched behind his head, giving an embarrassed laugh at the behavior of his two aides. The elven-looking red head shrugged and went back to drinking his tea.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The group sat directly outside of the Temple of Darkness, deciding it wouldn't be wise to go down the mountains in their state, Marta was bandaging Zelos' left eye and head while the man winced whenever she touched a particularly painful spot, until she threatened to slap him if he didn't stop complaining.

Most of the group was bandaged in various places and even Emil had made use of Raine's first aid supplies. Colette was still unconscious, her entire torso was bandaged and Raine had made a makeshift stretcher for the blonde with some cloth she had brought. According to her, Colette should move as little as possible to avoid the possibility of her injuries opening.

Presea was sitting a little away from the group, taking the watch. As the group finally settled down to eat something, Aster decided to finally speak:

"Ok Raine, I think it's more than time for you to explain what's going on," part of the group looked from the blonde to the silver haired woman with a confused expression on their faces. "What did Nebilim mean with you knowing him before and about him not being a demon?"

From her position, Presea kept attentive to the group's talk, although she had no intention of joining. The rest of the group looked at Raine, who simply lowered her head. Sheena then spoke up:

"I have the impression that what he meant was that you not only met Nebilim once, but _during_ the Kharlan War, isn't that right?"

Raine gave a dry chuckle as she looked at Sheena. That woman was really sharp. She then spoke in a sad tone:

"What makes you think that?"

"For starters, you are obviously the oldest out of all of us and considering what I know of half-elves, it's pretty possible you lived during the end of the Kharlan War while keeping your youthful appearance. Plus, from the way Nebilim talks, it seems like he truly knew what was going on in our world and I doubt any demon would even care about that."

Raine could only nod at that. She then looked at each member of the group. From her expression, it seemed that she was still deciding whether or not she should tell them what she knew. Lloyd decided to take matters in his hands as he questioned:

"Is it so hard for you to trust us with the truth, Raine?"

"It's not a matter of trust, Lloyd. It's just…" she sighed. "I didn't want his image being tarnished for who he is now… or maybe… I'm the one that still clings to the hope there is some of him left in Nebilim," Raine said and, for the first time her tone sounded sad and tired.

Lloyd and the others could only just look at her, wondering what she was talking about. Raine then finally spoke and when she did, her tone was of one that confessed feelings he kept bottled up for a long time:

"Nebilim isn't a demon, he never was. He's something else entirely; a special soul."

"Are you kidding me?" Zelos said. "The guy uses demonic magic and commands demons. He has to be one."

"One doesn't need to be a demon to command them, it's more of a matter of having a connection with the demons' superiors. He already did that when he was still alive, from what I know," Raine countered.

"'When he was alive?' Are you saying that Nebilim is from Aselia?" Sheena asked.

"Yes. His former name was Neran Illirium, awarded the rank of Lord General by the Elven Council for his performance on the Defense of Sartais Village, which was being harassed by the Sylvaranti army, at the north of Luin. He was considered a magical genius of his time, studying both the mana and even some of manipulation of chaos energy, though the last one was never publicly divulged.

"He also was… my teacher. The one that taught me everything I know about both magic and archeology, which was a hobby of his."

The group gasped at that. So Nebilim had really been an elf. More so, he was somebody of great esteem in their society. But if that was the case, why…?

"Then how come he is who he is now?" Lloyd voiced their doubts. "I mean, weren't the elves considered great enemies of the demons?"

"I think I can explain that," Emil said, making the entire group look at him. Ratatosk was still resting from the fight, so Emil decided to tell them that in his other self's instead. "Nebi… Neran was recruited by Shadow to help the Summon Spirits to stop the war, but… he tried to do so by destroying both ruling structures of the countries, since they wouldn't come to an understanding through dialogue. At least, that is what I can see from Ratatosk's memories. It seems Neran intended to do so by utilizing demons, since it would require an army to assault the two capitals successfully."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember looking up at Mizuho's old records about some incident with a Neran guy," Sheena said. "According to it, the elves discovered what he was doing and asked help from both the armies of the countries and since nobody wanted a demonic invasion at the time, they agreed to stop him."

"Only to later go back to waging war amongst themselves," Raine said in a sour tone. "Honestly, sometimes I find myself being forced to agree with him."

"So you think it was okay for him to summon demons and kill off the two Royal Families of both countries and whoever else was working for them?" Lloyd asked. The idea of solving things through such method made his stomach churn.

"Name one alternative that would work, then," Zelos said, surprising Lloyd.

"Zelos! Aren't you Tethe'allan?"

"I am, but that doesn't mean I hold any love for my country, even if it wasn't in shambles today," he said with his typical carefree tone, like he hadn't just said that he wouldn't mind if his rulers were devoured by otherworldly beings.

Lloyd wanted to protest, but knew there was nothing he could say. He knew if Neran's plan had succeeded, both countries would be thrown into chaos, but at least that would halt the war and open space for negotiations, if only because nobody wanted to go into a battlefield without somebody to direct them.

"But why would he come up with such an idea?" Marta asked. "I mean, if he was somebody who defended his people like that and was your teacher, it just doesn't make sense," she looked at Raine, who nodded.

"That's right. For as long as I knew him, Neran was nothing but kind and caring. He was like a father to me and many others, always looking out for our well-being, disregarding the fact we were half-elves. He believed that people shouldn't be judged by their birth or blood, but rather, by their actions. Actually, you and him are a lot alike in that aspect, Lloyd and Emil," Raine added.

Both boys blanched, not knowing what to think of that. The image Raine was painting of Nebilim's former identity was a stark contrast to what he was today. She continued:

"However, he knew how the world worked. He always said that in the real world, 'good' and 'evil' start to look a lot alike, to the point you can be evil by doing good and utilizing evil becomes one of the methods of doing good. It was even worse when nobles were involved, since these notions matter nothing to them as long as their own desires were fulfilled.

"They said that in battle he was the worst adversary you could ever ask for; cunning and ruthless as he judged necessary, but also merciful when he felt his adversary deserved. I once witnessed an example of that when a group of deserted soldiers came to harass us, half-elves who lived in his lands. He stopped them without as much as a drop of sweat and only didn't kill them because there were children around and he didn't want to start an incident with Tethe'alla."

Most of the group lowered their head at that and Marta suddenly felt very childish by asking that question. If Nebilim was once like that, then it was very possible he didn't just come up with that decision of vanquishing the two countries from day to night. Zelos then said:

"That's a little too much to believe in, Raine."

"I'm not asking you to believe in me. Actually, I don't expect any of you to understand at all, since you weren't even alive to know who he was," there was some venom, although concealed, in Raine's tone, but that was enough to make Zelos lean back slightly. It was clear this was a sore subject for her.

"Then why did he become what he is today?" Marta asked.

It was then the Centurions decided to appear. Tenebrae was the first to speak:

"I believe it had something to do with the prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Sheena repeated.

"It happen right when Lord Neran was in his dying hours. It was spoken by he himself," Ventus spoke. "The prophecy was as it follows:"

_If the war continues, should mana perish, should we, elves, leave this world with scars on our spirits… when the last of us draw his last breath, the wrath of mana, the sorrow, the pain and desperation of our race will descend upon this world… and the form it takes shall be one of ultimate and absolute vengeance…_

The group felt a shiver on their spines at hearing that, as if the phrase itself carried some kind of enchantment on it. After some time, Lloyd asked what that meant. Aqua was the one to answer:

"We don't know. Prophecies are things that come on a whim and are gone just as fast. We and the Summon Spirits hear them no matter where we are because most of the time they have a direct effect on the world. Only special souls may utter such prophecies and even so, it's impossible to tell in which one of them this gift will manifest."

"The last one heard told about a _thousand year war_ that would tear the very foundations of the world," Solum said. "Roughly ten years later, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant declared war on each other, giving beginning to the Kharlan War."

"Wait. Doesn't that vengeance thing this prophecy talked about sounds familiar to you?" Sheena interrupted, looking to everybody present.

"Oh, yeah. Nebilim talks about it all the time," Lloyd said.

"Do you think he knew he would come back as what he is today?" Emil suggested.

"That's highly improbable," Ventus shook his head in negative. "Although he did make a contract with a demon of Lord ranking to be able to summon troops of Niflheim, he should have ended up a slave to this Lord. I'm afraid nobody knows what happened during his brief stay in the underworld, but Nebilim himself."

"Either way. Who he was before doesn't change what he has done now," Sheena said. "Raine, we need to know; are you capable of fighting him, or not?"

There was silence as the entire group looked at her. Raine knew they wouldn't let the subject lay down while they didn't get an answer out of her and she couldn't really blame them for that. From all that she told them, it was obvious she once admired who Nebilim was, even looked up to him. But he was now a completely different person.

"Yes, I'll fight him. If only because I have a motive to be against him," Raine said to her friends.

"What motive?" Ignis asked.

"That's…" Raine started, the entire group leaned in forward, in anticipation. "A personal matter," they all groaned and leaned back.

_Should have known... she was giving way too much away. Stubborn teacher. _was the thought that went through everybody's heads.

* * *

_Special souls are, as the name implies, exceptional individuals, that lived and become renowned researches, warriors, etc. History lists a great variety of these figures, though science is quite skeptical about their existence as such. However, it is undeniable the effect their mere presence had in Aselia. _

_Many of these individuals are remembered as charismatic people, capable of attracting others of like mind or with similar ideals, others became powerful authorities, highly respected in their fields of expertise, but there is another parcel that became feared and terrible villains. One could say the Summon Spirit are special souls themselves, however, according to mana scholars, the Summon Spirits are a unique category, far above the normal scope of spirits.  
_

_It is not known what it takes to become a special soul, though ancient religions claimed the person had to have passed through several incarnations and reached a certain level of enlightenment and comprehension about the world, life and existence itself. Whether it is just speculation or the truth, it remains unclear to this day. _

_..._

_I had the opportunity to know some of these so called special souls, great men and women who came in defense of the world when it needed the most, and I can say that such gift isn't limited to race, social class, or any other of the so called social standards, for these things matter not in the eyes of spirits..._

_- Excerpt from "The Mysteries of Aselia, Vol. II", by Raine Sage -_

A short chapter, I know. But next we will have The PartyXGenis, so I'll end it here.

Oh, by the way, a new skit people! This one between Ratatosk and Presea:

Ratatosk and Presea

Ratatosk: So, we meet once again, Shadow. Must say you picked an interesting form this time.

Presea: I don't know what you're talking about. I'm Presea. Shadow doesn't exist anymore.

Ratatosk: If that's the case, why did you take his place? I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with us.

Presea: I did what I judged necessary to save Colette and all of you. I… simply couldn't let you all be killed like this.

Ratatosk: Do you regret it?

Presea: Not really. If that is who I am supposed to be, at least, this way, my existence will have some meaning. I'll use this new life to protect Colette and all of her friends.

Ratatosk: So, you intent to live for others? You do know that might come back to bite your ass, don't you?

Presea: Shadow also told me that.

Ratatosk *surprised*: You talked to him?

Presea: We met while I was under Nebilim's spell. He showed me many things… scenes that weren't even of this world, or rather, this reality.

Ratatosk: That doesn't surprise me. For us, spirits, time and space mean little. Sometimes, we can even gaze into our existence in other realities. Maybe it was also an effect due to your proximity to the Dark Abyss, which is said to connect a multitude of worlds in its depths, so much that when you fall into it, you stay suspended between these worlds through all eternity.

Presea: So, darkness divides these worlds in the Dark Abyss.

Ratatosk: … I've spoke too much. You'll probably learn these things along the way.

Presea: Ratatosk, was it? You're… a different personality inside Emil, right? Even so, you seem to share some traits with him.

Ratatosk: Me? Like that wimp? Don't be ridiculous.

Presea: I can tell, you're actually a kind person. *smiles* The proof is that you were worried about my well-being just now and if I wasn't going to fall back in despair.  
Ratatosk: …

Presea: I won't lie, I know I can still be hurt, but… if that is the price I have to pay, then so be it. I think you all deserve to live, if only because you have each other to care for. I just want to do something good out of my existence.

Ratatosk: … huh, we're not that different… Presea… both of us want to do something useful with our cursed existence. The only difference is…. I cursed mine by myself.


	35. General Sage

WARNING: This chapter contain badassness, spell casting madness and overall violence. Courtesy of your favorite midget mage.

Genis: *pouts*

Ok, what's the problem? You have to admit you kick ass here.

Genis: You made me look like a psychopath. Or a male Raine. And what's that about one of my aides being after my pants?

But you like being the object of desire of a female for a change, don't you?

Genis: ... ... a little...

Then it's settled!

Genis: HEY!

Reriki. Give him a hug to calm him down.

Reriki: With pleasure!

Genis: H-hey! W-wait a minu...

Reriki: Here, Master Genis. *hugs, pressing head agaisnt chest*

Genis: ... *nosebleeds and passes out*

Thanks. Oh and give hugs to all the readers that reviewed, since I forgot to ask you to do that last chapter.

Keriki: Gladly! *hugs readers, who in turn have massive nosebleeds and pass out* Oh... my robes are stained red now.

Well, this tends to happen...

Unfortunately there is no skit here due to the size of this chapter. also, please read the post notes after the excerpt of random knowledge at the end.

* * *

**Chapter 31**

**General Sage**

After receiving an extra treatment of Raine's healing magic, the group set out to leave the mountain range. Colette was still unconscious and being carried in the stretcher by Presea and Marta. Lloyd, Emil and Zelos walk at the front of the formation, while at the rear were Sheena and Raine.

The road they were traveling was alongside the mountain, making several twists and turns as they went down. Observing this scenery, their soon-to-be attacker, hiding in the shadows of the underbushes, smiled and commented:

_They surely seem to be on their guard. As if that's going to help them._

_We're ready, my General. _a feminine voice sounded quietly.

_Good… let's start the show._

The group then heard the chirp of birds and looked up. However, what they saw weren't ordinary birds. These were double the size of a monster eagle, their beaks were long and serrated, of an orange tone. Their feathers were jet black, but became yellow at the edge of their wings and tail. Two, grey spikes sprouted from their back, pointing forward and ahead of their heads. The claws at the talons were elongated and sharp-looking.

Ratatosk recognized the creatures: Thunder Wreakers, demonic birds often used as carriers and aerial support. As he passed that information for Emil, the two noticed that the birds were indeed carrying something, in this case Savage Slashers.

"It's an attack! Everybody, draw your weapons!" Emil called out.

"Marta, Presea, protect Colette! We're gonna try to make a run for it!" Sheena instructed.

The two girls nodded. Marta transformed into spirit form just in case. Lloyd and the others were ready when the demonic carriers dropped their berserk brethren. Presea and Marta went on ahead, with Emil and Lloyd guarding them, as the rest of the group stayed behind to protect the rear, repelling the fast demons that started to attack them with their claws.

The group then arrived in an intersection with two paths; one walking parallel and below the one they just came from and other went ahead. Knowing they would probably be caught by the spider-like demons if they were to make a turn, the girls went for the straight path as demons now dropped between them and the boys. Emil and Lloyd screamed for them to go ahead as they incinerated and obliterated their adversaries. The girls nodded and went on.

_Huh, so predictable... Reriki, are the Collapsers in place?_

_Yes, Master Genis._

_Good. Tell them to do their part._

Presea and Marta were forced to stop when a spike sprouted from the path ahead of them. While the rest of the group was coming to support Lloyd and Emil, more spikes sprouted around Presea, Marta and Colette. The appendages then moved fast, in a circle around the girls. In the next seconds, the earth around them gave in and started to fall together with the three of them.

"MARTA!" Emil called, as his crush and her friends fell to the forest down bellow.

Marta flew and caught Colette. She then rushed and dived to rescue the falling Presea, who didn't have wings in her spirit form. However…

_Now, Reriki._

_Spirit Lock!_

Suddenly, seals appeared in the air and attached to the bodies of the party. Magic circles appeared beneath or around them, releasing red, electrical sparks. Marta felt herself weakening and soon enough reverted back to her human form while still in midair. Lloyd and the others also went back to their human form after transforming to contain the concentration of demons.

"What the… ? I can't transform again!" Lloyd exclaimed as he tried to go back to his spirit form, but failed to do so. It was like something was blocking him off.

"Watch out!" Sheena alerted him as she jumped to intercept a Savage Slasher that was about to skewer Lloyd. She managed to block it with a fan of her seal cards. Fortunately, her magical power was still working. _What was that just now? It looked like some of my Artes, but different. _She thought as she blew away the demon with Demon Seal.

"What about Marta and the others?" Emil asked as the spikes from before came now to their direction. Ratatosk took control upon seeing his other self was too preoccupied with Marta to concentrate. "Earth Spear!" Ratatosk plunged his sword in the ground and, immediately, four, pointed stalagmites pushed the lower body of the spikes out of the earth, revealing they were in reality mole-like demons with several spikes and claws. "I knew it. Collapsers."

The demons fell off the mountain road as the group found themselves surrounded again by Savage Slashers. Zelos gritted his teeth as he thought on the girls down there. They could be hurt, or worse, being attacked by demons at this instant.

"Dammit, we have to rescue Colette and the others!" he exclaimed.

"In that case… Centurions!" Ratatosk called.

"Yes, my Lord!" the servants of Ratatosk said, as they appeared and prepared to summon monsters to aid their creator.

_Now I got you. Reriki._

_Reversed Seal!_

Seal cards appeared in the air again and this time their target was Tenebrae and the other Centurions. When the magical charms attached to them, magic circles appeared over the servants of Ratatosk. Electrical sparks flew as the Centurions' features and bodies twisted as if they were in pain.

"What?" Ratatosk let out.

"Caught them too? But, how…" Sheena spoke.

"I… don't feel good…" Lumen mumbled as he looked like he was writhing in pain.

"Lord… Ratatosk…" Aqua let out.

In the next instant, there were multicolored flashes and all Centurions reverted back to their sealed drop-shaped prisons. Ratatosk seemed dumbstruck, his mouth open and eyes wide as he could only look as his servants started to fall as if in slow motion. It was then one demon bird came down and snatched two cores away, while two savage Slashers caught three more.

Before the demons could get another, Lloyd rushed forward and jumped, catching Tenebrae's core. For that, he received a vicious slash from one of the demons that brought him to the ground. Ratatosk finally got out of his stupor and gritted his teeth in rage. With a cry, he jumped at the Savage Slashers surrounding Lloyd and, before anybody could blink, sliced the limbs holding his servants' cores off.

Zelos then remembered the bird and quickly chanted a spell, casting Freeze Lancer. Fortunately, the Thunder Wreaker was still in range for the spell to pierce the feathers of one of its wings, making the bird let go of the cores as it fell from the skies. The red head cursed as both fell on the forest down there.

_Time to step up the plan. Rahishi._

_Yes, my General._

A wide runic circle appeared below Lloyd and Ratatosk, glowing. Before the two could react, they disappeared. Sheena looked in surprise as she saw the circle too disappearing. She cried out the dual swordsman's name as Thunder Wreakers and Savage Slashers appeared in the skies again.

"Dammit, what's going on? Don't tell me the demons suddenly got smart and came up with something like this," Zelos let out.

"I doubt it. There is somebody else's hands on it," Raine said. "But for the time being, we must concentrate on surviving, otherwise we won't be able to rescue the others.

"Raine," Sheena said as she approached the half-elf. She then looked at the demon birds approaching. "Do you know what kind of magic was that? I can't transform again."

"Probably a seal. But to be this powerful, either it was cast by a group of demons, which I severely doubt, or a master."

"Well, I would say the second. I can't undo the seal myself. So…" she then threw a multitude of cards in the direction of the approaching demons. "First, let's get rid of them!"

The Thunder Wreakers' spikes crackled with electricity and formed spheres of energy on their points, before releasing lightning on Sheena's cards, burning them. However, the distraction worked on the reincarnated Summon Spirits' favor as Raine finished charging Photon and Zelos another one of his ice spells, Polar Breeze. The demons closer to each other received a full blast of several light spheres as a freezing wind blew and started to freeze the demons on flight, turning them into ice statues that fell from the sky.

_Alright, all obstacles have been taken care of. Reriki, go and exterminate those three. Rahishi, you go after Shadow and Sylph. I'll deal with Efreet and Ratatosk. Reriki, How long until the seals wear off?_

_Considering their level of power, I would say around one hour or fourty minutes. Less in the case of the Shadow girl._

_Good. That's more than enough. Now, all of you go!_

_Yes, my General!_

As the three adults thought on what to do next, they felt an agitation of chaos energy in the air. Suddenly, a plain white mask appeared. A face, hair and a body materialized around it afterwards. The demoness then opened her blue eyes without irises as she gave a smile to the group and said:

"Hello there."

Sheena and Raine stood in a battle stance once more, but Zelos was frozen on the spot, surprised at what he was seeing...well, more like at the demoness' chest:

_HOLY SPIRITS! Look at the size of those! They might even be bigger than Sheena's!_

"I'm Reriki, the Snow Mask. Could you all please not make much trouble while I kill you all off?" she said it in such a cheerful smile and a polite, sweet voice that it put Raine and the others off guard.

"Huh?" Sheena let out.

"Oh well, can't say I didn't try."

Reriki's aura agitated and her expression became a malicious one as symbols appeared around her, soon followed by giant, seal cards on them, forming a semi-circle around her body. Sheena immediately recognized the patterns of the seals and what the demon before them probably was:

_She's… _

"Everybody, let's run. We have to get to the others!" Sheena said, but when she tried to run to the side, Reriki disappeared and reappeared right on their path, shaking her pale finger in an almost childish manner.

"Ah-ah-ah. You shouldn't interfere with Master's plan. Now, let's all be good Summon Spirits and die," she spoke again in a sweet and cheerful manner, clasping her hands at the side of her head with her eyes closed.

In that moment, Raine realized that her fears had come true: they had fallen into a trap by somebody very capable and now the others were in danger…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Marta opened her eyes slowly. There were no sounds of battle around her. She could also feel a weight on her body. When she looked down, she saw a cascade of golden-blonde and remembered: they had fallen from the cliff and she, somehow, reverted back from her spirit form. As they fell, Marta held Colette and shifted their positions, so the brunette would cushion her friend's fall.

_Didn't think it would be this painful, though. _Marta thought.

She tried to move, but searing, burning pain cursed through her body when she tried to force herself to stand. She realized she must have probably broken some bones, or suffered some kind of spinal trauma.

Marta knew enough to heal herself from most injuries, but restoring broken bones was still a level of skill she had not reached, yet. Plus, she didn't know what exactly her injuries were or where they were, so trying to use a specific healing spell could do more harm than good.

The reincarnated Sylph tried entering on her spirit form, but discovered she was unable to. Something was blocking her. She remembered seeing the others also being "bound" by those magical circles and Lloyd and Sheena reverting back to their human forms.

_This all looks like some kind of elaborate trap. _Marta thought and started to get worried for the others. _But first things first, I need to know how much I can move._

She already knew her that legs didn't work unless she wanted to feel an unbearable pain. What about her arms? Presea herself tried moving the left one and discovered she could do so, although very painfully. Her right was also painful to move, though when she tried closing and opening her hand it worked. She looked at her feet and felt her toes and her left foot responded without pain when she tried to move them. The other was too painful to move.

_If I'm feeling pain that means the damage wasn't extensive to the point of crippling me. However, the fact I can't move because of the pain, suggests mild to grave trauma, possibly in the legs and my arm. I'll probably need Raine to check it over._

"Mar… ta…" the brunette listened somebody calling her name.

She looked up and turned her head to where the voice had sounded. Marta saw Presea slowly standing on four and bringing her hand to her head. The pink haired girl seemed to be on a far better state than Marta.

"Presea. Are you alright?" Marta asked, glad she could still talk.

"Yes… some minor injuries. But otherwise, I'm fine," she said as she got up.

Marta had to be impressed. A fall like that would have killed a normal person or even leave some kind of consequence (as she herself discovered), however Presea was looking as fine as ever. Marta then remembered what Raine had once mentioned about the aura being used as a physical defense. Presea merging with Shadow probably gave her human form, which already was shrouded in her own aura, some extra protection.

The reincarnated Sylph could feel the darkness in the pink haired teenager's aura calming down. It had probably shielded her from impact. Presea looked around and then saw something on the ground:

"What are those?" she asked, pointing.

Marta looked and saw, much to her surprise, two, familiar, drop-shaped jewels, one green and another yellow. But they had already got them.

"Ventus and Lumen. But why are they back to core state?" Marta let out.

Presea looked at her with her eyebrow raised. The party had told her about their journey and Ratatosk and the Centurions. But if what they told her were true, then why would Centurions they already had go back to core state?

_Could somebody have forced them into it? _Presea wondered.

The ax wielder then looked at Colette and seeing she was alright, told Marta to wait a bit while she took the cores. The brunette nodded as Presea went on to grab the drop-shaped artifacts. She caught them with her hands, pocketed them… and soon widened her eyes and her shadow on the ground seemed to spin, before dark matter shot out of it and went to her hand, forming a huge ax with a purple colored blade which she used to block a flaming strike of a sword.

Marta gasped as she noticed an armor-wearing demoness, who pressed her wicked-looking blade with several spikes along the edge against Presea. The pink haired girl then pushed the woman back with her strength. The red headed demoness landed with no effort at all as she scrutinized her adversary.

_She managed to summon a weapon even though her spirit power should be sealed. Damn it Reriki! You said the seal would stand. _she then looked at Presea's feet. Shadows were trying to climb her legs, but stopped around the ankle, as if something was barring them. Presea looked down and seemed, for a moment, confused, before her face resumed its expressionless demeanor. _No, what happened was that some of her power managed to leak from the seal. Seems General Sage was right; this girl is the biggest threat out of the entire group. _

"Who are you, demon?" Presea asked, her voice serious, with an icy tone to it.

"I'm Rahishi, the Sun's Blade. You, the reborn Shadow, Presea Combatir, must to be killed by my sword. As my General commanded," Rahishi answered

"Were you the one that sealed our spirit forms?"

"I don't see the need to answer that."

The two then stood on battle positions. Marta could only hug Colette protectively as best as she could while the two combatants stared each other down. Then, with a rush of air and their auras flaring around themselves, Summon Spirit and High Demon charged at each other, their weapons meeting in showers of sparks, fire and shadow…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"Lloyd. Lloyd," he heard his name being called.

The dual swordsman woke up with a start and sat still. He looked around and saw they were at the foot of the mountains. He got up as Emil helped him. Lloyd asked what happened and the reincarnated Lord of the Monsters explained they had been caught in a teleportation rune and transported to the foot of the mountain.

"I think we're not too far away from the others. We can probably go up the mountain to catch up with them," Emil said.

"Ok. Oh, by the way, here," Lloyd handed the blonde Tenebrae's core.

Emil thanked him and the two prepared to go up the mountain road again when their senses picked up something. Someone was approaching. Someone with a powerful aura, so much Lloyd could clearly sense it. And he was coming their way.

The two looked up and saw a small silhouette coming their way from the mountain path. It looked like a boy with silver hair, but as he approached the presence of the aura became less intense, until Lloyd and Emil couldn't even feel it anymore.

The boy stopped a good distance from the two reincarnated Summon Spirits. On his lips was a snide smile, as if he was finding the situation amusing. Lloyd and Emil didn't lower their guard as the boy started speaking:

"Greetings, Ratatosk and Efreet," that made them draw their weapons. "I'm General Sage of the Desians."

Emil looked over the boy and was quite surprised someone this young was a Desian. He could hear Ratatosk let out a remark:

"_Did the Desians finally lose it or are they so desperate to get rid of us that they would send a brat to do the job?" _

_I'm not so sure… didn't you feel his aura before?_

"_Whatever. Anyway, do you want me to deal with him or what?"_

Emil thought for that for a moment. He then decided to ask Genis something:

"Was it you behind all of this?"

"Yes," Genis said_. _"I had planned everything, down to our confrontation, so, I guess you can already tell what's going to happen," his smile turned into a malicious one that didn't seem to belong with his fourteen-years old face.

"So was it you who attacked my friends and did this to the Centurions?" Lloyd questioned.

"What do you think? That should be obvious by now. Man, you're as dumb as you look," Lloyd narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Oh well…"

Genis then snapped his fingers and the symbols on the back of his gloves, collar and along his cloak glowed and started to float as if they were little insects taking flight. Lloyd and Emil tensed as they saw the symbols readjusting themselves and separating into eight groups, forming familiar symbols; the crests of the Summon Spirits.

The eight symbols then glowed with the respective colors that represented their elements and solid spheres of those colors materialized, encompassing the crests inside them. Emil immediately recognized the objects as magical orbs and, if he remembered Richter's lessons well, they were optimal magical focus.

_But, he's keeping them floating when you normally should hide the spheres. Does that mean they're more resistant than they look? _Emil wondered.

"Now… shall we start the fun?" Genis asked with a sadistic, malicious smile as he agitated his arm and the red orb of fire came to his front, flames appearing around it as it let out a beam of its element…

- / - / - / - / - / -

The three groups now fought for their survival as Genis and his aides mercilessly attacked them. Sheena soon discovered her fears were confirmed as each and every one of her Artes and attacks with her seal cards were either blocked or negated by Reriki.

_She's another figure of Mizuho's folklore. Her abilities with guardian seals far surpass mine. _Sheena thought in resign as Zelos tried to hit Reriki with his ice sword, but she floated back, avoiding the attack.

Although they couldn't enter in spirit form due to Reriki's seal, the reincarnated Summon Spirits could still use normal magic that didn't evoke their past selves' powers. However, that severely limited their attack options and mined their power.

Zelos tried using Arctic Breeze once more, but Reriki merely made one of the guardian seals that were constantly floating around her stay in the way of the attack, "dividing" it and making the freezing winds slip by around her.

Raine was in an even worse situation. Her Photon spell, though still useful against minor demons, made little to no damage to Reriki, even though the silver haired half-elf got a clear shot. Without a weapon to serve as a focus, Raine's powers were even more limited, to the point it was possible her healing Artes wouldn't be effective should Reriki get the chance to deal a serious injury to her companions.

_This entire attack was expertly staged. Whoever we're dealing with, he's no ordinary commander. _Raine thought as Sheena now tried to utilize shurikens and kunais against the floating demoness, who effortlessly bated the weapons away and shot her hand forward from under her sleeve, a seal appearing together with it.

Sheena didn't have the time to avoid and had the seal thrust below her breasts, Reriki quickly touched it with a finger of her other hand. Even though the touch in itself didn't carry much strength, the resulting energy burst that followed felt like Nebilim had punched her again. The ninja flew back and skidded along the mountain path, barely avoiding a fall to her death.

Zelos produced icy projectiles and tried to hit Reriki, but her seal cards once more blocked the attack. He was really starting to wish he had his Summon Spirit form already.

_No, she would probably have sealed it too. _"We have to run. There's no other option," Zelos spoke to the two women with him.

"Run? How do you suggest we do that? That demoness is just going to chase after us," Sheena replied.

"She's right, you know," Reriki said, her smile and expression still a dangerous and malicious one as her eyes narrowed in delight. "I never leave a task that my Master gives me unfinished, otherwise, he will get angry at me and won't agree to satisfy me."

The group tilted their heads in confusion to her statement. Reriki then looked to the side, her expression momentarily dispelling as she whispered to herself as she looked up:

"Oh dear, I seem to have spoke too much. Maybe Rahishi is right…"

She then resumed her previous expression and one seal came up to the front. Reriki made some hand signs as chaos energy accumulated on the seal.

"Nari Ishi!" several green-poison, ethereal blades appeared around Reriki and shot to the skies, soon taking a turn and aiming at the group.

Sheena and the others used their defensive Artes, however, when the blade rain hit their shields, these started to crack. When the shields finally broke, the blades slashed at the reincarnated Summon Spirits' skin, leaving behind a constant sensation of burning pain.

_Dammit. We have to get out of here! _Sheena thought in urgency. She then threw several seal cards, which surrounded Reriki like angry bees. The spiritual demon looked in curiosity as Sheena performed hand signs. "Typhoon Purge!" the cards flew in high speed against Reriki, inflicting some cuts on her robes. "Now!" Sheena shouted for the others, who nodded and ran away, through the mountain path.

Reriki tried to attack them, but one seal card cut her cheek, breaking her concentration. The cuts then shone and the cards shot to the light, attaching to the demon and exploding. Sheena then darted towards the others as the smoke was cleared with a single wave of Reriki's long sleeve.

As her own seal cards left her body and went back to their original position in a semi-circle around her, the aide looked at herself and saw her cuts were already closing. When Sheena's seals were about to close on Reriki, she commanded her own seals to cover her body, thus absorbing great part of the explosions.

"That Luna is quite smart. Oh well, no use wondering about it," Reriki said to herself right before her expression turned a malicious one. "After all, Master Genis said for me to kill her."

- / - / - / - / - / -

Presea and Rahishi were locked in fierce battle. The reincarnated Shadow was able to use some darkness attacks utilizing her shadow as a medium, creating blades, spikes and even shields made out of pure darkness to block and attack.

Rahishi had to admit she was impressed. The pink haired girl was a fierce warrior and even though she had inflicted some burns and made some cuts on her adversary, Presea didn't seem bothered in the least as she continued to attack.

When Presea swung her ax and Rahishi blocked it, several dark tendrils rose behind the reincarnated Shadow and shot to Rahishi, who jumped behind and ended up receiving some cuts from the attacks. Presea then grasped her ax with her two hands and spun.

"Rising Punishment!" Rahishi put her blade up to try and block the wide, ax spins, however, at the second, strong impact, her blade was pushed to the side and Presea slashed at the demoness two times. "Endless Infliction!" Rahishi had enough time to put up her sword in defense again before Presea drew two moons in the air with her great ax. After that, Presea shot to the ground in a cleaving movement, breaking Rahishi's guard once more before applying an upward swing that hit the high demon and drawing another moon, sending Rahishi to the air.

The demoness recovered from the hits. Although her armor protected her, the parts of her body that were exposed didn't have the same luck. She could also feel the darkness in each blow trying to devour her aura, preventing her wounds from closing through her natural regeneration.

_This new Shadow is really strong. I have to kill her before the seal wears off, or else I'll be in danger. _Rahishi thought. She then ignited her sword as she pointed it skywards with one hand. "Flare Rush!" Rahishi then charged at Presea in great speed. The girl put her great ax up to block the flaming strike, however, it was more powerful then she previously thought, making she almost lose her equilibrium from the force of the impact and breaking her guard as Rahishi passed her and stopped a few feet behind. The female high demon quickly jumped backwards twisting in the air so she was now facing Presea's back. "Heat Dive!" Rahishi shot to Presea, involving her body in flames. The reincarnated Shadow looked in time for Rahishi's flames to hit her and inflict a cut on her torso.

Presea was then hit by a vicious kick that send her flying back as she bled. Luckily, in this form she was still kind of flat, otherwise that would have really hurt. Marta could only watch all of that, feeling utterly powerless as her new friend fought for their lives against a demon that was clearly of High ranking. She wanted to do something, but with that seal on her spirit form, she couldn't transform or use any kind of offensive magic. She then felt a movement over her…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Rocks shot from the grounds in a frontal assault and fire rained from the sky, as wind blades tried to cut them down.

"Hahahahaha! What? Are you not prepared for this?" came Genis' mocking voice as he waved spell after spell at speeds that would leave any master spell caster green with envy.

Lloyd tried to send a Double Demon Fang against the young-looking Desian, but a rock wall rose from the ground and blocked the attack. Through the course of the entire fight, none of the two reincarnated Summon Spirits managed to even get close enough to properly attack Genis and the first time they did, the silver haired teenager arranged his orbs around him in a ring and made them spun in high speed, hitting Emil several times. The blonde never thought orbs could hit that hard.

"Thunder Blade!" a huge sword made out of electricity fell where Lloyd had been standing seconds ago, releasing a great charge of lightning on the ground and catching the red clad swordsman. "Grave!" Emil jumped back and avoided getting impaled several times by the thin, pointed stalagmites that rose from the ground. "Flame Spiral!" a magic circle appeared beneath the Lord of the Monsters and released fire serpentines that lifted him on the ground at they burned him with consecutive hits from the serpentines.

"Oh, shut up!" Lloyd yelled as he charged at Genis and got close enough to attack.

"Really? Quake!" the earth orb approached Genis' right palm as he raised his hand and lowered it quickly, making the orb hit the ground as his hand shoved it. The result was a tremor, like a giant's fist had punched the earth, which made Lloyd lose equilibrium and fall. "Too easy. Absolute!"

Lloyd knew that spell, seeing Zelos using it, and knew he had a small window of opportunity to evade it. However, he didn't count on Genis eliminating the time it took for the ice prison to form, making it appear as soon as the white circle materialized on the earth.

When the ice broke, Lloyd was hit dead on by an Air Blade spell, which shoved him away and reduced part of his jacket to shreds. Emil recovered in time to approach and try to attack Genis, who simply used one of his orbs to block the attack, smiling his snide and malicious smile all the while.

"Star Burst!" the other orbs aligned around Emil, who was still trying to force his way through the orb in front of him. The orbs then shone and rammed into him repeatedly, like small, colorful stars. Emil knew he would sport some purple bruises in the next morning.

_Considering I survive this, that is. _he bitterly thought. Ratatosk was silent inside him, which was a change, considering his other self usually complained about his performance while in battle.

"Wind Impulse!" Genis replaced the orb in front of him with the one that bore the wind symbol and thrust his palm forward, touching the orb which released a burst of wind that hit Emil and pushed him back, cutting his body with wind blades along the way. "Ah! You're nothing without the Summon Spirit power. You can't even use your magic like this," Genis spoke the last part in a scowl.

Lloyd and Emil got up, panting. Genis was as much of a deadly spell caster both in long range as he was in close range, thanks to the way he manipulated those orbs. But if they didn't get close enough to attack Genis, they would just drag this fight out until they got tired and then they would definitely be killed.

_We will need to outsmart him somehow. _Emil thought.

"_There is something different about him from the other Desians. Did you notice when his aura spiked there was not a trace of chaos magic?" _Ratatosk asked Emil.

_Yeah, I know what you mean. Besides, those orbs don't seem to be demonic artifacts. They are definetly from this world. But the way he manipulates them is different from anything I've heard of. _"Lloyd, close in on him. I'll give you support."

"Ok!" the dual swordsman said, seeing in Emil's eyes he was already waving some kind of plan.

"Are you two that suicidal? Or maybe you're just stubborn to a fault," Genis said with mirth as he smiled again when Lloyd was coming towards him. "Well, not like it's my problem…" the orb of ice came in front of him and Genis grabbed it. "Frost Stake!" a line of ice spikes appeared and "walked" from Genis' feet towards Lloyd.

Seeing that, the Wielder of Victory's Flame used Demon Fang in hopes to stop it, however that only succeeded in making a huge ice stalagmite form where the line was hit by Lloyd's shockwave. He realized he would have to time it right, otherwise he could very well be skewered alive.

When the ice line was almost at him, Lloyd jumped. An icy stalagmite came out of the ground, but the young man was mostly out of the route of the sharp points. He then put the tip of his foot on the flat side of one of the spikes and used it as a leverage to jump even higher. The entire action took less than two seconds to happen.

Genis saw the airborne Lloyd and noticed Emil also approaching. He laughed at that:

_Do they really think they can catch me off guard like this? Please… _the young-looking half-elf thought as he commanded the wind orb with his magical energy to float in front of him_. I can cast spells in a wide range too. _"Remnant Screech!" wind was produced from the back of Genis' orb, creating a wide, wind tunnel.

"Rising Falcon!" Lloyd pointed his sword to Genis and dived, creating a spiral of pressure around him.

_Idiot, he'll be ripped apart before he can even… _it was then Emil jumped in front of Lloyd and used his defensive Arte to shield his friend from the drilling spirals of winds that were produced by Genis' orb. The bubble-like shield held against the magic, blocking it. However, Lloyd was not stopping. _What that fool thinks he's doing? He's going to be impaled. _

However, it was in that moment Genis felt Emil's aura agitate in an unnatural way. The blonde's eyes became a crimson color and his Arte was immediately interrupted as he shot to the ground, grasping his sword with his two hands as he reunited what little power he could on it.

"Giant Fang!" came out Ratatosk's voice as a great shockwave, three times the size the ones released in a Demon Fang, shot to Genis, who widened his eyes at realizing their plan:

_They are pressing me with a Unison Strike. _He barely had the time to make a rock wall rise and block Ratatosk's Giant Fang.

However, the wall exploded once the shockwave made contact with it. Genis had forgotten to take into consideration how much power that attack carried in comparison to its lesser versions. As he realized this, Lloyd had already got close enough and attacked him, cutting him on his shoulder.

While that happened, Ratatosk had used a supportive Arte Fiend Fusion, increasing his speed and gave the control back to Emil, immediately interrupting their Arte as the calmer self of the Lord of Monsters rushed with inhuman speed towards Genis, who felt the rapid approach of his aura.

_I see. So this is the "transformation" they talked about. It seems he can also interrupt the use of any Arte when the change occurs, giving him the chance to switch to another attack strategy. _Genis' mind analyzed even as Emil approached and the Desian General tried to use Star Burst on him once more. Emil had already got close enough to do what he had planned:

"Converging Fury!" the several Slashes that composed the Arte repelled the orbs that shot against him and Emil then rushed forward in high speed once more, passing by the other attacking orbs and getting close enough to Genis to attack his left side with a wide slash.

Lloyd knew what his part of the plan was without Emil even needing to say it to him. He could see that just from Emil's actions and the look on his eyes. So, after hitting Genis, he had turned, closed his eyes and stood still, letting out long breathes as he let all tension wash away. He could feel, more than before, the pain from his wounds and the blood sipping from them. But that wasn't on what he was concentrating.

As the pain came and burned on him, he reigned in his mind and let it be washed away together with his anxiety as he concentrated on a single thing: his will to fight. His father had taught him this Arte, the strongest that Lloyd knew. However, he hadn't been able to efficiently execute it as his body was still too weak to withstand the strain the Arte put it through.

Now, however, after training and fighting in real life-or-death situations, Lloyd knew he could finally use it without feeling the backslash on his body. It was time to test his first Mystic Arte.

The Wielder of Victory's Flame crossed his arms in front of him before charging forward at a speed that easily rivaled that of Emil. Genis noticed his approach and turned, but was too late to stop Lloyd as the young man unleashed a barraged of sword strikes. Slashes and several thrusts rained on Genis as his aura finally started to agitate, the spell he had cast on himself to hide it wavering as his concentration was broken due to the pain.

"You're not going to stand up after this!" Lloyd proclaimed as he stopped and gather all the strength he could on his swords, pressing them together. "Knight's Vow!" Lloyd then swung his two swords as if they were clubs. When they impacted with Genis' body, the Desian wasn't immediately repelled, but rather, stayed with the swords connected to his midsection as the sound of heavy impact was heard and Genis let out a mute exclamation of pain, his eyes wide in surprise. Then, as if time had resumed itself, Genis was rocketed backwards, hitting the rock wall of the mountain, rising a cloud of dust.

The wall cracked as dust picked up. Emil approached Lloyd as they tried to see what had happened to Genis. It was then they felt a powerful spike of magical energy. Emil felt it was being directed upwards and upon looking up, his face paled at seeing a highly compressed fire ball descending from the sky at high speed.

"LLOYD WATCH OUT!" he warned and grabbed Lloyd as he started to run. However that had been a moment too late as when the fire ball impacted with the ground it released a huge explosion that caught the two young men.

They landed with a thud and painfully aware that part of their backs had been burned and the hem of their clothes charred. It was then Emil and Lloyd heard the sound of a chuckle. The two looked up and saw the dust was clearing, revealing Genis holding his hand outwards with the fire orb close to it The flames around it were dying as Genis grabbed the rocks with his other hand to propel himself up.

Lloyd and Emil then noticed blood dripping from the Desian General's form. Part of his hair was mattered with it, indicating he had hit his head. A crimson trail was divided on his nose, but Genis didn't seem to mind it as he slowly walked to the two reincarnated Summon Spirits. His arms hung almost limply at his sides as he spoke:

"Did you honestly think that was enough to kill me?" the smile he gave sent chills on Lloyd and Emil's spine as they slowly got up. "That wasn't even magic, was it?" the smile then disappeared as red passed by the corner of his lips and ended on his chin, dropping on the ground and leaving a trail of blood like the rest of his wounds. "No. That was just strength. Brute strength, nothing more. I refuse to simply be killed by such a crude thing," he stopped near them. The orbs were now glowing as he looked at the two with a cold, piercing gaze, his aura expanding and revealing some of its real extension. "You can't even show me your magic, can you? What makes you think you'll stand a chance like this?"

Lloyd and Emil started to pant as they saw the bloodied teenager look at them with those piercing, reproving eyes. His aura made the reincarnated Ratatosk worried. There was not a single trace of the chaos energy half-demons usually had, meaning this boy was indeed a pure half-elf. But even half-elves didn't have this level of power, so who was he?

It was then Emil felt something: the cores were warming up. Before, they were as cold as ice and even though Emil tried to wake Tenebrae and the others, he couldn't. There was just one explanation:

"_The seal wore off," _his other self confirmed._ "Let me take the control now."_

Emil nodded and let his other self have the control. Genis noticed it and stopped. Ratatosk reached for two cores and quickly recited the chant for the hatching ritual. Tenebrae and Aqua materialized once more and were soon followed by Ignis and Solum.

With the Centurions came a dragon, a Tortoise and two birds belonging to the Centurions of fire and darkness. Genis now smiled at seeing the summoning, a very disturbing smile when Lloyd and Ratatosk caught a glimpse of it.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Genis said as the monsters advanced on him. The orbs formed a ring, but this time they didn't form it around Genis, but rather stayed in front of him in a vertical formation. The silver haired boy then made them spin in a fast motion, hitting the two birds and the dragon that had got close enough.

Genis then jumped behind when the Phoenix let out a barrage of flames. The dragon tried to cut him with the rows of blades on the two sides of its tail. Genis used his earth orb as a shield, touching it with his hands so he would be pushed together with the orb, instead of being impaled by the monster's tail. The Tortoise retreated into its shell and jumped in the air.

Genis called his lightning orb as he pointed his palm to the Tortoise. The magical artifact touched his palm and strong lightning shot to the aquatic monster, which fell to the ground, fried from the electrical shock.

More monsters were summoned, but Genis only smiled at that as he commanded the orbs to make a ring above him. The orbs shone brightly as they started to transfer energy to the center of the ring, forming a multicolored net as Genis raised his right hand to the ring. Ratatosk had an idea of what was to come and said for Lloyd to take cover. And he had been right.

"Elementum Cannon!" Genis lowered his arm, pointing forward, and a huge, multicolored beam shot out from the middle of the ring. The earth was scarred as it passed and all monsters it came into contact with were instantly obliterated.

Ratatosk hated to admit it, but he was worried:

_That attack… it was on the same level of power as my current Ain Soph Aur. Just who the hell is this brat?_ Ratatosk thought as he saw what was left after the attack. _If I want to win, I have to kill him quickly._

With that thought in mind, Ratatosk ignited his blade with his spiritual flames and attacked Genis who now had a gleam on his eyes and a wide grin on his face.

"Oh! So this is your power, the power to use raw spiritual energy of a Summon Spirit? Absolutely magnificent!"

For some reason, the Lord of Monsters thought that expression and way of speech were very familiar. He dismissed it as he attacked, but Genis once more blocked with his orbs. Ratatosk then put more strength on his slashes and thrusts, batting the orbs away with his strength. Genis' smile was starting to piss him off as it didn't drop even when he actually managed to inflict a cut in the arm of the Desian.

Genis jumped back. He brought his hand to his injury and looked at the blood. Then he smiled an almost insane smile and chuckled. The silver haired boy didn't seem bothered that he was still bleeding from all of his previous injuries, also, his aura hadn't diminished its strength in the least.

Ratatosk, however, wasn't thinking on that as he only could see that crazed expression of satisfaction on Genis' face. The brash spirit then spoke:

"You're one fucked up freak, you know that?"

From all of the answers he expected, the last one was for Genis to laugh out loud. Lloyd could only observe all of that and he had to admit that boy was starting to scare him with the way he was acting. That entire behavior also looked oddly familiar to him.

_That guy's completely crazy. _was all Lloyd could think.

"You know what? I'm tired of this crap," Ratatosk then assumed position and his blade ignited, starting to glow with a multicolored aura. "Ain Soph Aur!" the Summon Spirit of the Kharlan Tree released his favorite Mystic Arte as Genis only looked in wonderment.

"So this is the legendary Ain Soph Aur? INCREDIBLE!" was what the teenager Desian said and Lloyd didn't like how he sounded in the least.

When the blast of Ratatosk's spiritual energy was about to hit Genis, the orbs entered in its path and held the blast on its place. The sound of the artifacts' magical powers clashing against that of Ratatosk's Mystic Arte was heard.

_Those orbs can't hold it forever. Either they will break or be so damaged this bastard won't be able to use them further. _Ratatosk thought with confidence.

Genis was still smiling as he finally found the solution. He had to admit it had been worth all of the trouble. He managed to acquire some amazing knowledge on the kind of magic Summon Spirits of Ratatosk's caliber used.

"Truly… a being that is able to perform this level of magic is only fitting to be called a guardian of this world!" the Desian General said. "Now, let me show you my appreciation!" it was then everything in which both boys' believed broke before their very eyes. "_Eternal Recurrence_!"

- / - / - / - / - / -

The blades clashed once more and punches rained on the two combatant's body. Rahishi had to admit; Presea, due to her small frame, was harder to reach, while the pink haired girl had a bigger target at her disposal. They stepped away again and Rahishi sent out a fire blade, Presea blocking it with her ax, but the distraction was enough for Rahishi to charge at the girl and deliver a vicious, flaming swing. Shadows came out of the ground in an attempt to block the blow, but were cut by the otherworldly flames.

Presea received the burning slash, this time on her left arm, which now limped on her side uselessly. The pain was there, but somehow it was bearable. Was it the power of Shadow? She didn't stop to think on that as she wielded her great ax with one hand and performed a Destruction Arte on Rahishi. The rocks didn't do any serious damage, but distracted her long enough for Presea to catch her with an ax swing that destroyed the armor plates on the demoness' hips, revealing the black clothe she used to cover her tights.

The two jumped back again and stood, panting, blood dripping from their forms. Rahishi had most of her armor scratched, dented or destroyed. Her chest plate remained, as did her gauntlets and boots, but the rest would need to be reformed when she went back to the Ginnungagap. She also had several cuts on her body, a gash on her right leg and arm and a cut that went from her left eye to her jaw when she had been reckless enough to crouch and try to slice Presea's legs off.

Presea mentally accessed her own state: three broken ribs, a gash on her left arm and a third degree burn on it. Torso also slashed and her clothe in the region burnt, revealing her nipples, but modesty was the least of her worries. A wound on the head, leaving part of her hair matted in blood. Minor cuts along her front, belly and arms and several first degree burns and some second degree ones. Her powers seemed to be able to block most of the pain, but it didn't heal her in the slightest nor did something to soothe the numbness she felt on her injured arm.

With all of that in mind, Presea's mind quickly calculated what would be the possible outcomes of the battle:

_Either it will be: 1 – Both of us continue and fight to the point of exhaustion, leading to a retreat from both sides. Improbable. 2 – One of us eventually tires and gets killed as the other survive, but is force to abandon further pursuit. Highly likely. Chances of Rahishi being the killed party: 45.3%. Her healing factor and stamina are high above that of humans, even in this state. Chances of me being killed: 97.8%._

In the end, the truth was quite simple: Presea was going to die. If she was in her spirit form she was sure she would have won, after all, her speed would be equal, if not superior, to the demoness. However, in this state, the best she could do was to summon a weapon made out of her element. However, Presea didn't have enough power to make an ax that didn't have at least half her weight. And using hand axes like in her spirit form would shorten her range, leaving her more open for attacks, which eliminates the advantage of having a small body.

Even knowing that, Presea couldn't bring herself to run. Marta was unable to move and Colette was unconscious. Presea had sworn she would protect Colette and her friends, who were people dear to her, even at the cost her life.

_I just didn't think I would have to pay this price so soon… without having even talked to her again. _Presea thought, amazed at how calm she was at the prospect of dying. But it wasn't like she had valued her life that much to begin with.

Rahishi stood in a stance to attack once more. That was when she heard the sound of something sailing through the air in high speed. She put her sword up and blocked the chakra, which bounced off. Presea was surprised to see the weapon and looked behind.

Colette was up, her shirtless torso still wrapped in several bandages. She had her hand extended and the other grasping another chakra. The blonde girl then spoke:

"Get away from Presea! Triple Ray Thrust!" she threw her other chakra, which divided into three in the air.

Rahishi cursed and batted the metal disks away with her blade, however, that gave Presea the opening she needed to approach and execute one of her most powerful normal Artes:

"Beast!" Presea swung once, slashing at Rahishi, and then released a burst of leonine energy, which destroyed the armor of the demoness that covered her stomach, sending her flying away,

As Rahishi recovered and skidded to a halt, another chakra came flying towards her direction. On impulse, she put her arm up to defend her face, however, the weapon cut through her gauntlet and embedded itself on her arm, electing a cry of pain from the demon of High rank.

Seeing she was at numerical disadvantage and unable to get to Colette in that state, Rahishi begrudgingly decided it was best she retreated. Quickly chanting a spell, a runic circle appeared beneath the crimson haired demoness and she turned into a red light before disappearing with a flash.

Presea let out a sigh of relief. She turned and saw Colette helping Marta to stand up, passing the brunette's good arm around her shoulders. Presea approached the two and, nervously, called Colette's attention. The blonde looked at her with curiosity in her eyes as Presea spoke:

"Thank you… for saving me. I would have been killed by that demon had you not intervened."

Colette shook her head and gave the pink haired girl a radiant, heartwarming smile as she spoke:

"No. I thank you. You saved us twice already, isn't that right? One from Nebilim himself and just now by defending me and Marta. Thank you, Presea."

The reincarnated Shadow felt her blood pressure raising, her heart beating in a faster rhythm, her cheeks colored with pink as blood rushed to her face. She couldn't remember the last time anybody thanked her for something. It felt… nice hearing it from Colette.

It was then Presea noticed the reincarnated Gnome's bandages starting to get red from a spot on the center of her chest. She immediately knew what happened:

"Colette. Your wounds," Presea pointed. Colette looked at herself and her smile lessened a bit in intensity.

"Oh. I see… but you know what, I barely even feel it," she tried giving a reassuring smile.

"Still… let me carry Marta for you."

"Oh no, you shouldn't. You look even worse than me."

Presea knew she meant the fact she had her left arm limping to her side, her clothes burned and most of her body covered in bruises, cuts and burns. She shook her head, saying she could barely feel it. Marta then decided to speak:

"Why don't you two carry me then? Besides, we should hurry. The others might be in danger."

Colette gasped at hearing that and Presea nodded, passing Marta's other arm around her shoulders. The brunette tried to ignore the pain as her two friends dragged her along to the foot of the mountain…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Sheena had to admit she never practiced fighting against someone that used the same type of weapon as her. Granted, there wasn't anybody else in Mizuho that could bestow their magical and spiritual energy on seal cards and manipulate them through it. However, facing Reriki, she realized she still had a long way to go until she could perfect her fighting style. There was also the matter that good part of her magical power, which was backed up by her Summon Spirit soul, had been sealed.

Any seals that she threw at the demoness were cut down, or countered by Reriki's own. In this fight, the one who could compress more power into the cards and best manipulate it won. So, in a few words, Sheena was, at best, stalling until she could think of something.

When she tried to throw her seals again at Reriki, the demoness dodged and hovered near the path in a range which Zelos' blade could reach. The red head charged forward as Sheena covered his advance. However, when Zelos attempted to use Sonic Thrust on her, Reriki disappeared and reappeared behind him.

The creature from Mizuho's folklore quickly put a seal on Zelos' back, infusing it with her power and releasing the spell:

"Magic Lock!" Zelos' sword and shield immediately melted away. The ex-Representative looked in confusion as Reriki prepared one of the seals floating around her. Sheena drove the demoness away with swings of her kunai, although she didn't manage to hit the spiritual demon.

"Damn! My magic is sealed!" Zelos cursed as he tried to summon, without success, his weapons.

"Yeah, I can see that," Sheena answered. She looked back at Reriki, who seemed to only find all of that amusing. _Maybe I can…_

"Any ideas?" Zelos asked.

"Actually, I have one," she said and then, without any warning, Sheena grabbed Zelos' collar and threw him with all of her strength against Reriki. The red head screamed in panic as he was sent flying like a missile towards the demoness.

Reriki raised an eyebrow as she saw that and prepared to blast Zelos off, however, she saw Sheena appearing behind the man and using his shoulder as a stepping stone to jump even higher towards her. Reriki prepared to redirect the attack at Sheena, when the ninja threw three kunais at her. The white clad demoness batted those away with her sleeve and Sheena was finally at hitting range.

The reincarnated Luna charged with what little power she could gather in her leg and delivered a powerful kick on Reriki's face, throwing the demoness back. Sheena landed as Raine approached and Zelos got up, seeming to be peeved:

"What was with that? Did you seriously want to kill me?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Sheena replied.

Zelos seemed about to start an argument when the group heard a scream. They looked up and saw Reriki, now holding a mirror. Half of her face appeared to be cracked.

"My face! My beautiful face! How am I going to appear before Master like this? He'll never want to bed a girl with a face full of cracks!" Reriki wailed. Sheena and the others had sweatdrops running behind their heads at seeing what the demoness' main concern was. "You meanies! Look at what you did to me! I only wanted a fair fight in which I could kill you. You didn't have to go on and break my face, you…" it was then she looked and saw that the trio wasn't in front of her anymore. Looking around Reriki saw them running down the mounting path. "Hey! WAIT! I'm not finished with you all! Please, come back!" they either didn't listen or simply ignored her. "Ohhhhh! Master Genis is going to get so pissed…"

- / - / - / - / - / -

"_Eternal Recurrence_!" the ring of orbs spun and stopped. The orbs slid around the circumference of the concentrated blast of energy, crossing with a flash. When Ratatosk and Lloyd managed to see again, the blast had reversed its path, its color changing to an angry violet with four lines crossed on its front.

Ratatosk could just stare, dumbfounded. Nobody had ever managed to counter his favorite Mystic Arte. Nobody! How could that brat have just done that?

"Ratatosk!" Lloyd's voice came as he jumped in front of the reincarnated Lord of the Monsters and prepared to use his defensive Arte. That woke Ratatosk from his stupor as he saw what Lloyd's intent was.

"You idiot! GET OUT OF THERE!" he yelled as he approached and didn't have a choice, but to use Guardian together with Lloyd.

The reversed attack hit their combined defenses. The shields held on for five seconds before breaking from the great power of the Arte, which exploded around them. When the flames died away, the two reincarnated Summon Spirits were on the ground, their auras in complete disarray and their bodies burnt by the flames.

Genis' smile turned into a smirk as he walked towards them. He looked more satisfied then ever as he spoke:

"That was an amazing display, I'm glad I finally got to see you using your Ain Soph Aur! Pity I have orders to kill Ratatosk. There aren't many like you, you know?"

"You… how…" Ratatosk mumbled as he shakily tried to get up, without success. He ended up having to use his sword to support himself. "How could you… counter my… ?"

"It was actually very simple. I've been analyzing your aura ever since we started this fight," Ratatosk jolted his head up at hearing that, his neck burning with pain, although he ignored it. "I admit it was pretty hard, considering how unique it is, but when you cut me while your sword was enveloped in your power, my blood captured the energy used, so all I needed to do was analyze it and figure out the solution.

"From there on, it was child's play adjusting the wave length of my magical power and that of my orbs to match that of your Ain Soph Aur and counter it. Of course, I only had one chance to do it, but I think the results speak for themselves."

Ratatosk could only gape at Genis as he spoke all of that. Emil was also shell shocked. What Genis said was true, there was an easy way for one to counter any kind of magical attack; alter the wave length of the magical energy used on your spells to match that of your adversary, creating an "equal poles" effect. However, all of this was only theoretical, for the process of identification of one's aura wave length (and by consequence of his magical energy) was incredibly complex.

Only a handful people in the world could actually do it by themselves, so much that there was once a research on the topic in the Imperial Research Academy at Sybak with a team of the most renewed scholars and doctors at the study of mana. But that only applied to aura of normal people and elves at best. Summon Spirits were a completely different matter altogether. When the Kharlan War started and the studies were interrupted, the research on Luna's aura had completed six years and there was no indication they were even close to figuring its frequency at all.

So, what Genis just said to him shouldn't even be possible. Not even a super computer could figure out in such a small timeframe Ratatosk' aura. Of course, if Genis had studied only the power he used on the attacks that carried his spiritual energy, which was a little more concentrated and easier to discern, it would be plausible, but even that should take years of research.

_Just who the hell _is_ he? _Ratatosk thought as Genis approached and got close enough to grab him by his hair right in the moment Lloyd had stirred. Ratatosk tried to fight back, but he was weak from the fight and from being hit by two powerful attacks.

"Don't worry," Genis said as he approached his face to Ratatosk's, his eyes still with that crazy gleam and his expression that of maniacal excitement. "Your knowledge won't be lost. I'll add it to my heirloom to make sure it will never be forgotten."

It was then the sound of something cutting the air was heard. Genis' orb entered on the object's path and deflected it. The weapon fell to the ground and before it was absorbed back into the soil, they could see it was a chakra.

Genis looked up straightening himself as he held Ratatosk's head and saw the girls had returned. Presea was carrying Marta and Colette was in a fighting stance while her bandages were quickly becoming dyed of red. Marta glared at him as she supported herself on Presea and said:

"Get away from Ratatosk!"

"Oh really? And what are you gonna do?" Genis taunted, flashing a malicious smile at her.

From the mountain path, Sheena, Raine and Zelos came. Emil mentally sighed in relief at seeing all of the members of their party had survived.

"Seems I underestimated them... oh well, at least I've got to take these ones out," Genis said as he looked at Emil.

Raine then saw the boy and gasped. Sheena stopped in her place as she saw a burnt and beaten Lloyd with his jacket mostly charred and destroyed. She gritted her teeth in anger and prepared to fight and save her crush. Genis noticed that and squeezed Ratatosk's head tighter, electing a grumbled of pain from him, to indicate he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice the Summon Spirit in case Sheena tried something. The ninja stopped at her place and could only glare at him.

In that moment, Rahishi arrived via teleport. Genis took in her appearance and his eyes widened in concern as he saw her mostly destroyed armor and bleeding form, though she seemed to be healing now. She kneeled before him and said:

"Forgive me, my General, I wasn't able to kill them."

"Forget about it. Are you ok?" Genis asked.

"Yes. I'm healing already, but most of my strength left me."

Reriki also teleported into the scene. Genis looked at her and noticed something:

"Reriki. Your face…" he said.

"I know, and I'm sorry Master Genis," Reriki said as she floated to the ground. "They caught me off guard and made this to my face."

"Genis…" Raine said almost in a whisper, but loud enough for everybody to hear.

The silver haired Desian looked at her, his eyes scrutinizing as he analyzed the half-elven woman. He then spoke:

"Who are you to know my name, woman?"

"Genis, you… you don't remember?" Raine asked. Sheena and the others widened their eyes at that. Did Raine really know that Desian?

"What are you talking about? I've never seen you in m…" it was in that moment that the sound of metal piercing flesh was heard and Genis felt a burning pain on his other arm.

He looked down and his pupils contracted once he saw the point of a sword piercing his arm. Lloyd was holding it as he stood on his four, smiling as Genis let go of Ratatosk.

"Gotcha," he said as he jerked the sword off, blood flying. Sheena rushed forward to save the boys as Genis screamed in pain as he held his bloodied and now immobile arm with his other hand, as he couldn't even feel his hand anymore, although he could clearly feel the white-hot pain.

"GENERAL SAGE! You…" Rahishi gritted her teeth in anger as she drew her sword and prepared to cleave Lloyd in two.

Sheena arrived right in time and stopped Rahishi's blade with her seal cards, however, Reriki manipulated the seals around her and these shoot to Sheena. The spiritual demon's eyes were shinning with anger and murderous intent at seeing her superior getting attacked like that.

"Infinity Torment!" the seals stopped around Sheena and Rahishi jumped back as the patterns on the seal cards glowed and released lightning containing chaos energy on Sheena, electrocuting her. The seals then approached, the charge raising and Sheena was sure she would die electrocuted.

It was then she felt something returning to her, like a weight had been lifted off her. In that moment, she knew the seal on her Summon Spirit powers had wore off.

Without losing time, Sheena transformed, the spike of energy repelling the seals and interrupting the casting. She immediately teleported and caught the two boys, carrying one under her arm and the other over her shoulder and flew away.

_Don't worry Lloyd, I've got you. _when she looked forward, she paled. _What the… ? _in front of her was a giant sphere of darkness. The sphere then compressed upon itself and released several dark beams which hit Sheena dead on, draining her forces.

Her wings lost their strength and Sheena had to float to the ground. When she landed she looked and saw Genis with his good hand stretched, the orb of darkness floating at his palm and letting out dark wisps. When it moved away, she could see the look of pure hatred on his face.

"You…" his aura then flared, like a storm. Sheena and the others backed away instinctively. "DIE!" the orb of thunder came forth, Genis gripped it, lightnings crackling around the orb, and Thunder Blade was instantly cast. Sheena narrowly avoided it as she floated to the side. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

It was like a storm of magic as earth and flames exploded around her, ice tried to encased her body and wind blades almost sliced her to bits. With her diminished defenses, Sheena was sure she would revert back to her human form if she was caught in the strings of magical attacks.

Seeing Sheena's transformation as the sign that the seal wore off, Presea entered in spirit form, but could still only use one arm while the other still carried the injuries from before and didn't respond to her commands. Rahishi met her blade and the battle between the two began anew. Colette also transformed and engaged in a long-ranged fight with Reriki.

Zelos sensed his power returning and turned his look to Genis who was casting spell after spell like a madman. From the looks of it, his injuries didn't limit his abilities and he didn't look like he would run out of steam anytime soon.

"Raine, give me cover," Zelos said while he prepared a spell himself.

"Wait. What are you going to do?" Raine asked, appearing to be more worried than the usual, but Zelos didn't pay attention.

"Everfrost Glory!"

Several icebergs materialized around Genis, who stopped his frantic spell casting at seeing them. When he thought that they had missed him, he heard the sound of cracking and knew what was about to come.

"Conqueror's Shield!" Genis used his defensive Arte right at the time the icebergs exploded, thousands of ice shards the size of a man's head flying like angry bees. They impacted with his barrier and seemed to adhere to it, slowly freezing the shield. "That's not going to work on me!" when his shield had been completely encased and turned into a bubble of solid ice, Genis flared his aura again and broke it.

It was then he looked and saw Zelos in midair, within attacking range from him, his ice sword poised to split his head in the middle. Genis widened his eyes. Zelos had only used that Arte to distract him so he could approach and deliver the final blow. Genis was about to knock the swordsman off with one of his orbs when he heard a cry of "Brilliant Shackles" and knew he was finished.

However, instead of the Desian General being bound in two lines of light seals, it was Zelos.

The red head yelled in pain as the light exploded around him and launched him back, making him drop his sword. As he was falling he looked at Raine, standing on a casting stance with a look of disbelief and shock on her face, as if she herself couldn't believe what she had just done. The battle around had stopped, everybody turning to look when they heard Zelos' scream right after Raine casted her spell. The ex-Representative then hit the ground and everybody was silent in shock.

_She… attacked her own companion? _Rahishi thought in surprise, not understanding why Raine would do that.

Sheena and Lloyd had their mouths agape as she was holding him. Ratatosk was just recovering his bearings and Marta and all of the others stopped what they were doing at seeing that.

Genis seemed to be the most shocked out of all of them. In one instant, he was about to have his head split, the next he's being saved by one of his enemies. None of that made any sense. He then shook himself out of his stupor and realized the position he was in, also noticing that his wounds were starting to sting and hurt, the rush of adrenaline and magic that served as an anesthesia now gone due to the shock.

"Reriki! Rahishi! To me!" he commanded. The two demonesses dismissed their confusion at the call of their superior and joined him immediately, standing at his sides protectively. "Let's leave," his aides looked at him in surprised. Genis gritted his teeth and lowered his head, his silver bangs covering his eyes. "We have to recognize, we've lost this round…"

The two nodded and Reriki mumbled a chant. Raine saw Genis was about to leave and ran to him, calling the half-elf's name, but the young-looking Desian didn't look at her even once as he and his aides disappeared in a flash.

The foot of the mountains turned silent once more as Raine stopped on her place looking with grief and hurt at the place Genis and his aides had stood moments before. The group then slowly started to recover their bearings. Zelos got up with a grunt, Colette went to Marta, who she had left leaning in a tree, and Emil was slowly recovering as Presea could only look at all of that in confusion as she reverted to her normal self.

It was then Lloyd started to feel Sheena shaking besides him. He looked at her and would have stepped back if his legs weren't so weak from all of the fight and most of his body didn't hurt so much. He was about to call her and ask if she was alright when the ninja stood up, reverting back to her human form and stomping in Raine's direction.

The group noticed that and Colette was about to ask if Sheena was alright when the ninja reached Raine, who was still staring at the spot General Sage had been. The silver haired woman noticed Sheena approaching. She looked up and was punched right in the face, her adventurer hat falling to the ground. The entire group gasped.

Sheena then grabbed Raine by the collar before the half-elf could fall and brought her up to her face so she could look at Raine's eyes. Colette now called Sheena, but the violet haired woman seemed out of it as she yelled at Raine:

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? You attacked Zelos to defend that guy?"

"Um… I'm alright… just so you know…" Zelos said, sounding unsure. Sheena didn't pay attention to him (a fact that, for once, Zelos took as a blessing).

"What the hell is wrong with you? You know that Desian, don't you? You even called him by his name!" she started shaking Raine, who just looked at her with surprise, the spot where she had been hit starting to form a nasty bruise.

"Sheena!" Colette called, but the woman seemed deaf to everybody around her.

Lloyd grunted as he got up and Sheena stopped shaking Raine long enough to say:

"How did you know him? Is it another one of your so called 'personal matters'? Well, you know what? I'm sick, tired of you and your dirty secrets!" she then threw Raine hard on the ground, who fell with a grunt, not even trying to stand up for herself. "First you knew Nebilim personally and now you even know a Desian General with that level of power. HE ALMOST KILLED LLOYD AND YOU SAVED HIM!"

Sheena looked like she was ready to kick Raine's face when Lloyd grabbed her waist in an attempt to restrain the reincarnated Luna. It was a feeble attempt at best, since he was too weak to restrain Sheena should she chose to attack Raine.

"Sheena, that's enough! Raine is…" Lloyd tried to reason with her, but the angry guardian user would have none of that.

"Don't come defending her, Lloyd!" Sheena said to him, although the anger in her tone had dropped a bit.

"I…" Raine weakly tried to say as she stood on all fours. For the first time since the group got to know her, the silver haired Professor looked defeated and sad, but above all she looked tired.

"We trust you with our lives and even our pasts, but you can't do the same for us. What? Is it because we're humans? Or is it about you trying to save the reputation of a guy that is already dead?"

"That's not what this is…"

"Then WHAT?"

"HE IS MY BROTHER!" Sheena stopped screaming at Raine's outburst as the half-elf looked up at her. The group could only look at her as she screamed that in loud and good sound. "That… Desian… he's my brother… Genis," Raine finally said, looking down.

Zelos, for once, decided to keep his mouth shut at that. Marta could only look with her jaw dropped as Colette helped her to get closer to Emil, who was conscious to hear the entire argument and had his jaw drop too. Ratatosk was shocked from what the blonde could sense. Even Presea had her eyes wide at hearing that.

"Your… brother?" Sheena mumbled. Lloyd let go of her in the surprise when Raine spoke that. "Then… when you asked… and… ha… ha ha ha…" Sheena started to chuckle, her expression morphing into that of a smile, the kind of smile of one that just had everything he believed in shattered before his eye. "I see… so that's it."

"Sheena?" Lloyd called in an unsure tone. His crush was starting to worry him.

"Don't worry Lloyd…" Sheena said, her expression a mix of hurt and understanding. "I'm not going to kill her," she said in a low voice, even though the entire group could hear as it was carried by the silence in the clearing. Sheena then looked at Raine, her expression morphing into one of pure scorn. "She doesn't deserve that luxury."

With that, Sheena wordlessly helped a dumbstruck Lloyd up and started to walk away with him, saying she would treat his wounds, not once looking back at Raine, who just stood on her knees where Sheena had left her, a look of shock on her face. The others slowly started to get up and leave, one by one.

In the end, Raine was left alone, with only her thoughts to reflect on everything her friend (if she could even call Sheena that at this rate) had said to her. Raine lowered her head and, for the first time since the end of the Kharlan War, started to weep:

"I'm… sorry…" she said, tears falling from her eyes as she repeated that over and over…

* * *

_Between the many fields of magic, the most dificult one is, without a doubt, the study of one's aura's wavelength, or, as it was known in the pre-Kharlan War period, the identification of the mana's vibrations. (...)_

_All beings posses a wave length which is produced by their soul, giving unique characteristis to their magical power and aura. This wave length is unique for each being, none possessing the same wave length as the other. That particular characteristic is what makes the study of the aura's wave length so difficult. (...)_

_ It is known that there are beings in the world gifted with the talent to identify a person's aura wave length withing just a few hours, or minutes in the case that person is using magical attacks, which cause spikes in a person's aura due to the rush of magical energy required to cast a spell. As such, it is plausible to say that these people are true master spell casters, capable of even repelling their adversaries magic by altering the wave length of their own magical attacks to match that of their oponent, creating a repulsing effect known as the "equal magic poles". (...)_

_The more elevated a subject's soul is, the more complex the decoding of their aura's wave length tends to be. The most complex soul wave lengths ever reported are those of the Summon Spirits. The most complex soul in Aselia is none other than that of the higher Summon Spirits such as Maxwell and Origin. (...)_

_- Excerpt from "The Elven Lore: A Guide to Magic", by Genis Sage -_

So Genis finally have his time to shine. Hope you liked the_ real _presentation of his character, fighting style and overall powers_._

Now, to the true A.N. here: I'll have to take some time in thinking how I'll lead the rest of the fic. Don't worry, I won't abbandon it or anything. Those of you that already read my works must be familiarized with the fact that I don't leave anything unfinished (unless under extreme circumstances, but that's antoher matter altogether).

I do have in mind all of the key events for this fic and where I want it to go, but my fellow writers must already know that having the plot's skeleton in mind is one thing and ting the plot points in a plausible and concise manner, is another.

Anyway, for my beta-reader, if he is reading this, if you have any ideas, PM or send some e-mails if you're interested in sharing any ideias. And if anybody wants to contribute to the fic and have some talent drawing, you could try and draw some demons or even the character's new outfits. I would do so, but I can't draw to save my own life *sniffs*. For more details, PM me.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Review or Genis will go Magical Overlord on everybody, including me. At least it's not as bad as his Midget Tantrums, except it has lethal potential._  
_


	36. Truth and Companionship

Finally, I'm up with this new chapter!

First, to answer some reviews:

To everybody: It's good to see you liked my version of a Desian Genis. I always thought if he was raised to hate humans and kill them he would excel at that with all of the magical power he possess. He could easily become a Grand Cardinal if he so wished. Pity we never saw he applying his genius intellect more in the game and instead always left Lloyd and the others come up with the plans. Maybe he was just insecure or it was a child thing.

Dr. Bob: Want to see Alice's reaction? Then, my friend, this is your chapter. Just don't forget that Alice, above all, desires power and, in a way, admires people/beings with it, as she admited in the game. Of course, that admiration is never pure.

Emil C: **To all people that are wondering about my Yuri pairing**: first all of all, Presea and Colette have to realize they are developing a crush one for the other and Presea herself has to realize what she is feeling. She doesn't know what a stronger attraction is like. Colette, obviously, is on the way of realizing it, but she, obeying the Universal Moe Protocol, won't speak out loud her feelings and wait Presea admit hers. I know, I know... typical anime, puppy character...

Anyway, some surprises are on the way here and some character development too!

* * *

**Chapter 32**

**Truth and Companionship**

Genis winced as Reriki applied an herbal mix on his wounds, having his torso and forehead bandaged and his arm immobilized.

Another one of the talents of General Sage's perverted aide was that she was a specialist in medicine and first aid. Granted, it was demonic one, but she also knew enough of the body of mortals to know which substances could be applied and which ones couldn't. Rahishi was sleeping, recovering from her wounds, which required a more throughout treatment.

"You shouldn't move your arm for at least two weeks," Reriki said as she finished. "You're lucky he didn't hit any nerves or cut the bone, or we might have to consult Master Richter about a healing spell."

"Considering he doesn't finish what the Spirit's started first…" Genis replied.

Saying that Nebilim's student and Richter weren't good friends was an understatement. Genis and Richter despised each one, to the point they would get into an argument each time they met. Granted, it never escalated into a brawl, but there were times when both were pretty close to it. Richter considered Genis a "smartass, boot-licker brat" and Genis called him an "emo, backstabber-wannabe".

Genis was very aware of the possibility that Richter had been keeping contact with Ratatosk and just didn't ask Lord Nebilim why he allowed such a travesty to occur because he (and only him, as he liked to think) knew that Richter could be useful as a hostage should Ratatosk get too bold. But sometimes he wondered if it was even worth the effort.

_At least he's not privy to my Lord's secrets, which means he can't really give away anything that might directly put Lord Nebilim's plans in jeopardy. _Genis thought.

The Desian General knew there were secrets to his lord's plans and powers that not even him was allowed to know, but he liked to think it was just because if Nebilim divulged it, some power hungry fool might try and usurp Nebilim's position. Not that it would happen if Genis had anything to say on the matter.

"My, my, what we have here," a familiar, sing-song voice echoed in Genis' room. He turned and saw it was Alice. "When I heard our most celebrated general came back after a f-a-i-l-u-r-e and got injured, I simply knew I had to pay a visit."

"If you wanted to suck the blood out of my wounds or scavenge my bones, you might as well give up, Alice. I'm not dead yet and I don't intent to be so soon," Genis sharply replied.

"My, my, sooo scary. I just wanted to see how you were doing. You know, just a little visit between comrades."

"Oh? I'm your comrade now?" Genis asked in a cynical tone.

It was no secret Alice envied Genis' position and reputation among the Desians. However, she seemed to be even more confused about the young-looking half-elf when he refused a promotion to Grand Cardinal rank. There was no doubt in Alice's mind that if Genis wished, he would have ascended to the rank of leader of the Five Grand Cardinals with little effort.

When she inquired him why he refused the offer, Genis simply said:

"I don't have any intentions of wasting my time breeding inferior beings and farming Expheres, or managing a bunch of suck-ups and morons."

That intrigued the blond girl. She had to admit she also had a mild admiration to the other general. After all, it was hard not to. The silver haired, pure-blooded half-elf was a power house of magical power just waiting to be unleashed. He could easily take on even demon generals. Just the thought of what kind of feats Genis was capable with all of that power made Alice all tingly and a little hot.

But it seemed that, in the end, even he was not a match for the combined might of the reincarnated Summon Spirits, although, according to what she heard, he did a number on them that easily rivaled to the damage Lord Nebilim had inflicted on the group on his meeting with them in the Temple of Darkness.

Alice then looked at his two aides. The spiritual demonic one was still recovering from the crack on her face and the other was sleeping on one of the extra two beds Genis had.

Each Desian General had a room. They were mostly identical and spartan, made out of dark stone with wooden floor. The few furniture in the rooms were a wardrobe, a bookcase, a study desk and a bed. Alice had two because of Decus, although she had also insisted on a divider between them so the blue haired man didn't get too "comfortable". She didn't let him sleep in the soldiers' quarters because the other Desians might think it would be funny to see what color his altered blood was.

In their first night, Decus had acted like an idiot (as always) and gushed about how honored he was that Alice would consider sleeping with him in the same room, getting on his knee and making dramatic gestures with his arms like he was proposing to her. That is, until she brought the divider in and burst his bubble of happiness, replying she just did that because it wouldn't be easy to get another personal slave and she didn't want to have to clean his remains latter.

"You know, the others are saying you're losing your touch," Alice said in her baby voice and sporting her familiar sweet, deceiving smile.

"Hmph! How predictable," Genis said with a mild smile. He then turned to Reriki. "Seems we'll have some smart guys to deal with later."

"Oh good. I wanted to test out the new seal Artes I developed," Reriki said with a smile.

"Really? You developed new Artes? Why didn't you told me so?" Genis said, his calm and cynical demeanor replaced by that maniacal gleam of when somebody spoke about new magic around him.

"I was going to, but I forgot," Reriki said, lightly hitting the top of her head with her knuckle and closing her eyes, tongue sticking out in what some would consider a cute way. "But I can show you, Master Genis. In particular…"

Genis seemed to consider it for a moment, not even getting the undertone in Reriki's voice. Alice saw it as another chance and tried to jump in:

"I wanna join too," she said, her voice sweeter than usual.

"No," Genis immediately said, seeming to come out of his "Magic Mania" mode.

"Why not?" the girl asked, pouting.

"I might be an enthusiast for magic, but I'm not stupid, Alice."

"C'mon. Are you still sore about that incident before?"

When Alice was recruited and after three months of service in the Desian ranks, she met Genis one day. She couldn't sense his aura, otherwise she would find out who he was, since her superiors used to talk about a "weakling, strategist-wannabe brat who couldn't even handle demon blood." Alice admitted she was bored that day and had sent Decus to get her something to eat.

She tried to make small talk with Genis and even throw some charm on him so she could get another servant/slave (Decus was starting to get on her nerves with all of his praising and idiotic talk), but Genis caught on her intention and left, huffing and mumbling something about "disrespect towards seniors." Later, Alice found out the silver haired midget she had talked to was actually the enigmatic General Sage.

"I don't appreciate your treatment of your seniors, Alice. You're lucky I took it in stride the way I did, otherwise I would have ended your life, there and then," Genis said in a cold tone.

"Well, you didn't exactly look like my senior. I mean, you look at least four years younger than me."

"Oh really?" Genis said with a snicker and a mocking smile. "The fact that you judge my age by my appearance just goes to show how naïve you are," Alice looked at him with a confused and offended look.

Half-elves, when they were children, aged just like human children did. However when they reached adulthood their bodies' aging was slowed down considerably. So, until then, their bodies would portray the typical looks of people of that age.

That wasn't Genis' case…

Nobody knew what exactly led his body to completely reject the infusion of demon blood, but whatever it had been, it produced a side-effect after the failed ritual: he stopped aging. Genis was now permanently looking like a fourteen year old. When he asked, nobody knew how to explain it. Rodyle had volunteered to check on him and discover what the cause was, but Genis knew that "check" for the scientist Grand Cardinal meant "turning him into his guinea pig".

Genis suspected Nebilim knew the reason, because the moment his body starting to repel the chaos energy on the blood and he started to scream in pain, feeling his insides burning like acid had been injected into him, Nebilim ordered everybody to cease everything and immediately teleported Genis and himself to the boy's quarters, where he took care of him and casted an array of spells that lessened the pain and effectively purged whatever demonic blood remained on him.

Whenever the half-elf asked his lord about the subject, Nebilim stood in silence, not uttering a word. Eventually, Genis decided to stop asking and count his blessings. Although he still wondered why Lord Nebilim even bothered to save him and nurse him back into health when he clearly hadn't done that to the other failures.

Not aging, meant living longer, but Genis' wasn't foolish enough to think of himself as immortal. Anyway, being permanently young meant he could maintain his peak of magical power, although that normally didn't dwindle with age like physical strength.

There was only one disadvantage at having a fourteen year old body, one that existed ever since creation came into place: hormones. Genis could topple any adversary in the battle field, scheme to take down his opponents and sometimes turn their troops' strengths against them, but when it came to off-business interaction with others of the fairer sex, he could end up looking like an idiot.

Thankfully, the only women to ever see that side of him were Reriki and Rahishi. Thinking on it now, the one that made him discover that his teenage hormones still had power to influence his behavior was Reriki. Genis would never admit to it, but there were times in which he came too close to giving in to the demoness' advances. If it wasn't for Rahishi stopping her just before he succumbed, Genis was sure his name would have joined the long list of Reriki's lovers.

Genis also almost blushed when Alice tried to charm him, but the logical side of his mind soon discovered her true intentions and acted like a cold shower on him.

"See, Master Genis doesn't want you," Reriki said, promptly hugging Genis and stuffing his head on her large breasts. "After all, why would he need a flat-chested girl, when he has me?" Reriki shot a malicious look to Alice, who "humph"ed and turned to leave.

Alice wasn't easily insulted. Most of the time somebody complained about her behavior or presence, she simply took it in stride or didn't acknowledge the comment at all. However, there were a select few that could get under her skin. The most notably ones were Decus, who she always answered by calling him by the so famous nickname Dumbo-Decus, Marta, simply because she never liked the girl ever since she saw her, and Pronyma, who she despised because of her treacheries to get into the position she was currently occupying. Alice had wanted to do that herself.

However, ever since Genis came into the picture and Alice discovered why he was regarded with both respect and scorn by her fellow Desians, she came to also hate his aides, especially Reriki. To Alice, Genis would have fallen for her charms if he didn't have those two to satisfy his "needs". After all, Genis was a boy (or at least had the body of one) and boys tended to desire the company of attractive females. Also, the fact that Reriki pointed out Alice's lacking assets while emphasizing her own, earned the big busted demon a special place on Alice's black list.

"Thanks, but… can you let me go, Reriki?" Genis asked from his position, being squeeze against Reriki's bust.

"Oh, do I have to? Besides, why don't we take this opportunity…" her tone became sultry at that as she showed a seductive smile. Genis looked up and started to blush at that. "And make some time for…" although Genis knew what Reriki would suggest, she didn't get to finish it, for in that moment she was hit in the head by the flat side of Rahishi's blade.

Reriki stood still for a moment, before loosing her grip on Genis and falling back, stunned and unconscious. Genis looked at his other aide, who put her sword over her shoulder, with a look of irritation on her face and closed her eyes as she spoke:

"Honestly, I can't even leave you treating General Sage without you trying to get into his pants, can I, you slut?" Rahishi said in a harsh reprimand. The only answer she got was a moan of pain from Reriki.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Sheena finished tying another bandage around Lloyd's torso, covering his back with a special mix of herbs for burns, which she learned how to make in Mizuho. She said he shouldn't exert himself too much, unless he wanted to feel some pain. Her crush thanked her.

"Don't mention it. After all, what kind of woman would I be if I didn't take care of my boyfriend?" Sheena said with a smirk.

Lloyd laughed at that, though his cheeks became colored with red. He thought he probably would never get used to see a woman such as Sheena as his girlfriend. He decided that this would be a good time to talk to her alone, since the others were dispersed around their camp near the Fooji Mountains:

"Um… Sheena?"

"Yes, Lloyd?" she asked.

"About… what happened before… well…" he didn't know where to start. How did you talk to your (self-proclaimed) girlfriend about a fight they just had with one of their friends about her habit of keeping them in the dark?

"Please… I don't want to talk about it," Sheena said, her smile gone as she looked to the side, trying to hide her look of pain and disappointment.

Silence befell the two. Lloyd knew that Sheena wouldn't admit it, but the ninja had considered Raine as a friend. As much mysterious as the half-elven woman could be, she had helped them through their hardships. Lloyd himself also saw her as somebody he could count on, but he didn't like the fact she never told them about Nebilim, Genis and whatever other things she might be hiding from them.

He tried to place himself in her place. What would he have done if he had known Nebilim when he was still alive and was one of his students? What would he have done if a member of his family turned out to be a Desian? When he couldn't find an answer, he sighed in frustration.

_It's no use, I can't even begin to imagine how this situation would have turned out if it were me. Not to say that I still can't believe Nebilim was like Raine described him. _the red clad swordsman thought.

"I think you should try talking to her," Lloyd decided to get right to the point, since he couldn't find other way to say that.

"Last time I did, all I got were cryptic messages and strange questions," Sheena replied a bit more harshly than she intended to. She turned to the reincarnated Efreet and spoke. "Lloyd, face the facts: Raine never trusted us. She hid her past, her family and her intention from us."

"Well, you also hid the fact you were from Mizuho from us in the beginning."

To that, Sheena didn't have an answer. She sighed and continued talking:

"Ok, I admit you have a point there. But still…"

"It's because her brother almost killed me, isn't it?" Lloyd dropped the proverbial hammer.

He couldn't see Sheena getting mad at Raine had the situation turned out differently. No. He knew it was because he was almost killed twice by people Raine had a direct relationship. Lloyd might be a little oblivious about what other people felt about him (mainly when it came to women), but he knew protectiveness when he saw it and Sheena had been very protective of him lately.

The reincarnated Luna gave a sad smile as she turned and looked to Lloyd right in the eyes.

"Can you blame me for being mad at her?" she inquired. "I mean… look, I know I might not be a saint and everything, but… I can't stand the idea of you being in danger. That at any moment you might…" she stopped there, not wanting to say the word. Lloyd understood what she meant. "So, can you blame for being mad at her because she withheld information that might have prevented all of this from happening?"

"No, you're right. I can't," Lloyd said, looking to the side before his eyes locked on Sheena's again. "But, Sheena, you forget we're all in constant danger. This is no different from what normally happens to us. So, please, I don't want to see my friends fighting like this."

There was silence after that. Sheena thought on what Lloyd said and, with another sigh, decided to finally give in:

"Ok, ok, I get it. Honestly, you're too soft for your own good, Lloyd…" her face approached his and Lloyd involuntarily leaned back, his own face taking a scarlet color as he saw the voluptuous female inching closer to him. "Then again, that is why I like you so much."

If Lloyd was to describe that moment, he wouldn't know what words to use, if he even managed to come up with any. The sensation of having Sheena's lips on his, how blissful it was feeling her tongue battling against his as the kiss quickly evolved to a passionate one. He didn't even notice the pain when he was laid back in the grass.

Things just didn't escalate even further because it wouldn't do for the two to make love while they were so close to their friends (as Sheena had to remind herself, as much as she was reluctant to let go). So, it was with much effort that the female ninja and the dual swordsman broke their kiss, with the reincarnated Luna still smiling a seductive smile to her (now official) boyfriend.

She then approached her lips to his ear and whispered in a seductive tone:

"I honestly don't know why you were so worried. You're a great kisser, Lloyd."

Lloyd could swear the red on his face would never go away as he felt Sheena now licking his earlobe. Amidst all of that, he wondered if it was Asuka that had taught her that too…

- / - / - / - / - / -

While the reincarnated Luna and Efreet were talking, Zelos and Emil were taking care of Marta, who was still not able to move. Surprisingly enough, Emil discovered Zelos knew how to treat broken bones. As the man was instructing him how to properly bandage and immobilize Marta's members (he would have done so himself, with a grin on his face, but a threat from Ratatosk of cutting his manhood off quickly made the ex-Representative change his mind), the girl couldn't contain her curiosity and asked:

"How do you know so much about first aid techniques?"

Zelos' face sobered a little as he seemed to be recalling a painful memory as he spoke:

"I used to treat my little sister. She had quite a frail health constitution, so I learned everything I could about medicine in case something happened."

"You have a little sister?" Emil asked, surprised.

"Well, actually, half-little-sister. Not that I minded it, anyway. She was quite nice, although a little on the spunky side," he smiled fondly at it with his eyes closed.

"What about the rest of your family?"

Zelos seemed to consider that for a moment. This was a personal matter that he never liked to talk about. He always felt uncomfortable whenever his family was mentioned, even after all these years. But considering what happened lately with their group and secrets, he thought that it was better that he was honest with them, even if this was a relatively harmless secret, just to not get them suspicious about him.

_Besides, it's not like they won't understand. Each one of them has lost something to the Desians and the demons. _the red head thought. "My mother and father weren't what you could call the happiest couple ever. Actually, they were the exact opposite of you two."

Emil (predictably) blushed at hearing that, but Marta only looked at Zelos with even more interest and curiosity. Zelos then continued as he made himself more comfortable on the ground:

"The marriage was a political maneuver by the church to get one of wealthiest families of the old aristocracy to support them by marrying the Representative to the family's heir. My mother and father couldn't stand each other and, as a result, they never looked at me as their son. I might as well have never been born and it wouldn't make a difference to them," Marta was about to protest, but Zelos continued his story, not giving her the chance. "Then came the news my father was having an affair with a half-elf. My sister, Seles, was a product of that affair.

"You certainly can imagine what happened later… there was a scandal and my father ran away with his other woman. The only thing actually good he did was leaving Seles behind. The church didn't know of her existence, so we could disguise her as one of the servants."

"We?" Emil asked.

"Me and my butler, Sebastian. You saw him. He was the one that actually raised me. He and Seles, they were the only ones that actually treated me like a human being instead of a title. My mother turned a blind eye to Seles, though I still don't know why. Probably because she didn't give a damn about anything."

"What happened to your sister then?" Marta asked.

"She died."

There was a morbid silence after that as Marta's eyes widened and her expression soon turned apologetic by making Zelos recall what certainly should be a painful memory. From the way he spoke his sister's name, it was clear Zelos had loved her and considered her his family. Emil was the one to speak by Marta, apologizing.

"What are you apologizing for? It's not like you two had anything to do with it. Anyway, that was ten years ago, when my family was forced to go on a pilgrimage around Cruxis' communities as an initiation for my role as the new Representative. We had to take Seles too, otherwise somebody might find out she was a half-elf and that could be dangerous to her. Worst mistake of my life…

"The carriage we were in was attacked by a demon. The small task force of the Purge Inquisitors was quickly killed by it. I couldn't do anything, but shake in terror as it tore everyone apart with spike-like claws and horns. I tried to run away with my sister, but the demon… shot her…"

Zelos could remember, the sound of flesh being pierced, the expression of surprise on his sister's face as her body was almost torn in half, with a big, white spike with dark, circular grooves on it stuck out of his sister's body, dripping of blood. She fell to the ground, that expression fixated on her face and he could only look in horror.

He kneeled near her and, unable to accept that she was dying, tried to call for her, just for Seles to look at him and tell him to go on without her, to run away from that demon so her brother could live. Thirteen year-old Zelos did nothing of the sort, just looking at his sister in shock and denial as her eyes closed and she slowly ceased to breath.

When he noticed heavy steps, he looked up and saw the demon there. He could clearly remember it: glowing, yellow eyes that seemed to pierce his very soul, orange, hard scales, three horns on its head, one sprouting back to its forehead after it shot the one that was currently embedded in Zelos' sister and two more on the sides of its head. The demon only looked at Zelos, who had tears of fear and sorrow running at the sides of his cheeks as he looked up in fear at the creature that had robbed him of his blood family.

Then, surprisingly, the demon turned and left, like there was no one else there and nothing more for it to kill. That confused Zelos to this day.

"After it was done with all others, it left. I was the only survivor," he found himself saying before he could stop. "I don't get it? Killing everybody else, but leaving me alive? I was the new Representative, wasn't I?"

He then felt Marta's hand touch his. Zelos looked to the girl, who offered him a comforting smile as she spoke:

"I know how it feels like… my mother was also killed by the demons… I was there to see her last moments."

Marta could still remember her mother's words, her strained voice and pleading expression:

_Ratatosk is our best chance, but… please, don't treat him like a tool. We still have… to make up… to him. _her mother knew that humanity owed the Summon Spirits and had to fix their past mistakes, so she believed that they should support Ratatosk, but never ask anything of him.

Zelos looked at Marta and smiled a small, sincere smile. Then, recovering his usual tone, he spoke:

"Well, then I suppose we should concentrate on doing our best from now on. But, if you need anything, Marta dear, you can speak to me. After all, I am…"

"The Last Romantic, yeah I know…" Marta spoke, rolling her eyes, but she knew that if Zelos was already back to his narcissistic, flirtatious self it meant he was better.

Emil could just shake his head as he smiled at the red head's antics…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Presea was overlooking Raine treating Colette's wounds and bandaging her torso once more. None of the two girls talked with her about what had occurred, only speaking when Raine asked something. Out of all members in the party, Presea was the only one that didn't seem affected by the news that Raine's brother was a Desian General.

_This is of no concern to me. _Presea concluded. _As long as Colette is safe and Raine doesn't show signs of betraying us, I don't care._

"Ok, dear. This should do it. Just make sure that you don't move too much," Raine said, attempting to sound her normal self, although her voice was still a little bit shaken.

"Raine..." Colette started, her usual smile had been absent during the entire treatment. Raine looked at her inquisitively. Colette then thought better of it. "No. It's nothing."

Raine only nodded, but Colette could swear she saw gratitude in the half-elf's eyes. It seemed Raine was still not ready to talk about what had happened. As the half-elf left, Colette was left alone with Presea.

The pink haired girl tried to think on how to start a conversation with Colette. Strangely, she felt warm and her heart accelerated its beatings each time she thought about this. This was all so confusing for Presea. She decided to simply dismiss it and started talking:

"Colette..." the blonde looked at her. "I... I... wanted to..." she was unable to continue. _What's wrong with me?_

"Oh, that's right. I forgot to ask how you're feeling," Colette said. "I'm sorry."

Presea had the arm which she had received the gash from Rahishi's sword in a sling. Her dark, dress shirt had been taken off so she could be bandaged on her torso, leaving her only in dark, formfitting pants that barely reached her knees. She also had her body practically bathed in ointment for burns.

"It's... nothing... I'm healing pretty well..." Presea said, feeling very self-conscious around Colette. "But thanks... for asking."

Presea had forgotten what it was like to have somebody care for her. Hearing it coming from such a sweet girl like Colette made blood rush to her face.

"Colette..." Presea said, deciding to question about a subject she had been waiting to talk to Colette with. "Back in Ozette... when we were alone."

"Huh? Oh. Y-You mean..." Colette spoke, the memory of what happened at the time coming back to her. Was Presea going to talk about their almost-kiss? Did she want to kiss for real? _Wait. Why am I thinking like that?_

"You said that I should live, if not for me, then for the people that cared about me."

"Oh... that..." Colette said, her tone dropping, suddenly feeling disappointed, although she didn't know why.

"I wanted to ask: what did you mean with that?"

Colette then looked up at Presea and saw the girl was fiddling with the edge of her formfitting, dark shorts, in a surprisingly girly gesture. It seemed Presea only showed that less analytical and serious facede when she was around Colette, although Presea herself didn't know exactly why.

"I meant exactly what I said," Colette said. "Presea, you're my friend. And also, Lloyd's and Emil's, Marta's and so on. We all would feel sad if you died. So you shouldn't think that everybody would be better if you were to die. It would the exact contrary. Besides, I think your sister also wanted to see you to apologize, but that's only my opinion."

"My... sister? Alicia?" Presea asked, a little surprise. So, had Alicia really reached the next city?

"Yes. She's working for Duke Bryant, the President of Lezareno Company, as his personal maid. She was fine, but she seemed very sad and upset when she told us about you. I think she regrets leaving you the way she did."

Presea couldn't believe that. Last time she had seen Alicia, the girl had called her a monster and a freak because the way she acted around women and for killing their father. She then ran away while Presea wasn't looking with few supplies and only the clothes on her body, never looking back. That had been sixteen years ago. She thought her little sister had all, but forgotten her.

"But... Alicia said..." Presea said weakly. She felt a warm touch on her hand and looked to see Colette grabbing it. When she looked at the blonde, she saw her giving another one of her heart warming smiles.

"I'm sure whatever she said was only because of the grief she felt at the moment. It was without thinking and possibly not what she really felt for you. People can do things like that when they're really sad..." she looked to the side. From her tone, Presea could say she was speaking from personal experience. "But, I'm sure she has already calmed down and realized her mistake.

"You're a good person Presea. You protected my friends and me several times now. So, please, don't think you're worthless or that people will be happier if you're gone. Don't commit the same mistake I did," Colette said in a begging tone.

Presea felt something moving in her heart. A warm feeling that made her stomach flutter and was enough to almost bring tears to her eyes. What was this she was feeling? She couldn't understand. She then shook her head to clear it and grasped Colette's hand, assuming a determined tone as she spoke:

"Understood. If that will make you happy, then I will not give up on my life. I will continue to protect you, Colette, and your friends… and Alicia should she allow me to."

Colette smiled a grateful smile that made Presea's cheeks gain a pink tone. The golden blonde girl giggled at the reaction. Presea's declaration wasn't exactly what she expected, but it was a start.

_Presea, I'll definitely make you see that life is worth living in this world and that you can shape it with your own hands._

- / - / - / - / - / -

Raine stood near a cliff overlooking the plains, thinking as she had done ever since everything that happened near the mountains of the Temple of Darkness. It was clear what course of action should be taken, but… could she?

If she was completely honest with herself, she had always been a devious person. Not trusting anybody other than those of her race that experienced suffering had been the only way of living she knew. She also always thought she needed to preserve the memory of the past, like that of Lord General Neran Illirium. But now she wasn't so sure anymore.

_Professor Neran… what would you do in this situation?_ Raine mentally inquired. No answer came to her.

Of course there wouldn't be one. Neran died in the Kharlan War. All that was left of him was that wraith who called himself Nebilim. She still questioned what could have happened that would have transformed him into that.

_No. There's no use in thinking on that now. _Raine reprimanded herself.

She sighed and turned, just to see a red head in front of her. A familiar one at that. He pushed his glasses on his face as he regarded his kin:

"Raine Sage."

"Richter," she returned.

"I take it from the look on your face that you've faced your brother."

"You knew about him?" Raine asked, surprise evident in her tone, although she tried to hide it.

"It's hard not to hear about him, considering his accomplishments. When I heard your surname, I only had to connect the dots. I'm surprise he hasn't realized the resemblance yet."

Raine stood mute at that. So her brother really was that famous among the Desians. She remembered what she heard from Netrioh that day in his fortress…

- / - / - / - / - / -

"_Genis Sage. That's the pe__rson I'm looking for," Raine said to the merchant demon._

"_Genis, heh?" Netrioh said, putting his hand on his chin._

"_Wait. Isn't that General Sage's name?" Algrioh asked._

"_Hey, you're right."_

"_General Sage?" Raine asked both curious and confused._

"_What, haven't you heard?" Algrioh questioned. "He's pretty famous among the Desians. The only half-elf to ever have achieved that rank without even going through the transfusion of demon blood!"_

"_Actually he did, but I heard it was a failure," Netrioh said in a neutral tone. "But the guy more than makes up for it in magic power. I swear, he's as scary as one of our generals. You should see him when somebody speaks about magic around him."_

_Raine put her hand over her mouth in a thinking pose. Netrioh noticed that and asked why she was so interested in General Sage if she never even heard about him. Raine looked up at him and said__,__ in her typical serious tone:_

"_I think that would be part of 'costumer confidentiality'." _

"_Ok, ok. Just curious. Sheesh, you're really a cold beauty, y' know?"_

"_If you want, we can arrange for a meeting with him. With your aura, you could easily pass as an undercover, Desian agent," Algrioh suggested._

"_Would I have to pay for that too?" Raine inquired, knowing very well nothing came for free from demons._

"_That depends…" Netrioh said, his smile turning into a sly one. "Are you sure you don't want a round with good ol' Netrioh here? I promise you won't regret it," as if to emphasize his point, Algrioh leaned over him, putting her hands on his shoulder, with a lewd smile on her face._

"_I'll pass," Raine said in a sharp tone. There was a limit even to what she was willing to do for her brother._

- / - / - / - / - / -

Raine looked up at Richter and asked if he had worked with Genis before. The man sighed, immediately realizing she wanted information on Genis' personality.

"He practically kisses the ground Nebilim walks on and is willingly to do anything to get in his favor. I think part of that is because of the fact Nebilim taught him everything he knows about magic and put in his head the idea he must preserve the elven lore."

"Elven lore…" Raine repeated. She knew what that meant. _So, he's basically doing the same thing as me. _she chuckled at the irony.

"He doesn't like me very much and knows I'm leaking information to you, but can't prove it."

"If he really is still a half-elf, how come he commands demons?" Raine asked.

"Genis is considered an exception in the demonic forces. He uses those aides of his to command the demons. But I didn't come here to talk about him," the silver haired woman looked at him with curiosity. "The motive I came here is you," Raine raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Where do you stand, Raine Sage? With Emil, Lloyd and the others, or with your quest for your brother?"

"You? Asking me about loyalties?"

Richter could see in her eyes she considered that a very hypocrite question, but didn't see the need to correct her. It was a fact he resented the position he was in and, wasn't it because he found it useful to a certain extent, he would have sent everything to hell and join Emil on his quest for the Centurion's Cores.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. What I want is your answer."

"I have a duty for with my brother, for he is my family. I wasn't able to protect him before, so I want to make it up for him."

"I see," Richter closed his eyes. "In that case…" when he opened them he drew his weapons, standing in a fighting stance.

"You're going to kill me?" Raine asked. There wasn't fear in her tone, rather some kind of acceptance at the inevitable. She knew she wouldn't survive the way she was now, without a weapon. Richter was faster and stronger than her, even without relying on his demonic powers.

"I don't like the idea of killing an unarmed adversary, but for the sake of Aster and Marta, I will do so. Besides, if I bring your head to Nebilim, all suspicions about me will be cleared."

"So, you will take my life for a clear slate with the demons."

He didn't like the idea much, but that was just a bonus anyway. Besides, in Richter viewed this was an insurance as he was sure Nebilim would use the Sage boy should the situation call for it and, from the little he saw from that fight, he couldn't trust this woman to keep her loyalties with her Summon Spirit brethren.

"Think whatever you want, curse me in hell if you so wish, but I won't let you sell out Emil and the others for that brat you call brother."

With that, Richter charged, axe ready to strike. Raine didn't move from her spot, seeming resigned to her fate. It was then a "CLANG" echoed and when Raine opened her eyes, she saw Emil in front of her, his sword blocking Richter's ax. The half-demon also seemed surprised for the sudden intrusion of his friend.

"Ugh… Richter… what are you doing?" Emil asked as he held off the ax.

"Aster… step aside," Richter simply answered.

"So you can kill Raine? No."

Richter and Emil looked down upon each other. Emil knew that as weak and tired as he was, Richter could easily shove him aside, he was always stronger than him. The red head sighed and backed away, but didn't sheath his weapons.

"Emil, listen. This woman might sell you out for Nebilim if he uses her brother as a bargaining chip," Aster's mentor said, trying to reason with him.

"I know. But I think she won't do it."

"And why wouldn't she? You saw she was even willingly to attack one of you for the sake of protecting her brother."

"You… were watching?" Emil asked. He hadn't noticed Richter's presence. Granted, he and Ratatosk were barely managing to survive and stay conscious when Genis almost finished them.

"Yes, but the matter here is that she might be dangerous."

Raine looked to the side, knowing Richter's analysis was spot on. When she saw Zelos ready to slice her brother in two, she had casted Radiant Shackles on him almost as a reflex. How could they trust her with their lives if she couldn't even trust herself not to react on the same way again?

"I don't believe Raine would do it. She isn't that kind of person," Emil insisted.

"You don't know her as I do Emil," the boy let out an "What?" in response before he spoke again. "Trust me. She is somebody that hardly sees other people as reliable and prefers to keep everything to herself, even if it costs other people's lives."

The silver haired Professor's eyes seemed to gleam in understanding. So that was why she always thought Richter looked so familiar.

"You. You were my colleague from Sybak," she spoke, making the two look at her. Emil in surprise at more this secret Raine was letting out, while Richter stared impassively at her. "That's why you looked so familiar when I saw you."

"So, you remembered. I admit it hadn't clicked to me either until very latter. It seems fate that I keep seeing people from my past."

"Hold on," Ratatosk said, assuming control of Emil's body. "You two know each other and never told us?"

"There was no need to."

"Interesting thing to say when you're accusing her like you did before," the red head let out a "What?" at hearing that. "I honestly don't like this whole Desian-brother thing either, but I think I can relate," he looked at Raine with a serious look.

"Ratatosk. Do you know the risk you're taking by letting her to continue travelling together with you? She might betray you at anytime."

"It's not so different from your situation," Ratatosk cut in. Richter grumbled at having that pointed at his face. "You also might suddenly betray us, should the demons order you."

There was silence after that proclamation. Raine looked from one man to the other. She felt strange at having Emil standing up to herself like that. It was just like Lloyd when he said that he didn't care about her race and that he would defend his friends. She let the ghost of a smile play in her features as she thought on how those two were alike.

Richter sighed and finally sheathed his weapons. Emil then recovered the control and hurried to speak:

"Wait, Richter. I don't think you would do it either. Ratatosk was just…"

"No," the older half-elf said. "He does have a point. I can't guarantee I won't end up turning against you either," he turned and, before leaving, spoke to Raine once more. "However, should I catch even a rumor that you're planning on selling out Aster and the others, I won't hesitate to kill you. Summon Spirit or not."

Raine didn't say anything. Richter bid his farewell to Emil and left as the blonde said "bye" to him. After the half-demon left, Emil turned to Raine and asked if she was alright. Raine didn't answer immediately, only looking at the reincarnated Ratatosk, before asking:

"Why did you stand up for me? Richter did pose a valid argument. I can't guarantee what will happen should we meet Genis again."

"Because you're my friend," Emil said with some of his usual shyness back. Raine tilted her head to the side in confusion. The blonde decided to elaborate. "I mean, you're one of my friends. And if Nebilim does use Genis against you, then couldn't we just think of a way of helping him without having to resort to something like backstabbing?"

"But Emil…" Raine looked down.

"Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality," Emil recited, making Raine look up. "I do know that things aren't simple like that, but I think that we all could arrive in some short of understanding. There is no need for you to shoulder all of this by yourself."

Silence came again after the blonde's declaration, in which he felt a little uneasy again. Then Raine started to laugh, real, joyful laughter, not her usual chuckles. Emil wondered if he had said something funny. Raine then stopped to recover her breath and said:

"I'm sorry. It's just that you are right," she smiled as she spoke that. "I've been so caught up in trying to solve problems on my own that I never stopped to think that you all could me help find a solution that could benefit all of us," she gave a pause before resuming her line of thought. "Richter, and you for that matter, are right; I'm too much of an individualist. I always thought that only I could comprehend my problems and thus find the solution."

"But things are different now Raine. Now you have friends, companions, people that you can rely on," Emil said.

"Yes, but I never saw you as such," the young man seemed taken aback by that declaration. Raine then explained. "Companionship is a relationship where a person trusts others with his problems and sees them not as tolls to solve them, but people that can help to find and provide the solution.

"Until now, I didn't see any of you as such. I just took you all as another responsibility to me. That is certainly what has been worrying Sheena and Richter. Because of my disregard to you all as people I can count for support and call as companions, I would simply dismiss you all in my quest to reunite with my brother."

"Raine…" Ratatosk then took control, however, instead of his usual brash or blunt tone, he spoke in an almost resigned tone. "We're not that different…" that made the silver haired woman look at him in surprise. "You are fighting for your family and for that, you were even willingly to become a traitor."

"Traitor?" Raine repeated, detecting a difference in tone when Ratatosk spoke the word.

"Anyway… Marta was worried about you," he said, discarding his previous tone and turning back to his usual brash one.

"Oh. So that's why you came after me," she said, offering another smile.

"N-no! That's not it!" Emil said, taking the control back. "I was really worried about you with all that happened so… speak for yourself, softy. I don't want to get tangled up in this mess," Ratatosk spoke after taking the control back. Emil once more surfaced. "How can you speak that after just saying… shut up. What do you know, anyway?"

Raine just observed the exchange as both of them switched control to argue. She sighed and decided to interrupt before both consciousness got so tangled up, they might assume the control at the same time again:

"You two should really control this arguing habit of yours. People might think you have mental issues."

"Look who's talking, miss Ruin Mode," Ratatosk retorted.

"What does that mean?" Raine demanded, a vein pulsing on her forehead as she crossed her arms.

Ratatosk then backed away, seeing he had said the wrong thing again. As he tried to correct himself, Emil came to his rescue, saying they be getting back before Marta got too worried. That seemed to calm Raine down as she nodded to him.

The Lord of Monsters sighed in relief, well-protected inside Emil's mind. The only thing he loathed in all of this was the fact he now owed one to his "weaker" self…

- / - / - / - / - / -

As morning came, the group was preparing their breakfast. Zelos once more tried to show off his culinary talents as he prepared pancakes with syrup he brought from Altamira and eggs. The meal looked delicious and even Lloyd was salivating at it. However, when he asked if he could have some, Zelos said he had already prepared his and Emil's food in advance.

The brunette and the blond were surprised at that show of consideration from Zelos and went to sit where he had indicated, until they saw their meal consisted of:

"Bread and water?" Emil let out.

"What? Already complaining?" Zelos said, in a hurt tone, although it was fake. "How can you boys be so inconsiderate? Don't you know there many people starving in the world? Bread and water are practically a luxurious meal for them."

"Yeah… but…" Lloyd started.

"Well, if you don't appreciate my efforts then go on, scorn me for being so kind to my bud and his friend with double personality."

"I don't have… !" Emil tried to protest, but Zelos was not listening to them anymore, instead concentrating on the girls, putting his suave tone and charming smile in place once more.

"Now girls, wait just a moment and you will have a feast for your taste buds to never to forget. Ignis, Aqua. You can join in too."

"Really? Thank you Mr. Last Romantic!" Ignis said in her bubbly manner, not noticing (as always) that Zelos had looked at her breasts when he had talked to her.

"Yeah… I think so," Aqua said, sounding a little unsure as she eyed her lord on his place.

The other Centurions looked from the girls to Lloyd and Emil, who were munching the bread with depressed expressions on their face. Ventus sighed and put his wing in hand-mode to his face, shaking it. Solum commented:

"Celsius surely hasn't changed. I remember this was one of the reasons she and Efreet broke up."

"Wait. What? ME AND ZELOS… !" Lloyd let out, attracting the others' attention.

"Correction; your past self and Zelos' past self," Tenebrae said. "They dated for a while."

"I heard from Luna something about Celsius being the bossy one and Efreet barely standing it," Lumen said.

"No wonder our lord and her got along so well," Solum commented.

Suddenly, Lloyd and Emil lost their appetite at being remembered of the relationship of their past selves with Zelos. Sheena sighed while Zelos tried to repress a shiver and ignore some details of his previous existence.

It was then Raine arrived. The entire group turned to look at her as she gave a "good morning" for them in her usual composed tone. The boys greeted her back, but most of the girls seemed unsure of what to say. Sheena didn't even bother to acknowledge her presence and the Centurions were only staring at the scene.

Zelos decided to defuse the tension and said food was ready. He didn't even mind Lloyd and Emil sneaking in to get some. As the group ate and the Centurions talked with their Lord about the last developments while Marta leaned on a Hell Hound that Ignis had summoned for her to sit straight due to her state, Raine waited until most of them had ended before she cleared her throat to call their attention:

"I wanted to talk with all of you. Firstly, I would like to apologize to Zelos for attacking him the way I did; I'm sorry," Lloyd couldn't remember Raine ever apologizing for something, but her tone was sincere.

"Nah. That was nothing compared to Sheena's _'displays of affection'_ for me," Zelos said in a dismissive and carefree tone, smiling. Sheena closed her fist and had a vein pulsing on her forehead at hearing that.

"Secondly, I realize that I have been unfair with you all, both as a companion and as a friend."

"What do you mean?" Ignis asked.

"Sheena was right when she said I know your goals, objectives and pasts yet I never told you anything of significance about myself," she looked at Emil with meaningful look. "So, to show you that I don't mean ill for this group and that I value you all as companions, I will answer whatever questions you may have about me, my past, goals and so on."

"So, that means you're ready to part with your secrets?" Ventus inquired in his typical wise tone.

"I don't have anything to offer other than my knowledge and apologies."

The group looked between themselves, thinking on what all of that implied. Emil smiled to Raine at seeing she finally trusted them. Surprisingly, the first one to ask was Zelos, with the question that had been on everybody's head:

"Who exactly is Genis? You said he was your brother, but he spoke like he didn't even know you."

Raine nodded in acknowledgement of the question. To speak the truth, she had counted on them asking that and had mentally prepared herself to explain that which was her most closely guarded secret, with details if necessary.

"As I said and you all heard, Genis is my brother. He is the last half-elf to be born from a human and an elf, right at the end of the Kharlan War and the beginning of the Second Invasion. My mother died giving birth to him, already weak from the extreme shortage of mana.

"My father and I ran away from the demons, trying to protect my brother. We then took a boat and tried to escape to the seas, but were ambushed by aquatic demons. It was in a rainy night and the water was freezing cold. The boat was completely destroyed and my brother and I were thrown into the water. I almost drowned until my father appeared and took my brother and I to the shore of a nearby island with the last of his strength. He died due to hypothermia and the stress from having to swim against the maritime currents, carrying my brother and me."

"Oh. So that explains the case of hydrophobia you have," Aqua said. Raine pointedly ignored the comment.

"I took my brother and pressed him against me, leaving my father on the shore and going to explore the island for any sign of civilization. However, the only thing I came across was a circle of stones in the middle of a sandy landscape. When I walked closer, out of curiosity, a portal opened in the ground."

"The Otherwordly Gate," Ratatosk proclaimed as he took the control. The others looked at him. "It is located in an island at the far shore of Altamira. It is a location that is connected to my domain and, consequently, to Niflheim. The Kharlan Tree's roots reached even there, intertwining the two worlds."

"Anyway, when I came to myself, I saw Nebilim standing there. He looked at me and I froze. He only smiled as he approached…"

- / - / - / - / - / -

_Young Raine could do nothing, but stand still frozen in fear. The cold of night not even registering in her brain anymore as she became paralyzed by fear at looking at Nebilim's blood-red eyes. It was like there was a force behind his gaze that made all resistance and instincts freeze__._

_She didn't even register when Nebilim's hand shot out and grabbed her brother, taking him from her arms. The young girl only came to when she heard her baby brother's cries. Nebilim had him in one of his arms, looking at him with a surprisingly paternal expression which shouldn't even be in that demon's face._

"_So, this is your brother…" he said to Raine, looking at her. "I can sense he has great potential, just like his sister." _

_The wraith then passed his fingers over the little boy's forehead, revealing a mark on Genis' forehead, which disappeared as Nebilim's finger passed over it._

"_GENIS!" Raine yelled. "GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER, DEMON!" _

_She tried to tackle Nebilim and take her brother, but was thrown back by the red head's invisible flame shield. Luckily she hadn't burn herself. She tried to get up, but could only sit, the blow seemed to have taken away some of her energy._

"_Don't worry Raine. I promise I will take very good care of him," Nebilim said in that strange, gentle voice that Raine thought impossible for such an evil being to possess. "After all, what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't care for my students?"_

_That phrase clicked something on Raine's mind. She had heard somebody say those exact same words before. She slowly started to link the person, voice and tone and discovered it was identical to Nebilim's, but… it couldn't be. It simply couldn't._

"_P-p… Professor Neran?" Raine let out, eyes wide with surprise and shock._

_Neran Illirium smiled the gentle smile he always gave to his students… and soon a portal opened at Raine's feet. Next thing she knew, Raine woke up, it wasn't raining anymore and Genis, Neran and the ruins were nowhere in sight…_

- / - / - / - / - / -

"And that was the first time I met him and came to know that he was, indeed, my old teacher," Raine finished.

The group could only stay in silence as they heard the half-elf's tale. They never imagined Raine had passed by something like that when she was still just a little girl. No wonder she had come out with some issues and traumas.

"So…" Marta risked speaking. "You've been looking for your brother ever since that day?"

"Yes. However, the only clue I had were the ruins I saw," Raine said and, for once, there wasn't that maniacal passion in her voice whenever she spoke about ruins, but a sense of purpose and determination. "I travelled the world in search of those same ruins I saw, but never found them again, for I didn't know their exact location.

"Eventually I decided to go to Sybak, the only place that I could think of which would have the knowledge about the ruins that I was searching."

"You could have gone to the Research Institute in Palmacosta Academy," Lloyd suggested.

"I could, but at the time, Palmacosta had already pledged itself to Cruxis and the church didn't have a good view on half-elves. So, the next best place for me to learn was Sybak."

She proceeded to tell them about her years in the academy, up to her graduation as the top of her class, despite some trouble her classmates put her through. Apparently, Raine had enjoyed so much her time there that she decided to get a teaching degree, following the old dream she had of becoming a teacher.

_Just like Nebilim… _Lloyd thought, remembering who the person Raine admired the most was.

During that time, she also gained more access to the Academy's files and managed to find some information regarding ancient sites and ruins around the world that she hadn't heard of or visited. Then Sybak got attacked and she was forced to flee with all others.

"I briefly saw Nebilim on my way out and went to confront him," Raine said. "A big mistake. I demanded to know about my brother, but he didn't answer me anything, saying that if I wanted an answer, I should make the right questions at the right time. I got angry and charged at him, just to be repelled like I was when I was still a child."

Eventually, Nebilim left and Raine had to flee from the rest of the Desians forces. She described a few more of her travels to the ancient sites she had found on the Academy's logs up to the point where she met Emil and the others on the Triet Ruins.

With that, Raine stopped and left it clear that had been the end of her story. She looked at the group, her eyes questioning if they had anything more to ask her. Emil was the one to ask:

"Is there anything you know about Nebilim that could help us defeat him? Weaknesses of some short?"

"Unfortunately, no. Nebilim's powers are that of a kind that I've never seen before. The only thing I could say about him is that he isn't a demon, but a wraith."

"Wraith?" Colette asked.

"In another words, an evil spirit," Sheena said for the first time since the conversation started, but said nothing more.

"I don't think that's quite correct," Presea said, making everybody look at the quiet girl. "When he touched me, I could feel many feelings, but they weren't just from him. It was like he was collecting a huge amount of negative emotions inside himself."

Raine put her hand over her chin, thinking in the implications of that. She didn't know of any beings, spiritual or otherwise, with those characteristics. Deciding to dismiss the subject, Raine once more asked for any doubts the group had. None of them could think of anything at that moment, since most of their doubts about Raine's past had been satiated when she told her story to them.

However, Zelos spoke up, this time with a known smile in his face that promise something completely unrelated to their mission:

"Have you ever dated anybody?"

And he didn't disappoint the group.

For one moment, they thought Raine would dismiss that with her typical "That's a personal matter", however, to their surprise, she answered:

"Yes. In Sybak, there was a fellow half-elf and we decided to 'experiment' what the sensation was like."

Marta's, Sheena's and Lloyd's jaw dropped when Raine answered that in a nonchalant tone as she did most of the time. Zelos looked surprised, but soon resumed his lecherous smile.

"Oh. So it was just for the sake of 'experimentation', heh?"

"How is it that you youngsters say? _We were young and yearning for some form of physical interaction. So, one thing led to another_," Raine recited.

Marta, Emil and Colette were blushing at that, while Sheena tried to ignore it. Presea only looked in curiosity. Aqua, not managing to hold off her curiosity, asked Raine who had been the lucky guy.

"Richter Abend," that answer made Aqua's expression turn into a shell shocked one, her jaw dropping.

"WHAT?" the party (save Presea) and even the Centurions let out.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YOU'RE SAYING YOU DID THAT WITH MASTER RICHTER?" Aqua screeched.

"And to think the quiet and indifferent ones are always the chosen ones," Solum said in a sigh.

Marta and Emil stood in shocked states. How come Richter had never told them anything? Granted, they never asked about his personal life, believing his memories from the Kharlan War period should be painful ones, but he could have at least hinted something. Emil had so much to ask his friend about interaction with girls.

"_Why do you need that guy to answer anything when I'm here? Did you forget I dated Celsius?" _Ratatosk spoke up.

_Yeah, but you didn't have any memory of it at the time. _Emil answered.

The group was divided between asking for more details of what happened and simply leaving the subject alone. Zelos was huddled in a corner, looking depressed and hugging his knees, mumbling to himself something about being too late and upstaged by an old man without even a decent sense of fashion.

- / - / - / - / - / -

After Raine applied some spells to mend Marta's broken bones, resulting in the girl recovering enough to make little movements with her previously immobile arm and body, but still not enough for her to walk. With Marta mounted in a Padfoot monster, they started their trek back to Triaar, where the EC of Lezareno would be waiting to take them back to the Altamira continent, so they could continue towards the Temple of Lightning.

However, when they were close to Meltokio, the group started to sense some powerful auras coming from the city's direction. With the training making their spiritual senses better, Lloyd, Colette and Marta could sense demonic auras as well as a group of unknown ones.

"I hear… sounds of battle," Marta said, the wind bringing the sounds to her.

"One moment," Ventus said, flying up to see the situation. He came back down soon enough. "There is a battle occurring near Meltokio! There are demonic troops there fighting against the Purge Inquisitors, plus an army of winged people."

"Winged people? Could it be the angels?" Colette wondered.

"If that's so, let's help them," Ignis said.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. What if the angels think we are the enemy? They don't seem aware of the return of the Summon Spirits yet," Tenebrae said.

"He's right," Ratatosk spoke up, taking control. "Plus, there's something off about those so-called angels."

"Like what?" Lloyd asked.

"I'm not sure, yet. It is just a hunch."

"Even so, we should go and help those people. What if they reach Meltokio?" Colette said.

"I don't think they would _want_ our help," Zelos opened up. "In case you don't remember, I didn't exactly leave on good terms with the church."

The group stood thinking about that, until Colette decided she couldn't simply stand there and leave people dying like that. She wouldn't have a second Iselia if she could. The blonde then turned to the direction she could sense the auras and ran.

"Wait, Colette!" Presea said, running after her friend.

Lloyd and the others saw Colette had already made the decision for them and went after her.

When they could finally see the battlefield and the corpses of armored Martel Knights, they stopped. Hovering above the battle, firing arrows and spells, was a small army of angels being commanded by one with a more elaborated, blue and white armor carrying a sword with a crescent blade on its point.

Zelos and the others also sighted a golden armor and a long lance. Magnar was commanding the Knights against the demons, neither of the sides seeming to gain an edge over the other.

"GO ONWARD! OUR HEAVENLY LORDS ARE ON OUR SIDE! FIGHT IN THEIR NAME!" Magnar roared over the carnage.

The angel commander then gave an order to his troops, which aligned around him. They aimed their bows upwards and let fall a rain of arrows at the fore front of the fight. The arrows fell, hitting enemy and ally indiscriminately, some died from so many blessed projectiles hitting their heads and necks, others fell down just to be trampled by the other combatants.

"Attack formation, Punishing Lightning!" the angel commander proclaimed, spell casters flying forth and charging their spells. Magnar saw that and gave the command to his troops.

"Nor's troops, fall back! Kevin's unit, step forward and don't disengage! Keep them at their place!"

"Wait. What are they doing?" Lloyd asked, upon seeing the mentioned units taking their positions.

A handful of soldiers stepped forward and engaged the demons, who fought relentlessly, until a command in demonic made they fall back. However, more of the humans surrounded them, some of the injured getting up to halt the demon's retreat, just to be cut down as the creatures tried to leave the encirclement. It was then great magic circles appeared over the battlefield, surrounding bother parties.

"NO!" Colette and Lloyd exclaimed, knowing what was to come, however, their protests fell on deaf ears.

Huge bolts of lightning fell, incinerating friend and foe alike, taking out a sizeable chunk of the combatants on both sides. Magnar and the other commanders just stood observing while Cruxis cast their deadly spells. Lloyd clenched his teeth and fists at seeing this act of mercilessness.

"Why didn't they pull the troops back or canceled the spells when the demons started retreating?" he questioned to nobody in particular.

"Because otherwise, the attack wouldn't have been just as effective," Zelos said, his eyes as cold as his tone.

"But… they lost part of their forces too," Presea said, not seeing the logic in such a suicidal move.

"That's just how Cruxis operates in battle…" Emil said and, for the first time, the group heard a tone of strained anger on his voice. They looked at him in surprise. "They let the Martel Knights and the followers of the church go as a front while they attack from the side lines and distance. They don't even care who their attacks hit as long as their enemies go down. They use the Martel Knights' faith and blind devotion as an instrument to make them sacrifices in hope they'll earn forgiveness for dyeing in Cruxis' name."

"_The noblest act one might do is to die in the service of justice, fighting for the greater good._" Raine recited a passage from the Faith. "Of course, it is open to interpretation what _'justice'_ and _'greater good'_ this teaching talks about."

"Justice…" Lloyd muttered. Sheena looked at her boyfriend, seeing his arms trembling. "So… is this 'justice'? To fight just to be killed by those that promised you salvation?"

Zelos didn't comment on it, simply staring as the fight began anew, like nothing had happened. The others were too shocked by that display of ruthlessness to think on anything to say. The Centurions just looked on with grave expressions on their faces.

Lloyd always knew Cruxis could be cruel with those that disobeyed the Faith and in its constant slandering of people, but he never thought they would go as far as throw away the lives of those that fought for them. What angered him even more is that they called this… slaughtering "justice".

"This is their 'justice'," Ventus spoke in his wise tone, though a bit stoic too.

"I won't accept this…" he said in a low tone, making the others look to him. "I won't accept it," he looked up, his expression hardened and his eyes burning with anger as his voice rose. "If this is _'justice'_ then I rather become a criminal who saves people than someone who condones sacrifices."

"You can't just save everybody, you know," Tenebrae said. "There will always be people who will die as a consequence of one's actions. No matter how hard you try, there will eventually be sacrifices."

"Then I'll minimize them!" Lloyd said, turning to the Centurion of darkness. "And if there is no way to avoid it, then each sacrifice that has been made, each life that has been taken… I will make sure they didn't die in vain. I won't stop until there is peace and this world is stable once more."

There was silence after that proclamation. Emil put his hand on Lloyd's shoulder, making the red clad young man look at him. For one moment, he could swear one of Emil's eyes was a ruby tone.

"I also don't agree with the way things are now. I'll too fight, recover Ratatosk's power and use it to restore the world and defeat Nebilim and the demons. Even Cruxis if necessary."

Lloyd nodded to him and the two shook their hands, swearing they would do everything in their power to make sure the world would be regenerated. Marta and Sheena had smiles on their faces at seeing their boyfriends' resolve.

"Ummm… guys, I hate to interrupt the philosophy moment and all, but…" Lumen said, appearing worried. "Double-L, boss, there's a demon guy coming here."

The two and the rest of the group turned and saw a red silhouette coming. As it got closer, they could see leonine features like a white mane combed in spikes with beads and other adornments on its points. The demon was also carrying a halberd, wore a blue armor and his aura pulsed with all the strength of a demon general.

"That's Merahwdir," Tenebrae said, identifying the demon.

"That lion demon we've met on the Mana Tower?" Marta asked from her position mounted on the Padfoot. Tenebrae nodded to her.

"Why is it charging at us alone?" Presea inquired.

Sheena looked at the demon and then remembered something from the time she had fought him:

"He's not after you, but after me," with that, she ran at his direction, ignoring Lloyd and others' cries as she quickly transformed into Spirit form.

Merahwdir seemed to smile at that as Sheena approached and summoned a light dagger. The two then met their weapons in a shower of sparks, fire and light…

* * *

Reincarnation can be a complicated thing when you discover who your past self was...

And before people start flaming me for the RaineXRichter here, read this skit and pay closer attention to what she said! It was never an amorous relationship. Think on it as a one night stand, only a bit longer.

This one is between Ratatosk, Emil and Richter, occuring right after their talk with Raine:

Past Relationships

Emil: Hey, Richter!

Richter: What is it Emil? I have to go back before my absence starts to call attention.

Emil: Um… well… I wanted to ask…

Richter: Yes?

Emil: About… you and Raine.

Richter: …

Emil: Well…

Richter: Why would you ask that?

Emil: Because… well, you're my friend… and you never told me Raine was your girlfriend. So…

Richter: And she wasn't.

Emil: Huh?

Richter: It's complicated to explain, but I'll try as best as I can. We studied together on Sybak. I was a half-elf that used to make research on the basement laboratories during the Kharlan War before I escaped. I just went back to the city on the insistence of a friend that said I needed to have a proper education.

Emil: Friend?

Richter: Actually, she was part of the group that facilitated my and the others' escape.

Ratatosk: Let me guess, Martel?

Richter: The one and only.

Ratatosk: Never thought you would let a woman force you to do something you didn't want to do, leashed guy.

Richter: It takes one to know other.

Ratatosk *angry*: What?

Richter: Anyway, once I was back, I've met a fellow half-elf that also suffered during the Kharlan War. We've got to know each other and one day the subject about our lack of amorous lives came to be. We were still relatively young, so Raine asked me "Do you want to know how it is too?"

Emil: I thought you would be the one to suggest that.

Richter: Raine was always a straightforward woman when it came to try and experiment new things.

Emil: So, do you miss her?

Richter: Not really.

Emil: Huh? But you said…

Richter: That it wasn't a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. It was more of a mutual agreement between us for the sake of satisfying our curiosities and lack of experience on the field. I would say the only thing between us was the need for some kind of human contact and lust to a certain degree.

Emil: Sounds complicated.

Richter: You'll understand when you're older. There are many kinds of relationships out there and not all of them involve a sentiment of love or like. We knew it would eventually end and we would go our separate ways, so there were no compromises involved.

Ratatosk: Well, you know what they say: better have it and lose it than have never experimented on the first place.

Richter: Was that sarcasm?

Ratatosk *grins*: Maybe.

Richter: You're so immature…

Richter obtained the title "Boyfriend"

(insert 0.o emoction here)


	37. Divine Punishment

REPENT! Cruxis finally makes their debut in my fic!

Much plot development in this chapter.

Anyway, I don't have much to say, so, let's go on.

NOTE: (Could be part of a disclaimer) Imasix Azule is a creation of Maurice A. Nigma, so the credits for his character design and concept goes to him. I've got all the proper permission to use him in this fic.

* * *

**Chapter 33**

**Divine Punishment**

Merahwdir looked over the battlefield with a disapproving look. He knew what the battle's outcome would be before it even started. This was nothing, but a trial of fire for some of his warriors and even the humans, but, by the end of it, more than half of the two armies would be slain. It was always like this when _they_ were present.

Some called the lion demon soft, others said it was a mystery how he even made it to his current rank and many wanted nothing more than to pummel him as the "disgrace" he was. The former got what they had coming to them.

Merahwdir knew his behavior and moral standings weren't appreciated by most of his kin and would have abandoned them if it wasn't for the fact that at least two of the Great Ones understood and at least one practiced the old art of chivalry. Pity none of them were _his_ Lord.

Apocalypse, the Plague of Fate, was your stereotypical demon, according to what Merahwdir discovered when learning some of the few cultures Niflheim's Historian Clan bothered to record and integrate into the demon's own; he was ruthless, prideful, thought all those bellow him, demon or otherwise were worthless (in the case of demons) or trash that needed to be exterminated (in the case of mortals). And most importantly, his Lord believed only in strength and in washing humiliation through blood and death.

Sometimes, the demon general wished he had been created a high demon, or even a spiritual one. The two other Lords were at least plausible enough to see beyond their pride. Not that Merahwdir would ever badmouth the one that created his species and disobey him. That was not only virtually impossible, but also would go against every valor he believed in.

Merahwdir chuckled at that. He was a follower of chivalry and a demon to boot. Maybe he was indeed a disgrace to his race, but, for his very existence, he couldn't find himself to care about it.

When he sensed the magical energy the angels were uniting, he knew he had to act unless more than half of his troops would be wiped out. There was one thing between sending spendable demons to their deaths in a useful way and futile, suicidal standing. He didn't understand why most Generals couldn't see the simple fact that letting your entire troop die in a lost battle was counterproductive.

"Tell them all to fall back," he spoke to the one at his right.

"Yes, my General!" the smaller figure answered in demonic, transmitting the order.

This particular demon, like Merahwdir, was an outcast, but in an even worse way. He was one of the several elven spirits that were thrown in Niflheim just before the demons began the Second Invasion. Without anywhere to go and knowing that Origin wouldn't come and take them to their rightful place, the elves did the only thing they could to survive in that hostile underworld: they went to plead with the Demon Lords.

At the time, Merahwdir was applying for the Test of Lordship. When hearing about the spirits of the elves he decided to check on the situation. One of the Beast Lords was ready to dismiss them, when another one, who was visiting at the time, found the situation promising somehow. He would take the elves' plead for mercy to his Great One, Nerithmas, the End of Eternity, on one condition: all elves were to swear themselves to the Great Ones and, as so, become demons.

Merahwdir thought they would refuse, but it seemed their fear of eternal torment at the hands of those that were the enemies of Aselia won in the end. Nobody blamed them for that, certainly not Merahwdir, certainly not the Great Ones. After all, survival instincts triumphed over all when it came to mortals.

The Great Lord Nerithmas himself visited the elves and personally transformed them. When Merahwdir asked why, they said it was because the Great One didn't want any other Lord getting the idea of taking even one of them as their servant. Nerithmas never let any useful tool go to waste or escape his grasp if he could help it. Thus the spirits of the once proud elves were gone. In their place new demons were raised. Merahwdir wondered if Nebilim went through the same process.

This one was made Merahwdir's aide when he received his final assignment. It seemed the little one had potential and was to be made a General. His name, if Merahwdir recalled correctly, was Imasix Azule, or Azure, elven names sounded pretty much the same to him. A little one with whitish blue hair combed down and cold, cyan eyes. Most of the elves' eyes lost any sign of life or happiness when they were turned and became either serious or cold. His skin was pale as were the ones of the others of his previous race. Niflheim wasn't known as a bright, sunny place after all.

Fortunately, this one was also a believer of chivalry, which made it easier for Merahwdir to accept him. Not that he had anything personal against the elves, but the last thing he needed was having "elf lover" added to the vast list of insults he collected during his career. Also, he knew how to follow orders with a precision that reminisced the human and elven armies.

The sound of thunders striking came and the demon general gritted his fangs at seeing the humans had stick to their suicidal move and delayed his retreating squads. What Merahwdir wouldn't give to leave this travesty of a battle behind and have a good challenge for once.

His wish seemed to be fulfilled by the Great Father, for when he looked at the side he saw a group on a nearby hill, overlooking the battle. Straining his vision, he identified familiar silhouettes. Ratatosk's group. And between them he could see…

_Lena'Aret. _

No doubt, there was the voluptuous woman that had challenged him and almost won. Merahwdir smiled and, for the first time, decided to leave his assignment on the hands of others. It wasn't like his reputation or position was at stake in this battle.

"Imasix," he called to his aide. The former elf turned to him with a "Yes sir?".

"Take care of the battle for me, you know what to do. When our soldiers become less than fifteen, order a retreat."

"You going somewhere, sir?" the aide asked dutifully.

"Yes. In fact, I'm going to fight a worthy battle for a change," the lion demon smiled.

His aide gave a professional smirk and nodded. He too, didn't approve of that battle, but, as Merahwdir's aide, had to be there to see how to coordinate a demonic troop.

Merahwdir then left running and soon enough Lena'Aret seemed to have sighted him, for she also broke into a run and transformed, this time flying flawlessly as she came at him. He smiled again. Maybe, this time, they would settle this…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Lloyd and the others ran as Sheena met weapons with the familiar lion demon. As they approached, they heard him saying:

"I see you've improved, Lena'Aret."

"More than you can imagine," she said, smiling.

The two then separated with a shove of their weapons and Zelos, Colette and Presea stood in front of Sheena. Merahwdir raised his eyebrow. Then he noticed those three were new members of their group. Emil felt Ratatosk asking to take control, which the blonde allowed. The crimson eyed spirit approached Merahwdir, without even drawing a weapon.

The group let out a gasp and was about to call Ratatosk back when he said:

"So, look who we met again. 'Mediocre Demon' Merahwdir."

"Not you too…" the demon said, sighing.

"Um… somebody care to tell us what's happening here?" Zelos asked, confused as to why Ratatosk was addressing that demon in such a friendly manner and insulted it without even getting some retribution.

Sheena then pushed pass him and spoke to them:

"That's Merahwdir, a demon I've fought before. He's… one of those unique kinds of demon."

"How so?" Colette asked.

"He's a practitioner of chivalry," it was Ratatosk who answered, which raised several confused exclamations from the group. "He seems to be enamored with the concept. Don't ask, simply accept it."

"If that's so, then why did you abandon that battle?" Ventus asked, meaning the still-raging conflict ahead of them. "Wouldn't it be your orders to see through this battle?"

"Not really. Besides, this one doesn't count," Merahwdir simply answered.

"Really?" Ratatosk asked in a devious tone.

"Anyway, if you all don't mind, me and Lena'Aret have a rematch to settle."

"Lena-what?" Lloyd asked.

"He means me," Sheena said.

"My, my. Already making admirers on the other side too," Raine said with mirth.

"What does that mean? And just for the record, I am still angry with you."

Raine decided to drop the tone at being reminded that. It seemed she had a long way to go if she were to ever regain Sheena's trust.

"Lena'Aret. It literally means 'warrior woman'. For a demon to recognize a mortal being as a warrior is a rare thing, for it means you gained his respect."

"Wow, Sheena," Zelos said, lecherous smile in place as he walked to Lloyd and poked him with his elbow as he said. "Better watch out Lloyd, or mister big cat here might steal your girl away with his knightly charm."

The reactions were diverse: Merahwdir raised his eyebrow, Lloyd glared at Zelos, Ignis seemed worried, saying that couldn't happen because Lloyd would be sad, Sheena had a vein popping on her forehead and the rest of the group just looked at Zelos. Predictably enough, Sheena appeared right besides Zelos and slammed his head with a light-charged punch, sending him to the ground. She then turned to Lloyd and put on an attractive smile as she said:

"Don't pay attention to him. I like your gentlemanly manners more. Besides, I'm not into bestiality or any of that."

Lloyd felt his cheeks going red as she put a hand on it and Ignis cheered at the two. Colette looked at Raine, confused, and asked:

"What's bestiality?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," Raine answered. She didn't need to add "corrupting little Collie" to the list of reasons Sheena had to be angry with her.

"Anyway…" Merahwdir said, trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere. "Lena'Aret, are you going to accept my challenge or not? We don't have much time left."

"What do you think?" Sheena said as she prepared herself. "Everybody, leave this to me."

"Are you sure?" Lloyd asked.

"Let's just say I understand what he means. Besides, as a ninja of Mizuho, it's my duty not to back down a challenge like this when it is given to me."

"In that case…" Ratatosk said, walking between the two of them. "I'll be the judge of this fight. I know enough of the two cultures to observe it. Do you two agree with that?" both Sheena and the lion demon nodded. "In that case, this will be a timed fight. The first one to get incapacitated or killed is the loser. The battle finishes as soon as the fight over there is done. Any and all kinds of Artes are accepted…" he looked from one to the other and gave the signal for them to begin.

Sheena and Merahwdir were upon each other in the blink of an eye. The ninja felt the demon had gotten stronger somehow.

_But I'm stronger too. _

She utilized the teleport technique she learned while training in Spirit Form to appear behind the General and swing a light kunai at him, which Merahwdir effortlessly blocked before returning the blow, just for Sheena to fly low and charge light on her fist. She punched him in the guts with enough strength to make him skid back and flew after Merahwdir not to give him the chance to recover.

The lion demon smiled as he suddenly brought his fist up and punched her with all his strength, Sheena was launched backwards and rolled on the ground. Merahwdir jumped and poised his halberd to strike, creating a shockwave and making dust and dirt fly up when his powerful blow hit the earth. However, when the dust settled, he saw Sheena kneeling besides the edge of his halberd, looking completely unscathed. That surprised him enough for her to fly up and deliver a roundhouse kick on his jaw, followed by another kick from the opposite direction and a right hook that took his feet off the ground momentarily. All blows were charged with light.

"Ring Beam!" Sheena thrust her hand forward, the ring of light on her wrist floating ahead of her hand and releasing a ring-shaped beam on Merahwdir's belly, pushing him away once more.

"Not bad Lena'Aret. I see you've improved," he said as he recovered. "Seeing that, I might as well fight with all my strength."

Sheena arched an eyebrow at that, but Merahwdir only crossed his arms in an "X" in front of him and she suddenly felt his aura flaring and expanding. When he casted his arms aside his aura was pulsing and vibrating in a shape that mostly resembled that of a flame, indicating a higher level of power. One that vaguely resembled that of the Shinigami.

"You… you mean you held back last time?" Sheena asked.

"I don't believe in excessive use of strength. There's nothing to gloat on defeating a weaker adversary. Besides, I am still a General, this new power is only for those that are to reach Lordship," Merahwdir said.

Sheena, however, only gritted her teeth. She felt like he was patronizing her, thinking her weaker and incapable of defeating him. That might have been true before, but now… well, Merahwdir was in for a surprise if he thought she wouldn't fight with her all after that. She took that as an insult to her skills and, by extension, to the arts of Mizuho.

"Don't hold back anymore, or you're gonna regret it," Sheena said in a low, threatening tone.

"I don't intent to," Merahwdir said with a smile on his leonine features.

The battle started anew. The halberd left behind trails of flames that strongly resembled those of Lloyd's swords and Sheena swung weapons made out of light with incredible speed, her arms blurs as she attacked again and again. Merahwdir could barely keep up with her speed, but the two were mostly matched.

Meanwhile, Lloyd and the others only watched the fight. Even though it was against a demon, the atmosphere wasn't the same as that of a life-or-death situation. It felt more like a friendly spar. As Merahwdir used his Lefah Ghare spell and Sheena dispelled it by expanding the two ethereal rings on her wrists until they burst the cage of fire, Colette decided to ask Raine:

"What is that Mr. Merah talked about Lordship?"

"I don't think you should call him 'Mr. Merah', little Colette," Solum said. "For one; it wouldn't sit well with a demon of his station."

"Oh, sorry. Then how about Mr. Lion?" Colette suggested, her cheerful smile in place.

Solum sighed and Aqua put her hand on her forehead, shaking it. Lloyd and Ratatosk sighed, shrugging. Raine decided to answer her question:

"Lordship is when a demon rises from General ranking to the one of Lord. There is an entire ritual involved and it is not something any demon can easily accomplish. Only the most powerful and capable ones are able to reach this, which is the highest station they can attain. By the looks of it, Merahwdir is on the path of attaining Lordship."

"You know, it's pretty possible he might even make it," Ratatosk said, making the group look to him. "Chivalry aside, he is one of the most capable Demon Generals I know. He is level with Narom'Kriaar, the only thing setting them apart is the beliefs. Besides, the success of the test has to be recognized by at least one Grand Demon Lord and I know two that might accept him, if his own Lord doesn't."

The group then turned to the fight in time to see Sheena using Dawn Pillars and Merahwdir countering with Lava Surge, making the geyser erupt in front of him, blocking the pillars of light. When the molten rock went down, the General rushed to Sheena at great speed.

Sheena decided to try something different and when, Merahwdir reached her, she teleported behind him… and was hit when he performed a burning spin with his weapon, hitting her on the waist. Merahwdir performed an upward slash that threw Sheena upwards and gave him enough time to quickly charge a spell:

"Wdirishi!" the ground beneath Sheena erupted and several swords made out of fire and molten lava rushed out, before falling back on earth again, pinning her against the ground as they exploded in flames.

Sheena was thrown aside and Merahwdir rushed to her once again, fire circling the blade of his halberd as he prepared to end her. However, he didn't count of the Radiant Maiden attacking from where she was:

"Sanctum Light!" a runic circle appeared beneath Merahwdir's feet, biding him to the spot as a pillar of light engulfed him, burning his aura.

As the General was occupied, Sheena quickly got up and concentrated on gathering the energy of light around her. Eight blades of light formed around the Radiant Maiden, surrounding her in a circle. She then flew in the direction of Merahwdir as the pillar of light was fading away.

"Blade Dancer!" the Radiant Maiden grabbed one of the swords of light and performed a diagonal slash on Merahwdir's face. The enhanced defenses of the demon managed to lessen the depth of the cut. Sheena then grabbed other sword and slashed at him again. Two swords came to her hands and she spun in the air several times, the strength and speed resulting in a combo of sword strikes that kept the demon on his place.

Sheena then grabbed other sword and performed an upward slash with great strength, taking Merahwdir's feet off the floor, before she grabbed another and beat it on his head in a cleaving motion. The lion demon was glad he had reinforced his defenses, otherwise that could have split his head in two instead of only making him shot to the ground. The ninja then grabbed the other two swords and dove, impaling Merahwdir's chest with them. The damage was more spiritual than properly physical.

She flew up again and threw the swords around him as the General was getting up and started to remove the swords from his body, which burned at his touch. With a snap of the Radiant Maiden's finger, the swords released a blinding light, forcing the demon General to cover his eyes as he felt his aura and magical energy being burnt rapidly. Then the swords on his chest exploded on several light dots, sending him to the ground again.

Lumen cheered on as Sheena floated down. Most of those Artes had been experimental and she knew there were ways to counter most of them. That was why she wanted to end this fight quickly, not just because of the time limit, but so she could honor her people. She had to admit, however, that this match was quite refreshing. Merahwdir didn't have the same murderous intent and assassin aura than most demons they fought against.

Merahwdir then jumped back into action. There were some scratches on his face, neck, collar and head, but otherwise he looked fine. The lion demon was even smiling. Sheena faked a scoff as she said:

"You're pretty stubborn aren't you?"

"I heard you fought against one of our Lord ranking brethren. I thought you would have realized they are pretty resistant," Merahwdir said in a good-naturedly tone. "As so, I am not far behind, although I must admit I am surprised you managed to draw blood from me in this state," that not to talk about the damage on his aura. Merahwdir was pretty sure half of his magical energy was burnt and his movements were starting to get slower.

"Well, give me enough time and I'll even rip one of your limbs off. How about it?"

"And they say we are the bloodthirsty ones."

"Just for that, I'll break a bone or two of yours."

Their friendly banter ended and the two were ready to go at it again, however, a figure came out from Merahwdir's shadow, the figure of his lieutenant with his closed hand pressed on the left side of his breast and a solemn look on his face. Sheena stopped and the rest of the group approached at seeing the battle being interrupted by the new arrival.

"My General, I've ordered the retreat of our forces," Imasix said, looking at Merahwdir. "Reinforcements arrived."

"Tch… they can never follow through, can they?" the lion demon said in a reproving tone. He then looked at Sheena and stood in a relaxed stance, touching the point of his halberd in the ground. "It seems fate keeps conspiring for our battles to end in a tie, Lena'Aret."

"Looks like it. One day, we will have to have a victor, though," Sheena said, reverting back to her normal form.

"Indeed," Merahwdir said with a nod. He then turned to his lieutenant. "We're leaving Imasix."

The demonic elf nodded and started to prepare the teleport magic when his gaze fell over the group, more specifically a certain silver haired woman, who he took some seconds to recognize.

"Wait. Aren't you…" he said, looking at Raine. The half-elf tilted her head in confusion at that statement, but before Imasix could continue, Merahwdir called his attention. "Oh, right. I'm sorry, my General."

With that, the two teleported away from the battle field in a flash. The group then turned to Raine and Colette asked:

"Raine, did you know that man?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I have no memory of him. But that aura…"

Before Raine could think further, Tenebrae and the other Centurions warned them that someone was approaching and disappeared from view. When the reincarnated Summon Spirits looked they were being surrounded by the angels.

_This… doesn't bode well. _Raine thought at seeing the expressionless faces of the winged beings as they circled them.

The one that appeared to be the commander flew forward, floating in front of the group as he inquired:

"Humans, state your identity and business here."

"We were merely passing by when we saw the battle," Emil said, back in control as he tried to diffuse the situation.

"And why would a Demon General leave his post to go after a group of travelers?" the angel commander inquired.

"I don't know. Maybe he just wanted to have some fun slaughtering us," Lloyd lied. He generally didn't like to lie, but it wasn't like they could tell the truth at the moment, not if they wanted their necks to stay intact.

The angel didn't seem to pay attention to his comment as he simply looked around the group. It was then that their luck took a turn for the worse.

"Well, well. Look who came back crawling," Magnar arrived with a platoon of the surviving Purge Inquisitors. It was obvious he recognized Zelos' group as he called the angel's attention. "Holy One, here is the renegade Representative Zelos Wilder and the group of suspicious subjects he's been traveling with."

"Yes. I've received the report about this one's offenses and heresy," the angel said in its permanent cold, emotionless tone. He then looked at Aster and recognition seemed to flicker in his eyes. "You. What is your name?"

Emil started to sweat cold. Had Cruxis finally become aware of Ratatosk? Or did they pass his description together with the rest of the group once Zelos had joined them? That seemed to be the case. Emil reigned in his fears and answered, giving his alias/surname:

"Aster, oh Holy One."

"Liar," the angel accused, the entire group gasped. "Do you think we would not recognize you, Ratatosk?"

Emil was now definitely sweating. His cover had been busted and from the tone of the angel his friends were in no better situation. Ratatosk swore in his mind.

"Ratatosk?" Magnar inquired. It seemed that at least the Martel Knights weren't aware of the new Summon Spirits.

"Soldiers, Martel Knights, arrest them! These subjects are accused of heresy against the Faith and high treason against Aselia!" the angel commander ordered. Magnar seemed to abandon all the traces of confusion as he ordered his troops to comply.

The group was quickly surrounded from all sides and angles as the angels and the Purge Inquisitors drew their weapons and pointed at them. They could try and fight back, but there was no guaranteed they would all get away. Plus, none of them had idea of what was the level of power of the angels as their auras were concealed.

"Wait a minute!" Marta said. "What do you mean traitors to Aselia? We've done nothing of the…"

"Silence! You all are in league with Ratatosk, the Traitor of the World," the angel answered.

Ratatosk took the control momentarily and gasped, his eyes widening. He had heard somebody call him that once, although he couldn't remember who it was. But the moniker had greatly affected him. Calling a Summon Spirit traitor was basically telling him he had gone against his oaths, promises, duty and the Great Lords themselves. It was an inexcusable offense, that is, if given in vain. In that particular case, however…

_They… they know. _was the only thing Ratatosk could think. For the first time, his hands and legs started to shake. Marta noticed that and looked at him worriedly.

"Traitor?" Lloyd called in an indignant tone. "He's nothing of that. He's trying to restore the world and…"

"Silence!" this time, it was Magnar who spoke. "The great one has spoken. Arrest them!"

"No way in…" Sheena started, but Raine put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. The ninja turned to the half-elf, who looked at her with a serious gaze.

"You don't want to cause an altercation in this situation, do you?" the warning was more than enough for Sheena and the others to understand what she meant. They could escape later when nobody was looking.

The group then surrendered, Cruxis taking their weapons and, to their surprise, putting collars on their necks before they could react. The instant the collars closed, they felt the same sensation as when Reriki had sealed their spirit forms. Those collars were suppressors of magical power. Cruxis knew who they were.

As they were taken back to Meltokio, nobody noticed Raine had kept one hand inside her pocket since the angels had approached, pressing a certain button on a communication device and only releasing it right before Ratatosk was called traitor…

- / - / - / - / - / -

"You know, I have the impression that irony is set on kicking our collective backs," Zelos commented. "I mean, from all the basement parts of the castle that could have survived, why did it have to be this?"

Right after they had been taken back to Meltokio to wait for their public trial (meaning: execution), they were taken to the ruins of the castle and found out a particular part of it had survived the demonic razing of the Second Invasion: the dungeons. And from the looks of it, it had been well kept during the last fifty years.

"And how come you didn't know that?" Sheena asked. She thought Zelos would be aware of it, considering he had been the Representative of the city.

"I'm not very interested in exploring ruins. They are kind of gloomy, if you get what I mean."

"You better not speak this around Lady Raine if you know what is good for you," Tenebrae said.

The group had been divided into two cells. One had Lloyd, Sheena, Marta and Zelos, the other Colette, Presea, Raine and Emil. The Centurions had materialized again and Solum was using a magic of camouflage to keep their sight and auras from becoming detected by the angels who could have remained in the city.

So far, none of them had moved to try and bust out of jail, waiting until nightfall. As soon as they were left alone, Presea reached for her collar and crushed it with her bare hands. It seemed that it took more than that to block out Shadow's powers. Colette saw that and tried to do the same with her collar, discovering she could also easily crush it.

"It seems they either don't know of the level of our power or hadn't developed an effective counter-measure yet," Presea said in her analytical tone. "Either way, it's easier to destroy a physical seal than one of magical or spiritual nature."

"Oh…" Zelos said, looking at his collar and also trying to crush it, but failing to do so. He felt his manly pride deflating.

"But what did that angel meant with calling Ratatosk Traitor of the World?" Colette asked, looking at the blonde, who hadn't got up ever since they had been thrown into the cells, sitting against the wall that divided them with his head hung low. His eyes were the crimson red of Ratatosk.

"It's obvious it was just to confuse us and to compliment the accusation," Lloyd said, dismissing the subject as nothing.

"I don't think so," Zelos said, his tone serious, calling the entire attention of the group. "Any accusation from an angel is treated as a capital crime, regardless of the gravity. He didn't need to go ahead and call him that if he wanted to have us executed."

"Then… you mean he knew something that…" Presea started, but Marta interrupted them.

"Stop it! Are you hearing yourselves?" she said in a defensive tone. "We're talking about Ratatosk, our friend. He would never do something like that. He's a Summon Spirit, he would never do anything that would endanger Aselia!" an inaudible "guh" came from Ratatosk. "I agree with Lloyd. That angel was lying to try and confuse us. Right Ratatosk?"

To Marta's surprise no answer came from the other side of the cell. Raine was looking at the sitting form of Ratatosk, taking in his reaction. Colette seemed confused as to why the brash Summon Spirit wasn't agreeing with Marta while Presea stayed neutral. Marta sighed and grabbed the bars at the far right of her cell, trying to squeeze her head through them to get a good look at her crush's other self.

"C'mon Ratatosk, I know you're upset because of that angel said, but we know you aren't any of that," she smiled, even thought he couldn't see. "We know you're a good person, even thought you have quite the…"

"Marta… please. Stop defending me," Ratatosk said in an almost begging tone, not looking up even once.

"Huh?" Marta let out in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"Don't defend me Marta. I don't… want you passing by a fool."

Marta was confused at that statement and leaned off the bars, boring a hole in the wall with her eyes as she heard those words coming out from Ratatosk's mouth. She then scrunched her face and spoke:

"Ok, that's not like you. What's up? You should be cursing and swearing those guys to hell and back for even implying something like that and throwing us in jail. What's gotten into you?"

"Ratatosk…" Colette said, sounding worried. "What that angel said… it's not true… is it?"

"Of course not!" Marta exploded, stomping her feet and spreading her arms to the sides. "What's wrong with you guys? Haven't you listened to me? Ratatosk is innocent, he's not…"

"DAMMIT, STOP MARTA!" Ratatosk yelled, making Marta jump. Lloyd, Sheena, Zelos and Colette widened their eyes in surprise. Raine and Presea also seemed a little shocked. Even the Centurions found that strange.

"Boss… what are you saying?" Lumen asked.

"That angel is right, I am a traitor!"

Everything stood silent. Even Emil wasn't speaking as he knew of the internal turmoil that was going on inside Ratatosk. However, Marta refused to believe that as she spoke once more, her tone one of clear denial:

"You're joking, right? There's no way that could be true. This is some really bad joke… right?" when Ratatosk didn't answer her tone was desperate. "C'mon, speak to me! Say it's not true!" no answer still. Marta then decided to turn to the Centurions. "You! You all know it's not true, so knock some sense into your boss' head!"

The Centurions looked between themselves, seeming conflicted. Lumen was the first to speak, but he wasn't able to look Marta in the eyes:

"Well… actually…"

"Actually what?" Marta asked.

"We… weren't… there the entire time."

"What does that mean?" the brunette's tone was starting to sound angry.

"Lady Marta, you have to understand; some time after the invasion began, our Lord commanded us to merge back into his body so he could be at his full power in case the demons attacked the Ginnungagap seeking to open the path," Ventus said. Before Marta could ask again, Solum answered for his companion.

"It's a technique he uses only in great emergencies or when he needs to step into Niflheim to stop some demon from trying to bang the door down. Our Lord's powers reach their peak and since we are all originally a product of his soul, we become a part of him, temporarily ceasing to be individual entities for the duration of the merging."

"Meaning, we… do not know of all that happened during the Second Invasion," Tenebrae spoke.

Emil then decided he had enough of staying quiet and spoke to his other half:

"_Tell h__er,"_ Ratatosk kept silent even to himself. _"Do you want Marta to sound like a fool because she doesn't know?"_

_I…_ Ratatosk though, but didn't go on.

"_Please… they have the right to know." _

He mentally scoffed as he spoke, his tone recovering some of its usual brashness:

_It's easy for you to say that, isn't it? You're not the one who is going to be hated._

Emil didn't answer that, but knew what Ratatosk meant. He had noticed how the Summon Spirit sometimes acted differently around Marta. Emil shouldn't be so surprised. After all, he and Ratatosk were often regarded as the same person. He knew how being hated by Marta would destroy him on the inside if he was in the rash Summon Spirit's place.

Their discussion was cut short when they heard something: it sounded like someone singing. The group looked at the entrance and could hear the voice approaching. It was ethereal, yet beautifully melodic. Colette suddenly recognized the voice and some of the words:

_That's… mom's lullaby! _

The voice was coming closer and the group could finally hear steps as the song ended. The group pressed their heads against the bars as a shadow was cast at the staircase that led to the dungeons. Soon the one-winged figure of a demon woman came into view, but the smile on her face was too warm for one of the otherworldly beasts.

"Mom!" Colette exclaimed at seeing Amelia in her demon form.

"Colette. Thanks goodness you're alright," Amelia said as she walked to the prison cells. Her voice wrapped and twisted, like it wasn't made to speak. "I put the Purge Inquisitors to sleep on my way here. Wait a moment, I'll free you all."

"Uh, can somebody explain me what's going on?" Zelos asked despite eying Amelia with interest.

Marta then explained to him who Amelia was and gave a brief explanation about her curse. Meanwhile, Colette's mother grabbed the bars and twisted them with her bare hands, breaking the iron from its place and opening a hole so the group could pass.

As Presea left, she looked at Colette's mother and had to admit she looked attractive even in that demonic form. The pink haired girl shook her head, dismissing the thought.

"Wow, you sure are strong, my motherly hunny," Zelos said, after leaving his cell and approaching Amelia, putting up his best charming smile and suave tone. "I know you must get it very often, but you look truly beautiful."

"Um… really?" Amelia asked, looking to the side and blushing a little, though her green skin concealed most of it. "Don't you think I'm hideous?"

"Well, one could think that at first glance, but looking at you now, I think you look more like a benevolent angel than…" Zelos stopped as Sheena grabbed him by his ear and tugged at it painfully. "Ow, ow, ow, ow! Sheena stop!"

"Are you having hearing problems? Amelia is Collie's mom. If you ever think of treating her like one of your fangirls, I swear I'm going to castrate you! The traditional way," Sheena warned.

"I wasn't going to, seriously! Don't you think I don't know how to treat such an unique beau… ?"

"Don't even get me started on your 'I'm the Last Romantic' crap."

"Um… Sheena, can you let Zelos go so we can leave?" Colette asked. "You can reprimand him later, when you're out of the city."

The ninja looked at her surrogate sister and then at the red haired pervert. Nodding she let go of Zelos' ear. As the ex-Representative massaged it, the group started to move on to the exit, collecting their weapons that were left near the jailor's table. Marta stepped in front of Emil and asked him about what Ratatosk was going to say.

The blonde thought if he really should tell it, after all, this kind of thing was pretty personal and could be very well damage Ratatosk's relationship with the rest of the group forever. He decided to tell Marta to ask his previous self later, when they were out of Meltokio.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

The streets were strangely quiet, even for the night. The party even found some of the Purge Inquisitors sleeping on the ground, seeming to have been knocked out cold. Presea had to admit she was impressed by the fact that Colette's mother managed to put the entire city to sleep. Sheena then noticed there was no signal of angels. Did they return to Cruxis' base?

"I didn't see any angels when I came," Amelia answered Sheena's question as they ran to the Obelisk's Plaza.

"By the way, are you sure it's safe for you to transform and use your powers like this? Not that I'm complaining, but…" Sheena started, only to be interrupted by Amelia.

"I did what was necessary to save Colette. I was called by the Renegade's leader. When I arrived near his room, I overheard him saying something about a transmission from you from near Meltokio in which it was clear you had been captured by the Martel Knights and Cruxis. I came here as fast as I could and I don't care if having to get stuck on this form is the price to save my daughter and her friends."

"Ugh… ok, ok. But really, you should…"

Sheena never managed to end her phrase, for in that moment a light arrow fell right before them, making the reincarnated Summon Spirits look up. They saw a whole battalion of angels floating in the skies with their expressionless gazes trailed on them.

"Cease your attempts at escape, criminals," one of the angel commandeers, carrying a staff, said.

"Damn. Were they out of the city?" Zelos questioned, materializing his icy sword and shield.

"No. I think my lyric spell simply doesn't have an effect on them, the same way it didn't affect you," Amelia said, standing in a battle stance.

"No time for that! Here they come!" Raine said as she readied herself, just to realize that she was still weaponless. _How I wish I had at least one of those magical orbs Genis used._

The group drew their weapons as the angels flew down to attack them. Colette and Amelia took upon themselves to bring down the Angel Archers and Commanders as the rest of the group fought with the Lancers and Swordswomen. They decided not to transform yet, as it could worsen their situation, though some of them didn't see how their situation with the heavenly organization could be worse, since they were now considered criminals.

Lloyd and the others quickly found themselves hard pressed with the angels. Different from the demons that attacked mostly head on using their brute strength to overwhelm their opponents (with some exceptions), the angels fought with an almost mechanical precision and accuracy, attacking in group to not leave Lloyd, Zelos and Sheena chances to counter-attack, surrounding Marta and Emil, forcing the two to mostly dodge their attacks, and raining spells and arrows over the group.

Amelia was systematically cutting down most of the angels. It seemed she had some practice with that form already. Colette's powerful throws severed the wings of their aerial opponents. Even so, the downed angels would get up and continue fighting. The ones in land traded slashes with the group and didn't care at all for the wounds received, continuing their assault. It was like they couldn't even feel pain.

One lancer managed to catch Sheena's side and arm before she blew him off with Demon Seal. She noticed her attacks hardly did anything on their aura. The ninja couldn't understand how come her light-based techniques weren't burning their energy. It was like they didn't even have a soul to begin with. Lloyd, Marta and Emil were also sporting some damage, as Raine was left out of the combat, occasionally healing one of them when they took to many hits.

Zelos jumped back to avoid the attack of a particularly brawny angel carrying a large, spiked mace and a large sword. Like the other angels, this one's clothing consisted mostly of white robes under a heavy, ashen armor. He could hover, despite carrying such heavy weapons and his attacks were quite fast too.

_Executors. _Zelos remembered the depictions in the holy texts. According to them, these angels were just like their namesake; heavenly beings sent down to punish the criminals and those accused of heresy against the Faith.

The red head blocked a blow of the mace with his shield and felt it cracking. Zelos smiled as he quickly countered with a Frigid Thrust, impaling the angel's belly, the impact forcing him back as blood and the clothing cut froze, a small ice protrusion forming, adding an extra weight that threw the angel off balance. Zelos repaired his shield with a brief release of his power and proceeded to attack the angel, who tried to smash his head with the mace and, upon seeing it didn't work, cleave him with the sword. Zelos avoided both and aimed for a killing blow.

_Considering these guys' endurance, it's better to end this quick. _Zelos thought, jumping and decapitating the helmet-less head of the angel. "Well, look who is the badass now, mister big, scary Executor!" Zelos bragged, just to defend from a sword blow from another Angel Swordsman.

Angel corpses started to litter the plaza, but the party's adversaries kept fighting until they dealt a killing blow, following Zelos' example. Presea, by far, had the most kills, considering her immense strength and ample blows were able to literally tear apart the angels and reduce their armors to crumpled, metal heaps.

"I think we might win without having to turn into Spirit Form," Emil said.

It was then light shone from the heavens. The angels and the group stopped the fighting upon sensing a powerful aura emanating from those lights. The Cruxis agents turned and reunited around the light, bowing as a small shining sphere came down. Energy of light seemed to be sucked into the sphere as the group gathered again. A pulse emanated, followed by a flash.

"Way to jinx us, Emil," Zelos called while covering his eyes.

"Sorry…" Emil said, hanging his head low.

Marta was about to defend her crush when they could finally see the new arrival. It was another angel, but this one looked vastly different from the expressionless ones they had seen up till now. His hair was metallic silver, eyes a light shade of blue and red markings on the side of his face and forehead. The symbol of Cruxis was tattooed on his forehead.

His robes were by far the most elaborated from the other angels. They were mostly white, with golden linings and blue and red details, a shallow tail at the back. His boots were made out of metal, with wing ornaments on the ankle. He also had his two hands set upon the handle of a sword with a golden blade, runes engraved on it and the symbol of Cruxis on its handle.

However, the most eye-catching feature of all was the angel's wings. They weren't the usual pearl white ones, but instead much like Lloyd's and the others' in their Spirit Form: three pairs of ethereal, multicolored wings that stretched as far as the angel's arms.

"Who is that?" Presea asked at seeing the cold and analytical expression on the new angel.

"That's… a Seraphim," Amelia said, taking a step back, a worried look on her and Colette's face.

"A Seraphim? You mean one of the four angels that command Cruxis?" Marta exclaimed.

"Great, now we're officially screwed," Zelos mumbled between his teeth.

The angel then turned to one of the commanders and asked something Lloyd and the others couldn't hear. The Seraphim then turned to them and spoke in a strong baritone and cold, serious voice:

"Criminals, your attempts at an escape are now over, surrender at once."

"So that you could kill us? Not a chance," Lloyd said.

"This is not a choice. You, accomplices to the Traitor of the World, are found guilty of high treason against Aselia. By my authority as Gaelius, the Seraphim of Justice, I judge you guilty and sentence you to execution."

"So, this is how you Cruxis do justice? One word and everything is done without the accused even been given a chance to defend himself?"

"Your opinion on this subject is irrelevant in the face of the facts."

"You attacked us and threw us in jail without even hearing our side of the story," Sheena protested.

"You were consorting with demons, this alone proves your betrayal to the world."

"But my mom was turned into a demon!" Colette said, trying to defend her mother. "She couldn't help it and…"

"Irrelevant," the Seraphim cut her off. "She is now a demon. That is a fact. Justice only sees facts. Now, Ratatosk, in the name of the Great Lords, your existence shall be purged from this world."

Emil felt Ratatosk cringe inside him. The blonde could feel the aura of power emanating from the Seraphim, who didn't even try to hide it one bit. Was this what it felt like being stared down by Cruxis' strongest? Marta stepped in front of Emil, a firm and determined expression on her face. She then spoke:

"Stop calling him a traitor! Ratatosk is nothing of that! He's trying to protect the world from the demons! Shouldn't you be working together rather than…" Gaelius cut her off.

"He is the reason why the demons are here."

That statement brought Marta's rant to an end as the entire group stepped back at the accusation. Ratatosk cringed again and silently plead for Marta to stop defending him. However, the girl couldn't hear it as she spoke again:

"I don't believe in you. You're lying…"

"These are the facts. Whether you acknowledge them or not, is none of my concern," the Seraphim said, his tone never showing emotion other than the cold in it.

"You Cruxis are just the same… the same as the demons," Marta said, closing her fists on her sides as she lowered her head. "You spin off your so called 'justice' on people to get them to follow you and crucify anyone that tries to think differently," she then looked up, anger in her eyes. "Why there can't be a way to reach enlightenment that doesn't treat us all like criminals, regardless of our feelings?"

"And on what grounds do you base that claim, child of the Balacruf Dynasty?"

That made Marta' angry look do a complete change to one of utter horror as the entire group looked at her. Zelos could be heard from the background muttering an "oh crap". She took three steps back as her eyes widened and her lips trembled. The brunette could only voice three words:

"How… how did… ?"

"The child of the leader of the so called Sylvaranti Liberation Front," the angel went on, unheeded to Marta's state. "You admonishes our methods and insists our goals are the same. Lies and heresy. We know what the goals of the original founder of the Vanguard was: an attempt to revive the dynasty and put the old ruling class back in power. Your claims are nothing short of hypocrisy and slanders to hide your own sins."

Having all that thrown in her face, without even sounding like an accusation, but rather a simple statement of the facts, made Marta go on her knees as she looked to the floor in a state of shock.

"I… I only wanted to… I'm not…" Marta mumbled.

"Criminals. Your punishment shall be enacted now," with that, the other angels left as Gaelius took up his sword with his right hand and poised it for attack.

If Emil and Ratatosk had not taken a look on the Seraphim and felt the rapid agitation on his aura, Marta would have been dead. A heartbeat-like pulse, an agitation of their own aura, fueled by the mutual desire of the two personalities to protect Marta, and in an instant they also teleported and blocked Gaelius' sword. The angel didn't look impressed.

The group jumped at the sudden shock of seeing the angel between them, but quickly recovered their bearings and transformed into Spirit Form. Gaelius flew back when Lloyd tried to attack him, followed by Sheena. The angel simply hovered to the side, out of the reach of her ethereal, light weapons.

As the group started the fight, Ratatosk kneeled near the still shocked Marta and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to recover:

"Marta? Marta, you need to snap out of it."

"I… don't deserve this…" she mumbled. Ratatosk realized she had heard him, but was still in her own thoughts. "I'm a criminal… a sham… all true… I don't deserve you… not when my family almost brought the end of this word."

"Marta…"

"He's right, you know?" Marta looked up, tears in her eyes and a sad smile on her face. "My grandfather, the original founder of the Vanguard, only wanted to raise another army to find a way to drive off the demons and reestablish the Sylvaranti Dynasty without Tethe'alla to stop us. And I'm a descendant of that dynasty."

"Marta, you're not…"

"You must hate me, right? Of course you would. I am one of the humans that you want to punish for all that happened. One of the murderers of your tree and family. But I'm so selfish. So, so selfish. I didn't even have the decency to stay away from you once I discovered you were living in Emil. I'm just like my ancestors: selfish and greedy…"

Zelos was near the couple, hearing the entire talk and saw Ratatosk wasn't coming up with anything to say, which was a rare thing. The brash Summon Spirit would generally just tell them to get a grip and go on, because brooding wouldn't be of any use.

_What was that traitor thing the angels mentioned to get him so affected? Damn, of all times for Marta's secret to come out, why it had to be now? _Zelos thought. The Whirlwind Rider wouldn't be able to fight in that state and Ratatosk and Emil were too worried to be of any help.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Seraphim were Cruxis' strongest agents. One blow of their weapons and entire troops of demons would fall. They were the supreme authority. Their words were law and, thus, uncontested. In short, they weren't the kind of adversaries anyone with half a brain would want to fight with if given a choice.

Lloyd and the others didn't have that choice anymore.

Gaelius was not just fast, but strong too. His blade also had a peculiar ability. When Lloyd and Sheena tried to use Blazing Fang and Dawn Pillars on him, the Seraphim simply raised the blade vertically to his face and swung it, dispelling the attacks at once. Presea tried to assault him with dark waves from her hand axes, but when the weapons collided she felt something blocking the ability. Same thing happened when she and Lloyd charged their weapons with energy of their respective elements and tried to hit the angel. Gaelius repelled the weapons with a strike of his own and the moment his sword made contact, the energies accumulated dispersed, like they hadn't even been gathered in the first place.

_What the hell is up with that sword?_ Lloyd thought and didn't saw until too late Gaelius spinning and charging magical energy on his sword, releasing a powerful blade of light on them.

Sheena moved to intercept the attack and absorb it with her hands, however, when she touched it, the amount of energy contained on the attack was absurdly high, more than she could absorb in a small amount of time. Knowing that, she said for the others to get down and leaned behind herself, changing the angle of the attack slightly and letting it pass flying over by her… and cut the nearest building into two.

The Seraphim charged at Sheena again and started attacking her with speed equal to slightly above her own. She produced barriers of her element which shattered as soon as the angel's sword was repelled by them, which forced her to keep producing shields. If she continued at this rate, she would run out of magical energy soon and be forced to revert back to her human form.

Gaelius stopped his charge and spun backwards in the air as three chakras passed flying where he had been instants before. When he turned to Colette he disappeared and reappeared near her again… just to be hit by two spheres of light and chaos energy combined, stunning him momentarily enough for Amelia to rush in and deliver a fierce punch on the angel's face. The others saw that as their chance.

Sheena stood behind, knowing for a fact most angels were creatures with resistance to light and her power just wasn't enough for her to override their defense against her element. Presea appeared from a black hole in the ground which released a vortex of dark tendrils. She curled into a ball and spun in an upwards version of her Dark Tempest Arte. Lloyd soon followed in, delivering a Sword Rain: Flare combined with a powerful downwards strike of his two blades united which rocketed the Seraphim to the ground.

The Wielder of Victory's Flame and the Warrior of the Deep Abyss were about to charge on the angel again when he suddenly ceased his fall in mid air, opening his ethereal wings to their full span and reducing his descent speed dramatically. Lloyd and Presea got slightly surprised by that and that was enough for the angel to reverse his flight path and pass by them at incredible speed. The two then felt the sides of their clothing ripping as two bloodless gashes appeared on the opposite sides of their body.

The wounds in itself were not much, but with them came a sensation of great pain. The Seraphim then stopped abruptly again and, turning suddenly to them, executed an Arte:

"Crucifix!" Gaelius quickly turned and slashed Presea and Lloyd's backs forming a cross of light between them, ending by thrusting his sword on the center, which pushed them to the ground with the speed of a bullet, making them crash on the concrete bellow. Lloyd and Presea were getting up when the angel landed between them and opened his three pairs of ethereal wings to their full span again. "Judgment Ray!" a runic circle appeared beneath the three and beams of light fell down, striking Presea and Lloyd, burning their auras.

Amelia then decided she had enough of seeing her daughter's friends being hurt by that angel and started to sing a lyric spell. The angel heard it and turned to rush at her, but was stopped when several ice projectiles the size of his head were launched at his direction. He brought up his sword again and the ice disappeared as it tried to reach him.

Colette's mother then ended her spell and let out a final note in a high pitch, several beams of chaos energy seemed to form in front of her mouth and converge on the Seraphim, this time reaching his sword and sliding through it, trying to reach him. Amelia used the chance and rushed at the angel, charging her fist with light and chaos energy and delivering a powerful punch on Gaelius' gut. The angel had an expression of mild surprise on his face as Amelia proceeded to apply a round house kick on his face and a chop to his neck.

Chakras connected to the angel's side and a stalagmite threw him up, just for Presea to jump and beat him back with a double strike of her hand axes on the stalagmite, right when three more rose from the earth, impaling him.

"Give up now!" Lloyd then jumped as the angel tried to recover and charged his swords with flames. "Brutal Maim!" three consecutive blasts of flames in the form of a lion's face were unleashed upon Gaelius, followed by Lloyd ascending slightly in the air and diving with his swords pointed straight at the angel, spinning. The effect was like a drill, while it didn't impale the angel, it kept him in place. Lloyd then backed away while sending all the flames of the attack upon the angel, creating an explosion that left smoke and debris behind as the Seraphim was buried.

"Did we do it?" Sheena wondered aloud as Lloyd landed.

The red clad, dual swordsman turned… and barely had the time to register, or even sense, the seven blades of light that shot out of the smoke and embedded themselves on his body. Lloyd's eyes widened in surprise and mute pain as he felt his aura burning. Gaelius teleported before him and only regarded the Wielder of Victory's Flame with his cold, analytical eyes as he said:

"Miguel's Blades," at a sweep of his arm, the seven blades then slashed Lloyd outwards, forming a halo as the red clad swordsman let out an yell of pain as his aura was burnt. Gaelius then grabbed one blade and impaled Lloyd with it. Sheena then called out her boyfriend's name and rushed towards the angel as he already impaled Lloyd with two more blades of light.

The ninja then conjured a sword and a dagger of light, intent on ramming them through the Seraphim. When she was at hitting distance, the angel spun to the side, the halo of the remaining blades accompanying him. Before Sheena could turn and attack him, the angel grabbed the remaining blades with his free, left hand and quickly impaled the Radiant Maiden with them.

"Vanish," he then thrust his palm forward and the blades of light exploded, the force knocking Sheena and Lloyd to the ground.

"Everfrost Glory!" Zelos casted the strongest ice spell he knew, several icebergs forming around the Seraphim, who only looked around, his gaze never portraying any emotion other than the cold analytical one. When the icebergs launched frost shards on Gaelius, he spun and released a burst of his own magical energy through his blade, nullifying the magic once more. "Dammit! What is up with this guy? It's like he's untouchable or something!"

"Considering what I've seen so far, your guess isn't that far from the truth," Raine said, making Zelos look at her. The woman then spoke louder so the rest of the group would listen. "That weapon he carries is a Runeblade."

"Runeblade? What's that?" Colette asked. Emil looked up at hearing the name and immediately understood why they were having so much difficulty with that opponent.

"It's the most powerful weapon made by mortal hands, forged by the elves," the blonde said, drawing the knowledge from Ratatosk's memories. "They are based on the Spirit's version of the weapons."

"They are also called spell destroyers, for they are magic nullifiers, capable of negating all hostile magicl energies and effects on its wielder and around them."

Lloyd and Presea then remembered how they felt their power was leaving them when that blade cut them. That meant the more they were cut, the faster they would lose the energy that sustained their Spirit Form.

"Then how come he is using that to conduct magic?" Sheena said as she and the injured Lloyd reunited with the rest of the group.

"I said all hostile magical energy. A user that has synchronized his magical energy with the blade's own can charge it with said energy, turning it into an optimal magical focus," Raine then sweated, which didn't go unnoticed by the group. "We are essentially... fighting an adversary we can't win against."

"No battle is unwinnable as long as someone is willingly to fight it," a voice came from above. Several, thin lines of light appeared around the Seraphim, who only looked at the new attack. "Suspended Cage!" instead of attacking him, the spell called forth the energy of light around and released a flash over the Seraphim's eyes, blinding him.

Lloyd and the others looked back and saw a green haired figure standing, magic circle fading away as she cast her spell. Although she had a green mask with leaf decorations on its sides covering her face, the figure and green eyes were unmistakable.

"Martel," Colette whispered.

The woman approached and asked if they were alright. Seeing Lloyd and Sheena's state, she quickly casted a very potent Heal spell on the party that even managed to remove the effects of the Runeblade's cuts. The woman then looked at Amelia, who was in her demon form, just looking at the older woman.

"You shouldn't have left the base the way you did, Amelia," Martel said, though there was no reprimand in her tone.

"I had to come and save my daughter," Amelia simply replied.

"I understand," Martel said, nodding. "I will not pursue the subject any further, because, should I be in your place, I would have done the same," the fond tone which she used was not lost on Amelia, Raine and Sheena. The Goddess of Victory of the Renegades then resumed her serious look at seeing the angel recovering from the flash attack.

"Another criminal," Gaelius simply regard, his cold and analytic expression returning.

"If saving innocent people and assuring the hope of this world's restoration stay alive means to be a criminal, then I will gladly become the most hated law breaker in history."

"Such arrogance…" Gaelius then let go of his Runeblade, which floated up to his face, pointing skyward. "Great light, product of the Great Lords… lend me thy strength to cleanse sin and evil from this world…"

Martel's eyes widened at hearing that chant and sensing the kind of magical power that was being accumulated. She knew what it was, having heard the reports and even seen it being cast once.

"No, STOP! You can't use that in the middle of a city!" but it was clear the Seraphim didn't have any concerns for something so insignificant as the security of Meltokio's citizens. She turned to Lloyd and the others. "Cast your Defensive Artes now!" the others immediately did so, knowing whatever Gaelius was preparing couldn't be good. "Reflect!" Martel casted her own defensive Arte right in time.

"Judgment!"

Several beams of light as thick as a Mana Obelisk fell from the skies, exploding in light and opening craters in the ground, falling all around them in an almost random fashion. However, the radius of the magic was so great that the beams pierced the roofs of the houses around, destroying part of the structures.

Thankfully, with their energy recovered from Martel's early healing spell and managing to synchronize their defensive barriers, the group survived the mortal, beam rain, but the same could not be said for a good part of Meltokio. When the attack passed, they looked around and saw the damage. Sheena turned to the Seraphim and yelled:

"What the hell is your problem? You might have killed many innocent people with that attack!"

"If they are truly innocent, they will receive pardon and redemption in the next life, if not then all is circumstantial," the angel replied, his tone never showing any emotion other than cold logic.

Sheena and Lloyd gritted their teeth, but refrained themselves from screaming at their adversary. They now knew that Cruxis would never listen. They simply didn't care who was going to get killed and who was going to live. To them, everybody was the same.

"We can't continue fighting here, otherwise he might truly destroy the entire city. We have to escape!" Martel urged.

"But where to? I don't think mister 'Criminals shall be punished' there will let us go that far," Zelos said.

"I know a mass teleportation spell."

"Even so, I don't think we'll have time for you to charge it before he attacks," Sheena said.

As if on cue, Gaelius rushed to them, but was intercepted by Amelia. She tried to punch him again, but this time the angel already knew her strategy and grabbed her arm with his free hand, pulling her along and slashing below her breasts with his Runeblade. Amelia felt the crippling pain as she fell to the ground, shaking as she could fell like something was leaving her, something vital.

"Mom!" Colette then threw her chakras on the Seraphim, who simply avoided them as Sheena quickly caught Amelia and joined back with the group.

Presea saw that and quickly realized Zelos was right; Gaelius wouldn't give them the chance to flee. Not while he kept concentrated in their group. So…

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss stepped forward her hand axes ready as she spoke in her smooth, adult voice to the group behind her:

"I'll distract him, you prepare the teleportation spell and take everybody out of Meltokio."

"But what about you?" Emil asked.

"I'll be fine. I can teleport on my own."

"No, Presea, we won't leave you behind!" Colette said, looking up from her mother to the girl/woman she considered her friend.

"You don't have a choice. It's either that or none of us leave this city alive," Presea tried to reason, but a part of her was screaming for her to hear Colette and go with the Keeper of Terra's Oath. "I'm the strongest out of our entire group, I'm the one with the best chance of defeating him."

That was a lie. Presea knew she wasn't capable of defeating the Seraphim in her current state. However, she was the one that had the best chance of surviving his onslaught.

"But Presea… !" Zelos put a hand on Colette's shoulder, making she look to him. The ex-Representative had a grave expression on his face.

"She's right. I don't like leaving her behind too, but we don't have much of a choice in the matter," he then looked at Martel, who nodded and started to chant the spell as Presea charged against Gaelius.

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss executed attacks in a quick succession, her agility almost equal to that of the Seraphim as she dodged and blocked the blows of his Runeblade. She couldn't let herself be hit by that blade or the battle could quickly become dangerous for her.

"Miguel's Blades!" the seven sword of light appeared around the Seraphim again, but they shot around him and Presea, aiming for Colette and the others. As soon as Presea noticed that she "dived" into a black hole in the floor and faster than the eye could catch, positioned herself near the group, emerging from the hole and using her charged weapons to deflected the ethereal, light swords.

The angel then teleported, but Presea was already prepared for that situation:

"Negative Field!" she crossed her arms and a sphere of purple energy emanated from her body. Gaelius suddenly reappeared and, upon noticing this, his eyes slightly widened as he tried to back away from an ample spin of Presea's hand axes, which hit him, but didn't damage his armor, merely ripping his robes.

While Presea was keeping the angel away, Martel finished charging the teleport magic and waved her staff, producing a great magic circle around the party, sans Presea. The reincarnated Shadow looked back at Colette and her friends in time to hear the blonde saying:

"Presea, please, come back safe!"

The girl-turned-woman couldn't help, but nod at Colette's words as the blonde disappeared together with the others. She then turned to the Seraphim, who just stared at her. Gaelius then spoke, closing his eyes:

"It seems I've failed my mission."

"Yes. They are out of your reach now and I shall not let you pursue them further," Presea said, standing in a battle stance.

"I see…" the Seraphim then opened his eyes and looked up, opening his arms to his side as if regarding a higher being in the skies as he spoke, his tone finally changing from emotionless to a solemn one. "Lord Yggdrasil… forgive me for my failure…" Presea then felt energy being reunited around the angel and sensed he was about to execute a Mystic Arte. "and accept this sacrifice as a symbol of my regret…" then he moved, faster than lightning. Presea saw that, but didn't manage to react on time. She saw him slashing at her four times, forming an asterisk on her body, but she didn't feel the pain or the damage. "Repentance's Cross."

Presea's eyes widened as she felt four lines of light appearing on her body and unleashing pillars of light, she didn't manage to contain her scream. The Runeblade destroyed her defenses and the light was burning her aura so intensively she unconsciously wished she could shut her conscience off. Then the light exploded on several tiny dots and Presea let go of her weapons, which dissipated, falling to the ground as if in slow-motion.

_Such speed… I wasn't able to react in time… my defenses were broken by his blade. _Presea's mind analyzed even though she felt extremely weak and all she wanted was to pass out. _No. I can't let myself be killed here! Colette… told me to come back to her._

When she hit the floor, darkness started to surround her body and slowly drag her inside. Gaelius turned and saw that his Mystic Arte had failed to finish off the reincarnated Summon Spirit. Upon noticing she was trying to get away, the Seraphim moved as quickly as lightning again and grasped his Runeblade with his hand, ready to drive it into Presea's head.

The blade's point came down…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

They reappeared in the port town Triaar. Martel explained they would take an EC and go immediately to one of the Renegades' base when Colette felt her heart shrink painfully in her chest. She looked back at the direction of Meltokio.

"Colette?" Raine asked.

"Presea… we have to go back!" the girl said suddenly.

"Out of question," Ventus said, appearing.

"But…"

"Please, Lady Colette. Think about it," Tenebrae pleaded to her. "If you go back, you'll be putting yourself in danger. This is not what Lady Presea wanted."

Colette looked back at the Centurion and realized he was right. Putting herself in danger would only serve to get Presea mad at her. But even so…

"Don't worry, sweetheart," her mother said, putting her clawed, yet warm hand on Colette's shoulder, making her look up to her mother's warm smile and gentle, shinning eyes. "I'm sure that Presea will come back to us. She looked such a strong girl."

Colette looked down as the rest of the group waited for her to come. She sighed and smiled to put everyone at ease.

"Yes, you're right," even though she was nervous and worried, she would force herself to wait. Her mother was right; Presea was strong. She would come back.


	38. Reconcile

Writer block sucks! Even more in critical plot-important chapters like these.

Thank god for beta-readers, on the other hand.

Anyway, this chapter focuses on Presea. Drama will start to run high now and secrets shall come to light.

Nothing more to add than, good reading!

* * *

**Chapter 34**

**Reconcile**

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss was bathing in a nearby waterfall in her adult form. Here, away from civilization, in the wilderness, she didn't see the point in returning to her normal appearance since demons could attack her at any moment. Besides, she needed to get used to this form if she were to protect Colette.

Presea knew the others trained hard to get their Summon Spirits' powers back and that training needed to be done in spirit form. Her fight with Gaelius showed she still had a long way to go. She had seen the attack coming, but simply couldn't move in time to intercept it. She still had to work her eye-hand coordination to react fast enough to things like that.

The pink haired woman sighed as she splash more water on her face and sat down on the natural spring. She narrowly escaped being impaled by the Seraphim's Runeblade. Right when it came down, the shadows had completely absorbed her, making the Runeblade sink into the concrete, missing Presea's head. She couldn't count on luck again. Not against an adversary like that.

_I must get stronger if I am to protect Colette and the others. _

She remembered the promise Colette made her swear. After she had escaped, Presea fell unconscious, waking up later in the wilderness. When she climbed up a tree, she saw she wasn't in the Fooji Continent anymore, but also couldn't sense Colette and the others anywhere.

_Colette…_ she wondered about how the girl made her feel. The blonde was always trying to cheer her up, make her feel like a friend, like a real person. She had never seen someone so kind and gentle as that girl. In fact, she didn't believe people like Colette existed anymore.

Her smile, the way she blushed… she was… cute. She kind of made Presea remember the puppies she was so fond of when she was a child. She used to love poking their paw pads.

_In another time, in another life…_

Colette also had some strange reactions to Presea when she spoke of certain subjects or when she undressed, like she was… expecting something. But what? Presea herself wasn't sure what she felt for the kind girl, but it certainly was different than what she felt for the others.

Gratitude? No, she was also grateful to the others, although not as much as with Colette.

Admiration? No, she admired her father and she never felt this strange warmth that she felt for Colette directed at him.

"Attraction?" she voiced aloud. The idea just came to her, but… she had forgotten what it was like to be attracted to someone...

No, she actually never experienced something like this. It did remind her of when she admired other women, but… this was different. It was a kind of sensation that she couldn't describe (not that she even knew how to describe emotions, considering she passed the latest years of her life like an emotionless doll) and it made her feel… so good.

The warmth, the comfort... she yearned to feel it again.

"Colette…" Presea moaned.

Then she snapped back to reality and looked over herself. She noticed she had been fondling her grown breast and her hand was starting to travel towards her sex. Presea's eyes widened as she quickly retracted her hands. Why did the thought of Colette make her do this? Her body just moved on its own, like something else was in control. What was that she heard about this kind of thing? Hormones acting, or something.

Well, she technically advanced fourteen years in a few seconds whenever she went into spirit form, which meant she passed by puberty without experiencing it. Maybe her human portion was trying to catch up with it. Anyway, she'd better concentrate and stop thinking those things.

What if she was attracted to Colette? It wasn't like the girl would like her back, even if they were both Summon Spirits. Colette was a girl and although Presea knew some people weren't against the idea of two people of the same sex being together, the probabilities of Colette being like her were slim. It was better she didn't delude herself with those thoughts.

Seeing the bloodless scars had finally closed, Presea got up and left the pool. Shadows came up and dried her form, enveloping her in the formfitting, dark suit she wore when in Spirit form.

_I wonder what Colette thinks of this outfit. Marta once said hers look like a bathing suit and this one sure doesn't hide my curves. _

Later, Presea wondered why she even bothered with the thought. It was just an outfit and, honestly, she didn't saw what the big deal was if it didn't hide her form as normal clothes did.

- / - / - / - / - / -

General Sage looked around the smoking ruins of Meltokio through one of Reriki's summoned wards. Shikigami was how she called those things. They were quite useful for recognizance and intelligence gathering.

Genis himself couldn't enter the city, unless he was planning to slaughter the entire population to leave the city afterwards. Although the thought was appealing, it was probable the evidence he was looking for would also be destroyed in the skirmish. That would be counterproductive and make him no better than those muscle-headed Desians.

"They did quite the number..." Genis murmured as he looked to the devastation through the charm Reriki had handed to him, watching it like it was a screen. "What did the report say again? A Seraphim?" he asked turning to his two aides.

"Yes. It seems they were captured by Cruxis under the accusation of being in alignment with the Traitor of the World," Rahishi said in her ever-professional tone.

"Ratatosk, heh? Man, I would love to have seen his face when they said it," Genis smirked at the thought. "Pity Cruxis wasn't able to execute them," he said, his tone changing to a sour one. He then shrugged. "Anyway, I feel another familiar trace of magic in the air. I think it's that Goddess of Victory from the Renegades."

"So they rescued them. Wouldn't that put them in a bad position with the church?"

"They're already not viewed with good eyes by the church for the simple fact most of the organization is composed by half-elves. It's not like this will make them think any worse of them."

Genis had mixed feelings about the Renegades. They were the enemy and needed to be destroyed, that much he understood. However, they were his fellow brethren and some of them had an impressive dominion over magic, their leaders mainly. Genis never met the so-called Goddess of Victory in battle, although he did catch a glimpse of her display of magic.

It had been, in one word, beautiful. He never thought he had seen so many uses for light magic as on the day he witnessed the half-elven woman in the field. If they had known before that the Summon Spirits had been reincarnated, Genis would have thought the woman was Luna. Her magic was exceptional and, according to Lord Nebilim, she was a special soul.

However, she wasn't as powerful as Genis.

He was pretty sure he could triumph over her in the field of magic. Nobody won against him when it came to the use of elemental forces. It was a fact. That woman was strong, he would be a fool not to recognize it, and wouldn't go down easily. Lord Nebilim said he once faced her, her brother and actual husband (who was, coincidentally the leader of the Renegades) and she and her husband killed two Desian Grand Cardinals each, one of them being the leader of the Cardinals at the time.

"Well, at least this gives me the chance to study Ratatosk more," Genis said.

Reriki shifted at her place, looking uncomfortable as she had a small, unpleased expression on her face. Genis turned and saw that. He asked her what was wrong, to which the demoness answered:

"Master Genis, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course. What is it?" he answered.

"Be honest… do you… do you prefer males?" Reriki practically screamed it.

Genis jumped back and Rahishi had her eyes wide and mouth fell open. Genis spluttered:

"W-what?"

"It's just that, you're always saying 'Ratatosk this', 'Ratatosk that', 'Ratatosk's magic'! You never show this interest in anybody else, so I… I think you must be attracted to him!"

Rahishi looked back at her General and felt her brain stop.

Reriki was right. He had been talking an awful lot about Ratatosk lately. She heard there were mortal males that had this kind of interested, just like there were demons who didn't care about gender. Was her General like that?

"My General… are you… ?" she felt… afraid? Anyway, she was dreading his response.

"Wait, what? Even you Rahishi?" Genis exclaimed.

"Well, if Master Genis prefers men then…" Reriki said. "Then I'll find a way to change my form so I can better fit his preferences!"

Genis now started to sweat. When did his aides start suspecting him of being homosexual? He wasn't! If anybody else heard that, he would be laughing stock on the Ginnungagap for centuries to come. He decided to stop it before they went on:

"Wait, hold on! I just talk about Ratatosk because I admire the kind of magic he uses. I'm interested more in his magic than in himself. I'm not considering having an affair with men!"

"But… you're always saying…" Reriki spoke.

"That's because he's such a unique specimen to study! I'm not going to elope with a Summon Spirit or anything. And Rahishi," he turned to his more serious aide. "I'm surprised you're actually worried about it. Wasn't it you who said you're more professional than Reriki?"

The crimson haired demoness then realized her General was right. She mentally face palmed at this, but mainly because she had went on the bandwagon and took Reriki's words as true when she knew better. Her General wasn't like that (if his reaction and physical countenance when he saw her undressing meant anything).

It seemed that that calmed Reriki down as she said:

"Thank the Great Father, for one moment I thought Master Genis denied me because my gender displeased him."

"I shouldn't be surprised you have the time to come up with such absurd theories considering you never do anything useful other than lust after our superior," Rahishi commented, closing her eyes and with a scowling expression on her face.

"Oh really?" she said with a sly smile. "At least I admit to murmuring his name during my sleep."

Rahishi's face paled. She thought Reriki was just joking the first time she said that, but after taking one of the voice recording devices the humans used she confirmed it was true. Genis raised his eyebrow at that, looking confused.

"'My General. Oh my General.'," Reriki said, mimicking Rahishi's voice. "'I'll follow everywhere my General' , 'My General you can use your…'" at that, Rahishi jumped on Reriki and started strangling her as the spiritual demoness resisted.

"Shut up, you slut headed Succubus!" Rahishi roared. Unfortunately the red haired warrior was then reminded Reriki didn't have any need for air to speak or breathe.

"Oh, is that how you intent to do Master Genis? My, my… I never thought you were so rough, Rahishi," Reriki jabbed with a malicious smirk as she tried to get the hands of the other demon away from her throat.

"STOP TALKING!"

Genis just observed all of that a sweatdrop at the back of his head.

_Aselia, I present you my fearsome aides… why do I let them speak these things in front of me again? _Genis knew the answer, but he was too prideful to admit he could be ruled by something like hormones or some sense of manly accomplishment.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

According to what she had discovered of the terrain and the vegetation, Presea was near the mountains of the Toize Valley. It seemed her teleportation abilities have grown. If she could reach Altamira, she would be able to talk with Regal Bryant and contact the Renegades to pick her up and bring her to her friends.

The forest seemed mildly peaceful, although there wasn't the sound of local fauna. The trees also seemed cold and strangely hard for her touch. She heard about forests becoming stone due to the chaotic state of the world, but didn't give it much thought until now. As a lumberjack, she depended on the resources the forest gave her and seeing the trees turning into that made her heart constrict inside her chest.

As she approached the peninsula, she felt chaos energy nearby. Narrowing her eyes, Presea quickly ran to where she felt the presence. Sounds of battle then came to her ears.

She then saw fire arrows rain upon a group of armed half-elves and humans who were trying to drive demons away. Water spells put the flames out before the fires rose and consumed everything around. Lizard demons slithered between the trees, attacking anything in close range and slicing the throats of those that tried to hide behind the trees.

"Push them away! Casters, make them know the strength of the earth!" a voice sounded amidst the battle.

Like one, several Stalagmite and Ground Dasher spells hit the demonic troops, the trees which they tried to use to their advantage quickly turned into a weapon against them as even the biggest of the flora fell down and pined the demons against the earth, just for them to be hit by the eruption of rocks and earth shards.

"Now, blow them away!" violent winds blew and pushed the demons away, some were sliced apart by wind blades while others got hit by the already loosed trees and got crushed against the petrified ones. The humans and half-elves advanced, cutting down all opposition, some had their weapons and projectiles enhanced by magic.

_Whoever is leading them knows what he is doing. _Presea thought.

One man wearing an unusual set of weapons, two gauntlets with long, mechanical claws, decapitated a nearby lizard demon and saw Presea at the edge of the forest. He turned and the girl could see his beige uniform and brunette hair divided to the sides.

"Who are you?" he asked when seeing she obviously wasn't part of their troops. His eyes then widened and he opened his mouth to warn Presea.

That wasn't necessary for she had sensed the demons creeping behind her long before the human did and turned just when he was about to open his mouth. With a swift blow she decapitated the demon before it could even register what happened. She saw five more demons behind the first.

The man looked surprised, but shook his head and stood in front of Presea, spreading his arms to the sides as if trying to shield her.

"I'll hold them off here. Just turn and…" the man started, but Presea didn't let him finish as she charged at incredible speed.

When the resistance member noticed, she was already upon the demons and easily deflecting blows and leaving wide gashes at their bodies, blood flying as Presea's purple axes danced in a deadly manner, leaving shrouds of darkness behind, which ate at their auras and swallowed up any chaos energy, leaving most of them empty husks.

When it was over, she wordlessly turned to the man, who could only look at her with his mouth agape. It was then more soldiers started to approach and she noticed the battle was over and the demons lied dead at the forest ground. Some soldiers started murmuring between themselves at seeing her and the five, vanishing demon corpses behind her. She also noticed some eyes leering over her body and outfit a little more than what could be considered appropriate.

_Men will be men. _wasn't that what Raine once said?

Then somebody made his way through the crowd, which parted as he approached. The first thing Presea noticed was his face and auburn hair, which seemed strangely familiar. Then she noticed his purple outfit and white swallowed cape. The man also wore a light armor over his outfit, but most of his body seemed unarmored.

"May I ask who you are?" the man asked in a strong, but respectful tone. Presea noticed he just passed one look over her and kept his eyes on her face as he spoke.

"Presea Combatir. And you?"

"I'm the General of Union, Kratos Aurion."

She knew the name Aurion. It was one of Lloyd's last name. Could this man be…

"Excuse me, but are you a relative of Lloyd Irving-Aurion?" Presea asked, minding her manners as she spoke to someone who was undoubtly a military commander.

Her father had taught her how to talk with people of higher positions in society, believing it to be a necessary ability, since they traveled to Meltokio sometimes and had the church to worry about. She never really saw a noble, so she mostly talked like that to the higher echelon of the Cruxis Church (as rarely as they visited Ozette).

The man's eyes widened. He then looked over her, but she felt like he was trying to see something other than her clothing or appearance. His expression then turned into one of understanding as he spoke:

"I see… so you're one of Lloyd's companions, aren't you?" Presea had no doubt that he was referring to the fact she was a Summon Spirit. "I'm his father. Is he nearby?"

Presea was honestly surprised at that. She had heard Lloyd comment something or other about his father, mainly him wondering what he was doing at the moment. She knew he was some kind of General of high order in both resistances, but she never thought she would meet him someday. That would explain why Kratos looked so familiar. Both had almost the same expression when serious and both their eyes shone with protectiveness and determination.

The pink haired woman shook her head and said:

"No. We got separated and he was taken to safety by a member of the Renegades. I would like to request means to contact him and the others."

"Very well," Kratos said and she could see a little worry over his eyes, but he kept his tone even and composure unchangeable. "However, we should first leave this forest. More demons might come this way."

"In that case, let me help you escort your troops. I'm pretty capable in combat."

Kratos nodded and ordered his men to patch up the injured and continue their march to Altamira.

As the two lead the column of men, Presea inquired what they had been doing in that region. Even she knew it wasn't a good idea to walk around with a group that big when there were high chances of demons spotting them. Kratos seemed to ponder if he should answer her question or not, but ended up speaking:

"We were requested by Duke Bryant to seal off the Toize Valley Mine and destroy all equipment inside, as well as collecting any Exspheres that might have been left behind."

"I see…" Presea said.

She heard from the others about the Exspheres and how the stones were awakened by sacrificing human lives. However, if the demons were really interested in them…

"Don't you think they might come back and start to excavate again?" Presea asked.

"Even so, our mission was to seal the mine, so this might retard their collecting of the Exspheres," the Captain of the troop that Presea had saw before, Hawk, said. "We need every second we can buy if we expect to win this war. Besides, those things…"

"Hawk," Kratos said, narrowing his eyes and his tone turning sharp and cold. It was a warning, which made the Captain immediately shut up.

Presea immediately understood that the true nature of the Exspheres wasn't common knowledge to the soldiers and saw some of them were wearing them. She had mixed feelings about it, but the rational part of her mind told her it was necessary for them to match power with the demons. Besides, it wasn't any of her business if they chose to share that information or not. She wasn't part of the Renegades or the Vanguard.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The city was just like she remembered, a bustle of activity and swimmers going about the beach, never leaving the limits of the city, while another portion of it went about the "communitarian duties" they were given by the church. Presea noticed some people looking at Kratos and the resistance members either with ugly looks or smiles.

_A divided city. It must be incredibly stressing to maintain order. _Presea thought.

The door of a nearby grocery store opened and out came a young woman in her early twenties with pink hair and in a maid uniform. Presea stacked when she saw the woman, her mind quickly comparing the face and eyes to that of a person she knew, however, it was the feeling she got from looking at that person's aura that gave away who that was.

The maid thanked who appeared to be the shopkeeper and looked in Presea's direction, seeing the contingent of the Renegades and Vanguard. She smiled and approached them.

"Greetings, General Aurion."

"Hello Alicia," Kratos returned with a bow in a perfect, gentlemanly manner.

That left no doubt. The woman in front of her was her younger sister, the sister that had ran away from home, calling her a freak and a monster when she came back from the Temple of Darkness carrying the corpse of their father. She looked beautiful, just like their mother.

"Oh, and who is this? A new member?" Alicia asked, looking at Presea, obviously not recognizing her, even though few were the people that had such a vibrant pink hair like theirs.

Presea didn't have any doubt Kratos had catch on her relationship with Alicia. Combatir wasn't a common surname, as far as she knew. Kratos made a discreet signal for his men to go on and they dispersed to not call so much attention.

"She helped us with the escape after the operation to demolish you-know-the-place," Kratos spoke.

"Oh. In that case, I thank you, miss…" Alicia said with a helpful smile and a slight bow, waiting for Presea to identify herself.

"I…" Presea suddenly found her tongue had rolled into itself.

"Yes?" Alicia asked.

"I'm… your sister… Presea," she slowly said.

"Huh?" Alicia had the expression of who thought they had misheard what had been said.

Presea decided it would be better if she showed it, so she returned to her human, young-looking state. The reversion took just a few seconds. She opened her pale-blue eyes and saw her sister's face quickly adopt an expression of shock and surprise. Alicia dropped the bag of groceries, but Kratos picked it up with surprisingly fast reflexes.

"P-P… Pre…" Alicia stuttered, taking a tentative step forward, her hand slowly reaching for Presea.

For one moment, the pink haired girl thought Alicia would slap her again, just like the last time they talked face to face, but she only touched her cheeks with evident hesitation. Her hands were a little calloused, Presea noticed. Probably from her work as a maid. Still they felt warm.

_Just like back then…_

Then, to her bigger surprise, Alicia got on her knees and pulled her into a strong, desperate embrace. Presea heard her sister start sobbing and felt tears dropping on her back as she heard Alicia saying:

"I'm… sorry. I'm sorry for everything, big sis," Presea's eyes widened. Alicia used to call her "big sis". "I shouldn't have… I was such an idiot…"

The rest Presea didn't catch for she felt turmoil inside herself. She felt warm, sad and… happy. Happy that Alicia wasn't angry or disgusted at her anymore, even thought she suddenly transformed in her presence. Also, Alicia was apologizing for the way she treated her.

Hadn't she dreamed of this before? To see Alicia again, to be able to talk with her, go back to how they used to be, to be forgiven for what she did to their father? She… wanted to be consoled. Consoled by someone who cared, even though that someone was her little sister and Presea was the one who should be consoling her.

She had forgotten that. That dream, this sensation. Suddenly she felt her eyes getting moist and her chest started to hurt. But why? Didn't she feel happy? Didn't she feel overjoyed for being reunited with Alicia again? So why was she about to cry? Alicia leaned back and saw the emotional state portrayed in her older sister's young face and asked:

"Presea… are you crying?" she expected anything, Presea being angry with her for having abandoned her in Ozette or being indifferent… but crying was the last thing she thought at.

"I… I don't know. I feel… so happy, but… at the same time," Presea said, her voice turning strained as she spoke. "Why do I feel like crying if I'm happy? That doesn't make sense… I'm so confused."

Tears then finally flowed out as Presea was assaulted by a multitude of emotions. Happiness, confusion, sadness, relief… it hurt feeling all of that at the same time. It was like some kind of dam inside her had been broken and now these emotions were finally flowing. She hated feeling so confused over this.

Alicia, however, had her eyes wide again. She never hated herself as much as now.

She knew Presea should be facing hell in Ozette. After all, she had left with her father and Richter and came back carrying his corpse together with the half-elf. Of course the people of Ozette, being the racist bunch they were, would jump to conclusions and assume Presea had let the half-elf murder her father or did it herself. Alicia's outburst in front of their cottage certainly helped the rumors to spread.

She had seen Presea in Altamira when the young-looking woodcutter came to sell her artisanal charms to the tourists and locals. She saw the lifeless expression and look in her eyes, but could never bring herself to approach her sister and at least let her know she was still alive and well.

The younger Combatir was a coward. She had discovered that soon enough. She just stayed at her comfortable corner in the Bryant Mansion and let Presea take all the suffering alone to the point her sister had practically become an apathetic shell which rarely showed any kind of expression. Master Regal had warned her that could happen; that guilt over something like that could make somebody think they didn't deserve to live or even be happy. He warned her, but she was too much of a coward to come to Presea's rescue.

And this was the result.

"Oh, Presea," Alicia then hugged her again, letting her sister's tears fall on her shoulder, doing what she should have done all those years back in Ozette.

Kratos left the two to their reunion, staying out of hearing range, but still in sight in case they needed something.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

The pink haired sisters and the General of Union walked in silence to the mannor of Duke Bryant. The atmosphere was awkward at best between the Combatirs. None knew what to say to break the ice. Alicia was just too guilty to even look to her young-looking, older sister and Presea didn't know how to proceed after tearing up.

_Not even a sword would cut through this atmosphere. _Kratos thought to himself.

The trio finally arrived in a huge, three story, Victorian styled mansion at the other edge of the city. It was built on a pier, like most buildings near the water. The roof tiles were blue and there were several windows in its front and sides.

Kratos and the Combatirs passed by the two guards flanking the door, who seemed to recognize him and the head maid as they entered the place. The entrance hall was big enough to easily fit Presea's old cottage inside and there were a few statues and work arts along the walls. A maid approached and greeted the newcomers:

"Greetings. May I help you?" it was then she seemed to recognize them. "General Aurion! It's an honor to receive you."

"Thanks. Could you drop these groceries bought by Miss Combatir in the kitchen? By the way, is Duke Bryant home?" Kratos asked in the most polite tone.

"Master Bryant is at the study," the maid then saw Presea and seemed to get curious. "Oh, is she your little sister Alicia? She looks kind of like you."

The atmosphere, if possible, got even more awkward. Alicia felt her cheeks burning in embarrassment as Presea stood quiet. Kratos sighed and said they had to first talk to Regal. The maid acknowledged and took the supper back to the kitchen.

"I'll let you two go first. If you need me, I'll be at the library," Kratos said.

"Yes…" Alicia meekly nodded.

Kratos then left for another wing of the house. Apparently he had enough clearance to some of the rooms in the Bryant state. Alicia led Presea to Regal's study, the two still not talking to each other. They arrived at a mahogany door which Alicia opened.

The study was a room with a desk at the other extremity, a tea table at its center and a variety of bookcases, containing the most different kinds of books. The window at the other end of the room was open, the curtains fluttering slightly as the sea winds entered. Lying in a crimson couch, reading a book, was a man in his early thirties with blue hair and blue attire with gold lining and black, polished shoes.

The man turned his aqua blue eyes upon hearing the door closing behind the two sisters, putting his book aside and speaking:

"Alicia. Already done with your task, I see," the familiarity which he used upon speaking the name of the maid did not pass unnoticed to Presea. Regal then noticed her. "And who might you be, young lady?"

"This is… my sister… Presea…" Alicia hesitantly said.

For one moment, Regal's eyes widened in surprise, but it was so fast it could have been a trick of the light. His expression turned solemn as he looked from his head maid to the other pink haired girl.

"I see…" was all he said. Presea then knew in that moment that Alicia had told him about them. But just how much did the noble knew? "I suppose explanations are in order, as you must be certainly curious about how your sister has been faring."

"Yes, please," was all Presea said. She didn't know how she felt about that stranger knowing of what happened between her and her sister. The whole day was just so strange…

Regal nodded and vacated the couch, leaving the sisters to sit together as he fetched one of the simple arm chairs near his study desk. Putting the chair to face them, Regal studied the two: Presea was still looking mildly confused and, at the same time, neutral. His head maid looked like she wanted to find a place to hide herself while her eyes were laden with guilt.

Sighing, the noble started:

"I've found Alicia lying unconscious in the fields sixteen years ago when I was coming back from a business trip. She seemed to be passed out, so I took her to my mansion and got her treated. She only came to after two days and even so refused to talk to anybody, showing clear signs of shock."

Alicia lowered her head, feeling miserable. Regal continued, regardless:

"When we finally got her to speak, she said she had run away from demons and didn't have any family. She thanked me and asked if she could stay for some time, offering to do house chores as a payment. Long story short, she ended up staying and after four years she finally told me her true story."

"I've…" Alicia said. Presea looked at her sister as she hesitantly spoke. "Seen you in the public market that day, Presea… selling your charms on that day. That disturbed me so much that I…" she found out she couldn't put her thoughts of that particular moment into words.

"Please, don't think ill of her," Regal asked on Alicia's behalf.

"Master Bryant…" she started to protest, but the lord of the mansion didn't heed to it.

"Once she explained to me what had happened, I tried to see things from a neutral standpoint and knew there was no way a daughter would slay her father like Alicia said you did. I took it upon myself to see the one that Alicia was accusing of murder and passed through your stand the following day."

Presea suddenly remembered seeing somebody with Regal's hair color and eyes. She had never paid much attention to who her customers were. She was more worried about gaining money to feed herself. That day, she had sold half of the items in her stand to a single costumer. That had to have been Regal. It was then the reincarnated Shadow noticed that a small statue of a maiden in Regal's study desk was one of her works.

"Suffice to say, what I saw in your eyes wasn't anything remotely close to what is seen in murderers. What I saw was a living shell full of grief and guilt. It was like I wasn't even looking at a living person. I told that to Alicia. At first she didn't believe and even after she saw it, she seemed reluctant to admit it, but eventually…"

"I realized Master Bryant was right," Alicia admitted. She looked at Presea now as she spoke. "I've… watched you every day after that and you acted always the same; never putting any extra effort in anything, just going through everything like you weren't even there. You never smiled even once. It was like… watching somebody dying right in front of your eyes," there was some silence after it.

Presea was surprised that she hadn't noticed her sister watching her, given how her instincts and senses were sharp. Then again, she tried to shut off those sensations and her powers most of the time. Or maybe it was because she felt more at ease in Altamira than she did in her own village. Whatever the case was, one question still remained:

"If you… thought what you did was wrong, why did you never come to me whenever you saw me every time I was in Altamira?"

It felt like Alicia had been trying to purposely avoid her. The other pink haired female lowered her head in shame and Presea could see her eyes getting moist again.

"I did… believe me, I tried… but I couldn't. I couldn't look in your face and see what my rejection did to you. What you have become because I abandoned you," Alicia then looked at Presea with a sad, pitiful smile on her face. "I'm a coward Presea. Always was. Remember? I used to hide behind you and father whenever a stranger came home or when I thought people were angry at me."

Presea did remember. Alicia had always been somewhat shy when a child, but she wouldn't call her little sister a coward. Presea looked to the side, not knowing what to do in that situation. She again felt confused. She hated this feeling of not knowing what to do and what to think.

"Presea…" Alicia called her again, making the older Combatir look at her. "I… know I don't have any right to, but… please, how did father die?"

That question hit Presea harder than a punch from Nebilim. She widened her eyes. Never once had she tried to justify herself about their father's death. She never spoke a word of it, letting people think what they wanted. In a way, she believed they were right; that she really killed Sieg. Maybe she wanted to be scorned and punished by what happened.

"I'll leave you two to discuss this in particular," Regal started, sensing this was a delicate subject.

Presea noticed her sister shoot a desperate look at her employer, like silently asking him to stay. She then realized one thing: her sister trusted Regal. Also, she seemed to find some kind of comfort in his presence, so much she had become more inclined to speak as he explained the story of how she had ended up in that house. Presea then spoke:

"No. Stay," Regal stopped and looked at her. "If Alicia trusts in you, then I trust you as well," the look of relief and thanks in Alicia's face was more than obvious to Presea, as Regal sat once more. Seeing that look on her sister's face made she wonder if Regal had become somewhat of an emotional support to her.

Presea then recounted the events of that day. When she looked back, the details seemed a lot clearer than she remembered seeing with her twelve-year-old eyes. She almost choked at the part where the demons had swarmed them, but continued nonetheless, describing everything she remembered. Alicia gasped when Presea told her she had tried to force Shadow to give her his power and the resulting backslash.

"But… Presea, you could have died!" Alicia exclaimed.

"Yes, but… in the end… father was the one that paid the price for my foolishness," she said solemnly.

Alicia opened her mouth to counter, but closed it again. She seemed to think for some time and sighed.

"Even so… I never thought you… you almost died. I'm so sorry, big sis. I was so stupid," Alicia said in a tone of self-reprimand.

"No. I don't blame you for that. Besides, you were right. I was the one that killed father and…" Presea didn't get to continue, for she was hugged by her sister again. Alicia then spoke in a firm tone.

"Never… say that again. I now know you had nothing to do with that and everything was just an accident. I was the stupid one for doing what I did. I was… angry and sad. And I said some things that I shouldn't have said. Daddy would be ashamed of me. I fought with and abandoned my sister instead of listening to her when she needed the most.

"Presea. I'm really sorry for everything. I can't even begin to say how I am ashamed of myself. I should have been happy that you came back alive. It was what daddy would have wanted."

Presea felt her heart constrict again and her eyes getting moist at the mention of their father. Would he have wanted her to come back alive? Yes, he would. He never hid how much he loved them and which lengths he would go to protect them. She remembered that he once said that, should anything happen, Presea and Alicia should watch out and protect each other, because one could not survive in that world alone, only together they would be able to conquer all obstacles.

She had forgotten that, dismissed it as her father just saying they should continue behaving like good sisters. She never once thought about how real her father's warning was… about how he could be gone in a heartbeat. The idea never seemed real for her and her sister, since he seemed so strong. Nobody in Ozette could wield an ax like him.

But there was no human strong enough to survive the demons unscathed. Sieg had been right, as always. Only united could people hope to defeat those monsters. And Presea and Alicia had done the exact opposite. The reincarnated Shadow when she chose to simply take the blame and not even explain the circumstances and Alicia when she chose to blame Presea for their father's death without even hearing her side of the story.

"I... think you're right," Presea said. "Daddy would have wanted that we remained together. He always said for us to stick together."

Alicia nodded and the two looked at each other in silence again. Regal just stood quiet, observing everything. He wouldn't intrude in that family moment more than he already was. He was there in case Alicia needed emotional support, but he could see his head maid was slowly bouncing back.

Presea's sister then finally spoke:

"So… do you think we could start over again?"

"I… don't know. A lot has changed. I'm not the same as I was, probably never will be," Presea said. Alicia lowered her head, dejected. Presea then spoke again, a small smile on her face this time. "But I would like to try. Even though time has stopped for me and I can't go back, I… would like to try and built our relationship again."

Alicia looked up, her eyes watering again as she hugged her older sister, muttering "thank you" over and over. She didn't know if she would be able to live with herself if Presea rejected her, though the reincarnated Shadow had every right to.

Regal smiled at the scene and decided to call a toast for the reconciliation of the two. Alicia nodded and said she would get some glasses and a drink. Before she got up, Presea noticed a shine in her middle finger. The woodcutter caught the glimpse of a golden ring right before her sister left the room.

Presea then turned her eyes to Regal and noticed he was also using a golden ring very similar to Alicia's in the same finger and hand that she did. The pink haired ax woman tilted her head to the side in thought, wondering what that meant.

"I'm glad you decided to forgive your sister and are willing to give her another chance. She has suffered greatly through the years and seeing you in that state," Regal said.

Presea didn't answer. She just thought on what Alicia had said about feeling so guilty she couldn't even approach Presea. She knew what it felt like. She had lost count of the nights in which she wouldn't be able to even see a photograph of her father without feeling guilty for what had transpired.

Alicia then came back carrying a tray with some wine. Regal remembered he should have ordered Alicia to bring some juice to Presea, but then remembered the pink haired girl was supposed to be his head maid's older sister. As they cheered for the reunion of the Combatir sisters, the Duke felt the need to ask:

"By the way, Presea, are you really a Summon Spirit?"

"So you've heard about it?" Presea inquired as she took a dip at the wine. It burned her throat, but it was also quite good.

"Sir Emil and Sir Lloyd passed by here and mentioned it."

"When I heard what they said about people with strange powers being Summon Spirits, I thought that could explain why you saw those things when you were little," Alicia admitted, her face blushing a little.

"They said the same thing," Presea confirmed. "Supposedly, I have Shadow's sight, which is the best and most powerful between all of the Summon Spirits. That was why I was able to see ghosts and even feel people's emotions when they touched me."

"The Summon Spirit of darkness, you say…" Regal surmised, putting his hand on his chin and resting his glass in the tea table. "Do you have any marks on your body? Like a birthmark of some kind?" the blue haired noble asked.

Presea thought about it and remembered she did have one. Nodding, she unbuttoned the top buttons of her simple, black and grey dress and showed them the mark on the middle of her collarbone. Regal's eyes seemed to lit up in understanding as Alicia spoke:

"I had forgotten about your birthmark. Daddy used to say it marked you as a unique person."

_And he couldn't have been more right… _Regal idly wondered. He closed his eyes in reflection and opened them again. "I see… and I suppose that explains why you display this young appearance."

Presea nodded, explaining it was due to the fact she had absorbed some of Shadow's soul in the Temple of Darkness. Regal nodded and wordlessly got up and went to the telephone on his study desk. Presea and Alicia watched as he took the speaker and dialed a number. After some seconds of waiting, the President of Lezareno spoke:

"George, it's me. Could you please take care of Lezareno in the following days? A matter of most importance appeared and it requires my immediate attention. … I unfortunately can't divulge the details yet and I can't estimate for how long I will be away. … I might be incommunicable at times, but I would appreciate it if you informed me of any emergencies that might happen. In case you can't contact me, relay the message to Yuan. … Yes, right. … Thank you, George," Regal then put the phone in the receiver and turned to his guest and confused personal maid. "Could you take care of the house in my absence, Alicia?"

"Of course Master Regal, but why are you asking that? Are you going on some business trip?" the grown up Combatir asked.

"You could say that," he then turned to Presea. "I'll contact Yuan and warn him I'll be escorting you to the Renegades' headquarters."

"Why are you coming with me?" Presea asked in curiosity.

Regal closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and speak:

"When Lloyd and the others came here, the characteristics they described… it was all strangely accurate. I myself had always been considered a prodigy to my martial arts trainers due to my incredible stamina and energy. Sometimes, it even felt like I was using the energy of the environment around to keep me going. The sensation only got stronger near machines."

"You practice martial arts?" Presea asked. She had seen Sheena practicing some blows in spars and had wondered if maybe she could imitate her. Using her own body as a weapon against the demons surely would help her to protect Colette and the others.

"Yes. My father thought it would be a good way for me to defend myself."

"But, Master Regal. Wouldn't that only mean you trained a lot?" Alicia asked.

"I also thought so, but when they spoke about a birthmark it reminded me of my own," he then pulled his right sleeve up, revealing a mark on his biceps. A mark that looked to intricate to have been natural.

Alicia gasped, remembering she saw that, but she had never connected the dots before. Presea also widened her eyes in realization. Regal nodded:

"I believe I might be a Summon Spirit and the only ones that can confirm it are Ratatosk and his group…"

* * *

And to close this chapter let's have a light hearted skit between Presea and her sister:

The Combatir Sisters

Presea: Hey, Alicia, can I ask you something?

Alicia: Yes, what is it big sis?

Presea: I saw you and Regal using matching rings in your middle fingers.

Alicia *blushing*: Y-y-you did?

Presea: Yes. They also seem to be pretty pricey. Are they made out of gold?

Alicia: Y-yeah... they are.

Presea: I see. I didn't though being the personal maid of a Duke would give you such advantages.

Alicia: Huh?

Presea: I mean, if you gain enough money to be able to afford such a jewel, he obviously must be paying you well. Either that or you gain discounts on the jewelry stores here in Altamira.

Alicia *sweatdrop*: Um, Presea. That's not really what… oh, forget it. Can I ask you something then?

Presea: Of course.

Alicia: Well, what would you think if you heard I'm in a relationship with somebody older than me?

Presea: I would ask, why is that so?

Alicia: Really? Wouldn't you think it's strange or… improper?

Presea: I think I am hardly someone who can point out what is proper or not.

Alicia: Oh, yeah. I-I'm sorry, I forgot I… I mean… I'm really sorry for all I…

Presea: You already apologized and I already forgave you. Can we… put this past us? I… I missed you and I don't want to get caught up so much in the past.

Alicia: Yes. I agree. Let's not talk about what happened anymore and concentrate on being sisters once more. Deal?

Presea *smiling*: Deal.

Alicia: So… I have to say. That grown form of yours… I'm jealous.

Presea: What do you mean?

Alicia: Oh, c'mon! Haven't you noticed? You have such a sensual body and that thigh clothes you used… you probably must be fending the guys off with a… oh wait. You don't like guys. Um… oh, I know. You probably must be causing many women to be jealous of you while attracting the eyes from the others.

Presea: You think so? I wonder...

Alicia *sweatdropping*: What's with that answer and tone? Seems we'll really have to get you used to our sister talks again…

Update: Since I didn't get any answers about my last two chapter yet: please review, so I can have some incentive to go on writting this.


	39. The Traitor of the World

Raine: Bring back from oblivion this writer soul... Resurrection!

Huh? What the? *Sees Raine tapping her foot* Oh right! Heh, sorry, was full of things to organize in my life and whatnot.

And, man... it takes a mouth of absence for new people to review... well, hope you all post your opinions about my work more often. It helps me keep up my mood for writing.

Anyway, here's a new chapter. For those that asked for more drama, I hope this satisfy you

* * *

**Chapter 35**

**The Traitor of the World**

The atmosphere in the EC had been almost unbearably heavy to the group as they made their way to the Gaorachia docks. No one spoke and Ratatosk kept himself as silent as a tomb. Not even Emil was saying anything.

Different from the others, Sheena was feeling more anxious and nervous than anything. When Martel explained to her that they were going to pass near Mizuho to arrive at the Renegades' hidden HQ, she couldn't help, but dread her homecoming.

She hadn't been to Mizuho since the village was razed and feared that she could find the ghosts of her people should she ever come back.

_Huh... some next chief in the line I am. Scared of ghosts when I'm a Spirit myself._ Sheena thought with a bitter smirk.

"They're all awfully quiet," Martel spoke as she looked over the group spread around the deck.

Raine was inside the inner room of the EC, refusing to come out until they came to land. Sheena thought that maybe she wasn't brooding over the situation like the others as much as she was trying to keep her nerves under control.

"Well, that is to be expected. The way Ratatosk spoke..." Sheena spoke.

"Spoke? What do you mean? Did something happen?" Martel asked.

Sheena looked at her and for one moment she thought she was actually talking to a green haired, older Collie. The expression of curiosity and concern of those two was so identical it disturbed the ninja. She wondered if they weren't related somehow.

"I don't think it's my place to talk about it. How much did you heard?" Sheena asked.

"We just heard you were being arrested and what that Seraphim said when I arrived. Other than that, I don't understand why Ratatosk is acting like this way. Normally he would be scowling and swearing them to Niflheim and back."

"That sounds just like him," Sheena said with a sweatdrop. "I suppose you got to see this side of him when you were one of his Knights."

"Well, I can't say I did a good job, but he kind of listened to me when I talked. I think Yuan said something about he having a mild crush on me," Martel looked up as she said. She then smiled and looked at Sheena. "Sometimes I think he has a soft spot for kind-hearted women."

"I don't think so, considering he dated Celsius."

"Celsius? Oh my, I never thought."

"Let me tell you some embarrassing things about him," Sheena spoke with smile, feeling a bit vindictive.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Mizuho was just a pile of burnt ruins and rubble. One could hardly say the Mystic Village once existed in that charred patch of land. The grass hadn't even grown back and none of the wildlife made the ruins its home. It was like life was trying to avoid the place, or at least the chaos energies blocked any attempt from nature in recycling it.

Sheena felt something in her throat as she looked around what had once been her home. Amelia put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, although she also didn't seem any better. Lloyd and the others could just look around wondering how the village was before it had been razed by Nebilim and his demons.

"So this is Mizuho. Or what's left of it," Solum commented amidst the morbid silence.

"Indeed. You can still sense some of chaos magic lingering in the air, although faint," Tenebrae commented.

Ignis floated near to a pile of burnt wood. Upon picking up one, it dissolved into ashes. She then turned to the other Centurions and asked:

"Do you think Lady Sheena could rebuilt it?"

"It would be certainly possible," Ventus said, putting his wing in hand-mode under his beak. "However, that would require materials, manpower and time, all of which she doesn't have right now."

"Can you guys tune it down?" Aqua berated. "Don't you see this is a hard moment for Lady Sheena? How do you think she is feeling?"

"Let it go, Aqua," Sheena said to the Centurion of water. "Besides, they're right… If I'm ever going to rebuilt it, I'm going to need to plan it carefully."

"I'll help you Sheena," Lloyd promptly said in front of her. "I might not be very good at managing things, but I can carry most heavy stuff and cut wood into shape."

"Thanks Lloyd," Sheena said with a sincere smile. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"I'll help too," Colette pronounced with a bright smile on her face, trying to chase away the sour mood. "Mizuho was once my home, right? And you're my onee-chan, Sheena. So I should help rebuilt it."

Amelia then tapped Sheena who looked and saw she holding her notebook. The ninja read the words:

_Mizuho was also once my home. I liked this place. Count me in._

The ninja could say she was honestly touched by her friend's offers for help, but decided this wasn't the time to shed tears of thanks for them. Before they could even think of rebuilding, they had first to defeat the demons.

Wiping her moist eyes, Sheena thanked them once more and said she would take them up in their offers in the future. They all smiled.

"So you lived here?" Martel asked Amelia as she approached the mother. "Where are you originally from then?"

Amelia looked up in thought and then wrote in her notebook:

_To be honest I don't remember. My memory stops at the end of my childhood and lately it has been fading away, little by little. I don't even remember my foster family. _

Martel's interest seemed to be picked by it. She then asked if Amelia remembered anything of her real parents, to which the blonde shook her head.

_Maybe it is an effect of the course. _she suggested.

Martel could just stare on, which started to make Amelia feel nervous. Before she could write a question though, Martel looked on and saw a man approaching them. Flanking the man's sides were two Renegade soldiers. He stopped in front of Martel and saluted:

"Lady Martel, it's good to see you," the man said.

"Thomas," Martel acknowledged with a nod.

"Are these the Summon Spirits we've been hearing about?" Thomas asked in curiosity.

"Yes. I am bringing them back to base for a reunion with Yuan. Could escort us there?"

"No problem."

Sheena noticed the man's aura was quite strange. It seemed like the one of a half-elf, but there were traces of chaos energy in it. Thomas had dark brown hair and heterochromatic eyes, one being a sky blue and another a pale yellow. His uniform was different from the other Renegades; not sporting a helmet and a more pronounced upper armor.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Martel spoke, back to her cheerful and kind tone as she turned to the group with a smile. "Everybody, this is Thomas Misuto, one of our Generals. He also takes care of recruitment."

"Please Lady Martel, I'm just a lowly General compared to the likes of General Aurion," the man said, appearing to be a little embarrassed.

"You said your last name is Misuto. Where are you from?" Sheena asked.

"Ah. You're the Mizuho survivor, right? Actually, Misuto was just a name given to me by the one that adopted me. I was from a little city called Mallac in Tethe'alla. Though you probably don't heard of it, since it was destroyed twenty years ago by the demons."

"So you are adopted? By who?"

"Asuka," Martel was the one that answered that. "She contacted us when Thomas showed interested in joining our cause."

"Mother..." Sheena whispered.

Thomas led them away from the ruins of Mizuho and in the direction of the mountains. According to Martel, the Renegades' HQ was hiding deep inside the mountain. The base had been constructed in an old excavation site long abandoned by the dwarves, who handed it to them when Yuan came to their King asking for assistance.

"I see. The mountains would provide a nice, natural shield and considering the construction techniques of the dwarves, you wouldn't have to worry with the structure around the tunnels collapsing any time soon," Emil said.

"Mister Thomas," Colette asked up, making the man look at her. "Um... are you by any chance..."

"The same as your mother?" he asked the question that Colette was hesitant to ask. When he saw her expression of confusion, he gave her a polite smile. "You two are so alike that either you were sisters or mother and daughter. Anyway, to answer your question: yes. I'm one of the half-elves that have been cursed by the demons," he pointed to his yellow eye. "This is the proof."

"So, you can change forms too?" Zelos asked.

"Yes, but it's quite painful and... I never liked it," he winced with an expression of disgust in his face. "Whichever demon cursed me must have made a pretty sloppy job, but I've heard this is a pretty common case amongst cursed people."

"Then you decided to enter the Renegades, knowing they would accept you, regardless of your condition," Marta surmised. "I've heard that Yuan don't discriminate against people with conditions like these."

"Actually, it takes a bit convincing, but I always managed to make he see reason in the end," Martel said with a smile.

"Well, I'm sure you can be quite convincing when you want to," Zelos said with a smile, his eyes leering over the green haired beauty's figure, his tone quite suggestive.

Sheena had a vein popping on her forehead while Marta and Emil sighed. Martel only smiled at him and said:

"Why, thank you, Mr. Wilder," most of the group raised their eyebrows at Martel.

"Just call me Zelos," he replied, his tone suave.

The group then arrived in a small cavern that led to the inside of the mountain. It was narrow enough for two men to pass shoulder-to-shoulder. As they went further inside the mountain, the tunnel got wider until they came into a cavernous room with great, metal double doors at the end.

As they approached, the door opened and the leader of the Renegades strolled out, looking as regal as ever. This time, he wore an orange, upper armor with a dark blue cape around his body, hiding his arms. His pants were black and he had red and orange gauntlets as well as dark blue and red boots with golden details.

The group greeted him, but Yuan seemed to ignore them as he walked towards Zelos. Before anybody could say or do anything, the blue haired half-elf punched the red head square in the jaw with enough strength to make Zelos see stars.

"What did I told you about messing with my wife, you bastard?" Yuan said, his face contorting into an expression of anger as he held his closed knuckle near his face.

Martel giggled as Sheena, Lloyd, Colette and Raine looked and saw she showing a communicator in her hand, indicating she probably had the device on when Zelos flirted with her.

"You know what? I'm starting to like you," Sheena said with a smirk, which Martel returned with another kind smile, belaying her mischievousness.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

After healing Zelos and Martel convincing Yuan not to murder the pervert ("Just because it would take too long for Celsius to reincarnate", had been Sheena's opinion), the group entered the base and made their way to Yuan's office.

Most of the building was made of metal and there were pieces of technology and devices that Lloyd was sure were back from the Kharlan War. Then they arrived at another door that slid open at their approach and entered in the most decorated room they had seen so far. There was a mahogany desk at the other side with an armchair and a large painting covered most of the wall picturing some battle. There were bookshelves and many strange devices and instruments on pedestals and side desks.

However, what called the group's attention the most was the trio of short men standing near Yuan's desk. Two of them appeared to be of advanced age, but still carried an aura of authority and power (at least one of them did). Lloyd recognized one of them:

"Dirk?"

"Hey there, lad," the dwarf greeted back. "See ya still alive and kickin'."

"So, these are the famed, reincarnated Summon Spirits," one of the aged looking dwarves, this one with a long, grey beard tied in some places by metal rings and clothed mostly in blue, light clothes, spoke.

"Everybody," Martel called the group's attention. "These are Dirk Irgest, Second Commander of the Dwarven Army," Dirk nodded to them. "Altessa Morrion, Lord of the Forge, the best artisan and craftsman of the dwarves," the aged dwarf with the thick beard and graying hair that spoke before greeted them in return. "And, his Majesty, King of Dwarves, Brolir Alamor Durnon."

The King of Dwarves seemed really aged; his face wrinkled and his beard of a medium length and a stark white color. However, he had an aura of authority and power around him that made it seem age was nothing for him. Marta's, Lloyd's and Sheena's parents once told them that dwarves lived longer than humans did and, contrary to their race, conserved much of their strength, becoming even stronger in their elderly years than they were in their youth, thanks to the experiences accumulated.

King Brolir wore a set of pale-blue, plated armor with an eye patch covering the upper left part of his face, a souvenir of an encounter with a particularly fierce demon of Great rank. In his back was a copper-colored war ax with a red handle and runes in gold engraved along the blade.

"KING?" Marta, Emil, Colette and Lloyd gasped and made motion to kneel, remembering the stories about Royal Families, but Brolir simply gave them a good natured smile and held his hand up to stop them.

"There's no need to, kids. I might be King, but you all are in a far higher position in this world than me. If anything, I should be the one kneeling in thanks for saving my hotheaded cousin's hide," he looked at Dirk as he said that.

"I already told you, Brolir, I had everything under control," Dirk defended himself.

"Like the part of getting yer ass saved by Efreet?"

Dirk mumbled some incoherent words and crossed his arms. Sheena, Zelos and Raine just stared at the interaction. Lloyd whoever exclaimed about the fact that Dirk was royalty, which the dwarf shrugged off, saying:

"I'm only a relative of second degree from one of the lower houses, not enough to even be considered a candidate to the throne. Not that I would ever want it, though. Too much paperwork in my opinion," he said in his strong accented voice.

It was then something came to Emil; another memory of Ratatosk's. Gnome once spoke about a dwarf that he tried to choose as Knight, but refused his offer. Before he could contain himself, Emil said:

"You were Gnome's choice of a Knight, right?"

The three dwarves looked at Emil and Brolir sighed. He suddenly seemed very old and tired as he spoke in a tone of deep regret:

"Yes, I was… but I refused, thinking the succession of the throne was more important than the matters of the surface world. I didn't realize how wrong I was until the beginning of the Second Invasion. The demons found out about our tunnels and almost reached Moria. We knew the tunnels better than any creature on Aselia, but the demons had expert diggers amongst their ranks too.

"They would have easily overrun Moria and massacred every single dwarf in it, had I not put my pride aside and heard the suggestion of our elders to completely collapse the tunnels the demons found out and seal most of the exits. It worked and I eventually was crowned King for my role in the defense of our capital during the Second Invasion. I only had to pay for it with the lives of at least two thirds of our warriors.

"This…" he pointed to the eye patch and Lloyd and the others noticed there was the tip of a scar peeking out of the lower part of the leather, covering the cheek of the aged dwarf. "Is a reminder of my actions. I will carry the regret of my refusal to Gnome's calling to the grave."

There was silence after that statement. Emil apologized for bringing up such a subject, but Brolir said it was alright. It was then Marta remembered something and pulled Emil away from the others, deciding now was the time to ask about what happened back in Meltokio:

"Emil, I need to speak with Ratatosk."

Emil had to resist the urge to gulp when he heard her tone. He knew what she was going to ask, it was obvious she would bring the subject about Ratatosk's moniker once they were in safety. At least she was trying to do it in private and…

"_Let the others hear it."_

_W-What? _Emil did the mental equivalent to a double take.

"_Let __them hear it. It's already past the time for them to know,"_ Ratatosk said.

Emil was about to question his other self about that decision, but he looked at Marta's conflicted and serious face and decided that Ratatosk was right: the others had the right to know. He just wasn't sure if the King of Dwarves and Martel and Yuan would understand, though.

However, before he could speak, the door opened once more and in came a brunette man wearing a battered, light brown and dark commander uniform. He looked around and once his eyes settle in Marta, he cried out her name.

"Daddy?" Marta let out.

The others turned at that and saw the man running and enveloping Marta in a protective hug. Marta's father, Brute, spoke, his tone one of relief:

"Thank goodness! Thank goodness. When I heard the angels captured you, I…" he left the rest of the statement hanging in the air. Once Brute calmed down and Marta hugged him back to let he know she was safe and unharmed he got up.

He then saw the eyes on him and understood he probably had barged in the middle of an important meeting. Clearing his throat, Marta's father, Commander Brute, assumed the posture of austerity and discipline befitting the leader of an armed resistance, the only thing that contradicted it was the hand that still held Marta's own with a firm, yet delicate grip, like he was afraid of breaking her.

"I… apologize for my early…"

"Brute, cut out the act," Dirk said.

"We all know you were worried sick about Marta. There is no need to hide it," Martel said in her ever gentle and comprehensive tone.

"Yes… thanks… that reminds me: Yuan could you send Hawk my apologies. I left under his watch and almost ran over him to get here when I heard… you know," Brute said, his eyes turning to the side as he looked embarrassed.

"I'll let him know," the leader of the Renegades said with an understanding smile.

"So, you're Commander Brute. Leader of the Sylvaranti Vanguard," Raine spoke up.

"Yes. I am Brute Lualdi," the man said, his tone becoming professional as he presented himself. He sent a loving look to Marta before speaking again to the group. "I deeply thank you all for keeping my daughter safe. And I apologize for any trouble she might have caused. She was always quite the handful."

"Daddy! Not in front of Emil and the others," Marta protested, her cheeks becoming a tone of pink at her father's tease.

Colette giggled while Sheena chuckled. Lloyd put his hands behind his head with an easygoing smile as he said it hadn't been a problem at all. Ratatosk then demanded to take the control and Emil allowed him to. After the group was done presenting themselves to the new faces, Ratatosk approached Brute and asked:

"So, I see you're still alive."

"Ratatosk," Brute regarded the brash Summon Spirit, knowing that Ratatosk was never one for formalities.

"Should I bow down to you or something?" Brute shoot him a confused look while Marta called the Summon Spirit's name. Emil too was asking him what he was doing, but Ratatosk ignored him. "I suppose that's what royalty expects, is it not?"

Brute gasped, his eyes widening in understanding. Lloyd however, was confused and looked at Brolir, but Ratatosk hadn't looked at him when he said that. Altessa saw that and explained it to the young man:

"He meant Brute."

Lloyd let out an embarrassed "oh".

Brute sighed and spoke:

"So… you know it."

"That you're a member of the Sylvaranti Lineage and your father found the Vanguard as an attempt to revive it? Let's say a little bird with a deadly edge told me."

Zelos would have laughed at the comparison Ratatosk made about Gaelius if the situation wasn't so tense. Yuan sensed that would inevitably lead to some explaining and asked Martel to go and order someone to bring some chairs.

After that was done, the large group of people sat down in the comfortable chairs, leaving only one unoccupied as Brute was still standing. The Supreme Commander of the Vanguard sighed, but spoke notwithstanding:

"As you likely know, Marta and I are descendants of the Sylvaranti Dynasty. The last heirs if my father's words could be trusted. My father had this idea of driving the demons away and restoring the Dynasty, bigger and more powerful than ever, now that Tethe'alla was definitely finished and leaderless. To that end, he and his supporters found the Sylvaranti Liberation Front.

"They never told the members their true intentions. Everybody thought it was just to drive the demons out. He didn't plan to tell them until Sylvarant was being rebuilt and he was crowned King. So much foolishness…"

Brute shook his head and Martel commented that Marta's father had never agreed with the plan. Brute looked at them and said, his voice disgusted:

"It was ridiculous. My own mother fell victim to the Second Invasion, but my father and his advisors just cared about their precious dynasty. I couldn't oppose him as I had no power and he would off me if I ever spoke in protest."

"Not much of the paternal type, was he?" Zelos quipped, knowing from experience.

"Putting lightly… he was the reason the Vanguard and the Renegades didn't band together from the start. He still clung to the old ideals of racial and national superiority."

"In that case, we should be glad he didn't get to lead the Vanguard for much time," Raine said, cold and analytical as always, regardless of the other's protests in behalf of Marta. But the brunette only shook her head.

"It's alright," she said. "I don't even remember him and mother didn't like grandfather that much. I couldn't say he was a loving grandparent."

"Anyway, when the demons eventually killed him, the others expected me to take command, since I was the 'next in the line'. I did, but I did some changes as soon as I took over. First one, get in contact with the Renegades."

The group could guess the diehards of the Dynasty didn't like that very much, but probably had kept quite. Brute then told them that when he decided to garner the dwarves' support, his father's supporters finally voiced their discontent, but he told them they could leave if they wanted to, which they eventually did.

"I would say good riddance," Dirk commented. "That just proves he's more of a leader than they ever expected him to be."

"Even a King must know when to bow down," Brolir spoke, like reciting an old teaching. "When he came to me and told me who he was, I almost decided to simply tell the guards to skewer him alive and be done with it, but when he offered apologies and whatever compensation we deemed fit for what his family did, I started to listen."

"'Compensation'?" Marta asked, a little worried, knowing many people still resented her family.

"Nothing of too much. He just would have to give up his throne, titles and such as a sign that he was truly regretful of his family's actions."

"That was quite harsh," Zelos said, looking at the King.

The red head knew better than anyone that nobles would kill to keep their status and titles intact, because they believed that without them, they were just _"_common peasants_"_ and Spirits forbid if they ever came down to the level of "low borns" and "social trash". So, what Brolir asked was akin to ask Brute to abandon everything his father had attained and turn away from his family.

"I bet he wouldn't do it, but the bastard had to prove me wrong," Dirk said in a good-natured tone. "Lost fifty Glad that day," his tone was one of false sadness.

"Honestly, I didn't mind it. Lydia said she would rather have to go to war then to go in a party with the 'brain-dead bimbos' of high society and 'stuck up leeches'," Brute said in a humored tone.

"Mom and etiquette never mixed," Marta said with a giggle.

"So, you betrayed your family in the end," Ratatosk said, lounging lazily with one arm on the back of the chair and looking to the side, the very picture of the problem-student.

"Marta and Lydia didn't feel betrayed. As for my father… you have to face reality if you hope to survive in this world."

"Nice speech…" Ratatosk said with some sarcasm in his voice.

The rest of the reincarnated Spirits raised their eyebrows. They never saw Ratatosk behaving like that. The Summon Spirit got up and gave Brute a mild smile, speaking:

"But really, what are we if not a bunch of traitors? To the family…" he regarded Brute. "To ideals…" he looked at Marta and Yuan, the former raising his eyebrow. "And to the world," he pointed to himself.

"Wait. You mean what that angel said…" Lloyd spoke up, but didn't finish his phrase.

"All true. The one that hinted the demons of Aselia's state and let them breach the dimensional boundary… was I."

The group gasped at that. Martel had her hands over her mouth as Yuan and Brolir widened their eyes. Ratatosk chuckled at their expressions and continued.

"It was very easy. Without Origin and the others, I could finally get rid of all the parasites that infested Aselia."

"I-I don't believe it," Marta said, shaking her head in denial and closing her eyes. "I won't believe it."

"Think what you will, but refusing to see reality just proves how naïve you are."

"Naïve?" Marta repeated.

"You humans close your eyes to reality, selecting the facts you want to see according to your desires. That's what led the world to this point. I was merely a catalyst and you, arrogantly thinking yourselves above even the world, had what was coming to you."

The adults of different races stood quiet at that, but Lloyd got up, peeved at what Ratatosk had told them:

"So you say that the Kharlan War justifies you letting the demons invade?"

"I could ask you the same thing: do your personal grudges justify dragging the whole world into the path to destruction?"

Lloyd looked like he wanted to reply, but could only grunt and look to the side. He couldn't argue with Ratatosk on that. The brash Summon Spirit shook his head, muttering:

"Incredible. Human arrogance never ceases to amaze me," he then looked at them. "If you have faced these disasters and tragedies, than it's nothing more than what you deserve."

Marta was about to reply something, but in that moment Zelos got up, strolled to Ratatosk, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pressed him against the wall with a "THUD". The others could only gasp at the sudden, violent action of the normally calm and playful Zelos.

The red head had a pissed off look on his face that completely contrasted with his normally handsome features. He then spoke, his voice serious and devoid of any humor:

"So, the several innocent lives that died up till now mean nothing to you? What about Marta's mother? From what you all told me, she believed in you. What about all the others that are giving their lives to rebuilt the world?"

"Huh! Don't come babbling to me about innocence and guilt," Ratatosk spat with a twisted smile on his face. "You humans love your martyrs, don't you? It's just a person being in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and she is soon treated as an unfortunate victim of the circumstances. Let me tell you something: there is no such thing as victims.

"Everything that happens to you is a direct result of your actions, both done and not done. What about the thousands that died in the Second Invasion, you ask? They were all comfortable with the war, living in their 'blissful ignorance'. They are just as guilty for the War as those that fought on it."

Zelos only glared at Ratatosk, who returned his glare, not backing away. Zelos then spoke:

"Really? And what would your 'brothers and sisters' think about it?"

Ratatosk's eyes widened for a moment, but he soon schooled his expression. Emil was trying to take the control back and undo all the damage the Lord of the Monsters' statements did, but Ratatosk was repelling him. The others only looked from Zelos to Ratatosk, waiting for the former's reply, but he didn't spoke anything.

"Huh… in the end, it's just like you said, eh?" the reincarnated Celsius closed his eyes and dropped the crimson-eyed entity. "Really, who has the right to berate at who, when both parts suffered equally? I just wonder who feels worse: those that lost someone in this whole mess, or those trying to make up for their mistakes," he shot a pointed look at Ratatosk.

In that moment, the Summon Spirit had to use all of his willpower not to let himself gasp and show his apprehension.

_He knows… _Ratatosk thought. He then looked as Zelos went back to his place without uttering a single word. _But it seems he won't tell them anything yet. Good._

Ratatosk then turned and walked to the door. He heard Marta calling him, but even so he didn't stop, not even when he felt a painful sting in his heart…

- / - / - / - / - / -

"_What were you thinking?"_ Emil berated at him as soon as the two were out of the room.

_I only did what was necessary. _Ratatosk talked back.

"_Necessary? What do you…"_

_Look, everything is proceeding as it should. So, shut up and let me handle things._

Emil was about to retort, but stopped as the two saw Presea coming with Duke Bryant and General Aurion right behind her. Ratatosk didn't even acknowledge her as he passed by the pink haired girl, who stopped and looked at him. Kratos and Regal also sensed something wrong, but choose not to comment, since they were just coming back from Altamira.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The committee from Moria quickly apologized and took their leave, since they had business to do back in the dwarven capital. None of them spoke anything beyond the necessary since Ratatosk's revelation. Eventually, it was Dirk who broke the ice, speaking in a confused and unsure tone:

"That… was quite the news."

"Who would have thought that one of the Summon Spirits would be the one to trigger the Second Invasion," Altessa reflected.

"So… what should we do about it?"

"Nothing…" this time, it was their King who spoke, making the two turn to him in curiosity. Brolir didn't turn as he spoke, his tone bearing all of his wisdom and authority as he said. "Who are we to judge a Summon Spirits' actions? Besides, what would you have done in that situation: with a war caused by another race that seemed to kill your loved ones and was about to destroy the world?"

The two other Dwarves stood in silence at that, both knowing that their King was right. Brolir sighed and his tone sounded tired once more, giving away his real age:

"What good would it do in recriminating him? Just more anger and sadness. When one of the guardians of the world acts in such an extreme way it is a sign that things have already reached a critical point. This cycle of hatred and tragedies will only continue if we act as others had in the past."

Dirk and Altessa nodded at their King. Besides, both of them didn't really think Ratatosk was the one at fault there. For one, none of them would be here today if the War had proceeded.

- / - / - / - / - / -

"I can't believe it. So Ratatosk… all this time," Sheena said.

"Well, he always showed his disdain for humans and his hatred for what the Kharlan War did to the other Summon Spirits ," Raine mused.

"But even, so… couldn't he have done something else?" Lloyd asked.

"Like what?" this time, it was Yuan who spoke. "Mana was burnt out, which effectively cut off most of the Spirits' powers and I bet even his monsters were already too few for him to put an end to the War himself."

Everybody looked at the leader of the Renegades as he spoke that. Lloyd then asked why he was defending Ratatosk's actions. It was then Brute spoke:

"What does his actions matter in the end?" everybody looked at the Vanguard Commander as soon as he spoke it. "We were the ones that pushed him to this. If there are any culprits in this story, than it is us."

Lloyd and Sheena stood quiet at that. If even Brute thought Ratatosk wasn't one to blame, then their protests wouldn't accomplish much of anything, considering even Yuan and Martel didn't seem to blame the rash Summon Spirit.

"Can we all please just leave this aside for the time being?" Colette requested, bringing everybody's attention to her. "Ratatosk is our friend and whatever happened is in the past. He might not be right for doing what he did, but what blaming him for the Invasion is going to resolve? Nothing."

Amelia nodded and quickly wrote a message o her notebook:

_Ratatosk suffered just as much, if not even more, than any of us. What he did might not be easily forgiven, but neither are we free from guilt with the War that our race caused._

"This is going nowhere, we're walking in circles," Yuan said, getting up from his chair and giving a serious and authoritative look to the group reunited. "I know I don't have any rights to command you all to do anything. You are the Summon Spirits, so you can very well make your own decisions, but I say you should leave this matter be. As Colette and her mother put: it's in the past and arguing about it will change nothing that already happened."

Martel and Brute nodded, voicing their own opinions about it. Zelos, who stood strangely quiet during the entire thing, was reclining his back on a chair with his hands crossed behind his head. Lloyd looked at him and asked if he didn't have anything to say about it. The red head spoke without even looking at them:

"Whatever you decided is alright with me."

"Are you sure? Weren't you just as much affected by all of this as any of us?" Raine inquired. Zelos shrugged.

"That's for me to decide. Besides, Yuan is right; it's not like we can change what he did."

"That's strangely insightful coming from you," Sheena jabbed. Zelos surprised her by replying:

"I think it's just common sense."

Colette then turned to Marta, who had been sitting in a chair near the wall the entire time, head low with her bangs covering her eyes. She was so quiet they might as well have forgotten she was there. The blonde was about to ask if she was alright when the door opened.

"Dad!" Lloyd exclaimed at seeing who entered.

"Hello, Lloyd. I've heard you had a bit of a trouble," Kratos replied with a bit of humor.

"Heh. Well, what can I say?" Lloyd said, giving one good-natured smile as the tension seemed to ease with the appearance of the trio.

"PRESEA!" Colette said, immediately running and tackling the pink haired axwoman into a hug, which only didn't made her lose equilibriumthanks to her great strength.

"Um… hello, Colette," Presea said, quite unsure of what to do when she was greeted like that.

"Where have you been? I was so worried! Are you alright? That Seraphim didn't hurt you, did him?

Presea let out an "huh?" not managing to catch all of Colette's questions, which were shot in a rapid succession. Sheena told her surrogate sister to take some time and breath between sentences. Colette realized she was speaking too fast and blushed in embarrassment, apologizing.

"I am unharmed. I managed to escape before he could deliver the final blow," Presea said.

Colette sighed in relief and Amelia smiled at seeing her daughter's friend was unharmed, just like Zelos, who only observed the entire interaction from his place. It was then he noticed the other figure that accompanied the group, standing on the side, wearing a blue jacket, white shirt and dark pants and shoes, a stark contrast to how formally dressed he was the last time they saw him.

"Hey, Duke Bryant. To what do we owe the honor of you visiting?" Zelos said, his carefree and playful tone back as the others finally took notice of Regal standing near the door.

"Greetings, Representative Wilder," Regal greeted Zelos back.

"Still calling me that? By now you certainly have heard that I am not a Representative anymore."

"Indeed, shortly before I came, I've heard the church issued an warrant for your arrest by heresy and treason."

"Really? What's the prize for my head?"

"Ten thousand Gald and a post of medium hierarquy on the church."

"WHAT? JUST THAT?" Zelos asked in an indignant tone that made the others sweatdrop. "Oh, c'mon! You work your whole life for the guys and that's how much you're worth to them? Hmph! Some people really don't know how to show gratitude," he crossed his arms with a "huff".

Marta got up and walked to the door. Colette asked her if she was feeling alright and she answered, without turning, in a hollow tone:

"I'm going to bed…"

When the automatic door closed behind her, Brute turned to the group and said:

"I'll see my daughter to one of the rooms if there isn't any more need for my presence."

Yuan nodded to the other resistance leader. As Brute left, Presea asked what happened, since it wasn't like Marta to demonstrate that kind of behavior. The group looked between themselves, before Raine decided to tell the news.

When the silver haired half-elf ended, Presea seemed slightly surprised. Kratos and Regal had their eyes wide as the President of Lezareno breathed:

"So, Ratatosk was the one that triggered the Invasion."

"And did so in hopes to wipe us out…" Kratos concluded in a solemn tone.

"What do you think of it, Kratos?" Yuan asked.

"Honestly, I am just as phased as any of you. However, I can't say I don't understand where he is coming from."

Lloyd knew what his father was saying. When his mother had died, he too wished he could kill all of the Desians until none was left. Remembering that, the reincaranted Efreet felt very hypocrite for criticizing Ratatosk.

Zelos saw Presea wasn't as affected by the news as the others and asked what she thought about it. The pink haired girl voiced her opinion aloud, her tone never wavering or rising:

"What he did or not, isn't of my concern. Whether he regrets it or not has no effect on his current actions. However, if he reveals himself to be a threat to Colette and you all, I will take him down."

They all knew she would do exactly that. Presea never gave empty threats, not when Colette was concerned. In a way, it was inspiring how much she cared for them, but some could see she gave a more special attention to their blond haired friend. Sheena, Amelia, Raine and Zelos could clearly see it. The ninja made a mental note to approach the reincarnated Shadow later about it. Looking at Amelia, she saw the blond woman nodding, trading a wordless message with her, hinting she would also talk to Colette about it.

"That's quite the harsh thing to say about your friend," Martel said, approaching the pink haired girl.

Presea looked to the woman and couldn't help, but stare. She felt like she was looking at an adult, green-haired version of Colette, though the blonde adult near Sheena was more of a carbon copy of the blonde puppy than the green haired Goddess of Victory. Even so, she could see the same gentle eyes and aura of kindness radiating from this woman. Presea blushed, but was quick to look to the side to try and disguise it.

"I-It's only the truth," she said, trying to hide her stutter, but the more attentive adults caught on it, although they choose not to comment. Her voice regained most of its serious connotation. "I believe that people's current actions tell more about them than any kind of past information."

Her daddy had always taught her that: judge people by their actions today, for people were always changing, it was whether they would change for the better or worse that mattered.

Zelos then interrupted any further talks with a loud yawn. Sheena shot him a reproving look, but the red haired swordsman only spoke:

"Sorry, I'm quite sleepy. It must be already past the time for my beauty sleep."

"Well, we have been talking for an awful lot of time," Martel said. She then turned to her husband. "Yuan, I think they should rest."

"Yes. This was quite and eventful day and I have to admit I'm also tired," he pressed a button on an intercom on his desk and the automatic door to his office opened once more. A man in a white uniform with spiked upward, chocolate-colored hair entered. He had a stern look on his face and a few scars here and there. "Everybody, this is Botta, my most trusted lieutenant. Botta, these are the Summon Spirits."

"Ah, so you are the ones that have caught the attention of not just the resistances, but also the church," Botta said.

"Yeah, we tend to do that," Zelos replied.

"Botta, please take them to the spare rooms we have. They all need some rest," Yuan ordered, to which the lieutenant saluted and asked for the reincarnated guardians to follow him. Yuan, however, asked Regal to stay behind as he wanted to have a private word with the President of Lezareno.

The blue haired man nodded and stayed behind as the group left. When there was only he and the half-elven couple, Yuan asked:

"Did something happened in Altamira for you to come here personally?"

"No. George is taking care of things while I am away. I am here for a completely different reason," Regal said.

"What is it then? It's not usual for you to come pay us a visit."

Regal considered it for some time. He said to Presea that she could tell the others about his suspicions, but he would feel more secure if somebody with the knowledge could already tell him whether he was a Summon Spirit or not. He didn't want to waste Lloyd and other's time.

"Say, how much do you know about the Summon Spirit's symbols?"

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

In another part of the base, in the sleeping quarters, Marta was resting in a bed, sleeping without producing a single sound. Her father had encountered her like that and tucked her in bed like he did when she was a child, choosing not to disturb her sleep as he left for the other room close to hers. He knew she should be suffering from Ratatosk's revelation and it pained him he couldn't do anything for his single daughter.

After the Supreme Commander of the Vanguard left, a group of beings materialized in the room while still camouflaging their presence. The Centurions then approached Marta's bed as Aqua asked in a hesitant tone:

"Are you sure we should do this? I mean, our Lord hasn't said anything and…"

"Do you really think it would be acceptable to leave things the way they are?" Ventus inquired. "You know how our Lord feels about his reincarnated sister."

"I know, I know, but…"

"Think about it as a way to alleviate his suffering," Tenebrae said.

"You too? I thought you would be against it mister 'we must never disobey our Lord'," Aqua jabbed.

"Well, isn't it nice to change roles every now and then?" Tenebrae retorted.

Aqua crossed her arms and glared at him, but didn't spoke anything.

"Look, you two… as much as it might sound like going behind our Lord's back, I too agree that we Centurions have a duty to protect our Master. Both physically and emotionally," Solum said. "After all, isn't it the duty of a good servant to protect his master even from himself."

"Ok, ok, fine. I'll stop trying to talk you out of it," Aqua finally said. "But if this backfires, its on you three."

"Chill out, Aqua-girl," Lumen said, sporting his ever present goofy smile. "What could possible go wrong? Boss's girl will understand him better, the two will make up, he will be happy and they might even start a family with little bosses running around a big, country house."

"That is such a delusional conclusion to the situation that I don't even know where to start correcting you," Aqua sweadropped at Lumen's line.

"But I agree with Solum," Ignis said, her tone a determined one as she closed her fist and looked up. "We must protect Lord Ratatosk's happiness from himself and… um… wait. Why would he go against himself? That doesn't make any sense."

The others choose to ignore her and they all circled around Marta's bed. Ventus then gave the signal for Lumen and Tenebrae to start. The two nodded and concentrated their powers on the girl lying in the bed.

Due to the special nature of their elements, Tenebrae and Lumen possessed a combined ability that allowed them to enter in people's dreams and project images and memories on them. Ventus and the others transferred the knowledge of what memories they wanted for Marta to see and these were poured into the girl's sleeping mind…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

_Wha… what is this? _Marta wondered as her dreamless sleep was suddenly interrupted as colors started to swirl in front of her, forming images. After the images, sound came:

"And here it is!" a little, blue haired girl with fairy wings spoke. She was using a tight, form-fitting suit, which looked very much like Marta's.

"Our glorious, big brother Ratatosk!" another fairy-girl, this one with pink hair and a similar attire to the other with the exception of a brown cap, said.

_Big brother Ratatosk? _Marta questioned.

And in came a figure she couldn't recognize. He was as tall as Regal, but his entire body was covered in gray fur, except by a bare part on his chest which formed the Crest of Ratatosk. Marta couldn't make out most of his features, for her vision started to get blurred when she tired to focus, but she could see the familiar crimson eyes and the fact there were laces and braids around the figure's face.

She could tell Ratatosk must be pissed, as she saw he glaring at the Summon Spirits, who seemed to be trying to keep their laugh down.

"Not… a… word…" he warned, but his appearance completely betrayed his attempts at being intimidating, resulting in his "family" laughing their heads off at him. "You guys suck!"

"Oh, c'mon. Chill out, Rata," a woman with pale-bluish skin and in very revealing garments said. Marta instinctively knew that was Celsius, Zelos' old self.

"Yes," the two-headed, glowing bird, Aska, said. "Learn to laugh a little at yourself," he went back to laugh at the normally prideful Spirit.

Marta just observed the scene and turned to look at Ratatosk, although her vision was quite blurred she could see Ratatosk's expression morphing slowly to a mild smile, despite his situation. That surprised the brunette for she was sure she never saw he smile that kind of calm, happy smile.

The scene than changed and now Ratatosk was disputing an arm-break with Efreet, the two had grins on their faces as Gnome and Celsius cheered them on. Ratatosk won in the end, and Celsius shouted in victory:

"AH, THERE! Pay up, Gnome," she said.

"Aw man…" Gnome sighed.

"Wait. How about best thirteenth out of fifteenth," Efreet said, seeming quite desperate to win, though if it was out of pride or competitively, Marta wouldn't know.

"Why not? I always do enjoy beating your ass," Ratatosk said.

And there was another smile. This one a competitive one and not malicious or vindictive in the least. It started to make Marta wonder if she was really looking at Ratatosk.

"Let's see that, furry," Efreet taunted.

Instead of coming up with a retort, Ratatosk just chuckled and poised his arm to lock with Efreet's.

The scene changed again, this time Ratatosk and Aska were receiving a mouth-off from Luna. Marta could make out a background that reminded her a lot of the inside of the Tower of Mana.

"Honestly, I know you two have your differences, but that doesn't give you the right to destroy an entire floor of the tower! What if somebody got hurt?" the blond Summon Spirit said, she was not sitting in her moon like always, which showed how tall she was and made her all the more intimidating.

"Sorry…" Ratatosk and Aska said in low tones.

Marta was again surprised, her eyes wide as she had never heard Ratatosk apologizing. Not with such sincere and meek tone. More scenes played before her:

The crimson-eyed guardian sparing with Origin…

Analyzing the mana and elements with the elder-looking Maxwell…

Being prank by the Sylphs and chasing after them, uttering empty threats…

Being flirted by Celsius, which left him blushing…

From all of those scenes, Marta saw a constant: Ratatosk acted with more deliberation and spontaneity than he ever did near her or the others. Although the voice and eyes were the same, the feelings transmitted could have very well belonged to a completely different person.

_He… loved them. _Marta thought as she saw another scene of all the spirits together, chatting and even making fun of each other. _They really were like a family to him. _she could tell it, for the way they acted towards each other was just like her own family acted when they were together.

The scene changed again and now she was in a landscape, before her was the biggest tree she ever saw. Marta was in awe, but at the same time felt a pang in her heart at seeing the tree was withered and dead. She was sure when it was blooming and full of leaves it had been majestic. She then heard sobs and looked down.

What she saw cut at her heart deeper than any blade. Ratatosk was hunched over himself, his body wracked by sobs. When Marta approached she saw a small puddle of blood beneath his face, more drops falling to join with those on the dried grass. However, she knew it wasn't from a wound. Summon Spirits didn't bleed. No. Those were his tears.

"I couldn't… I couldn't protect it… my family… even my tree…" Ratatosk spoke, his voice carried sadness that Marta never heard on him before. "Damn it! Damn it all to hell!"

He looked up and then Marta saw it: eyes full of anger and fury. Those were the eyes of the Ratatosk she knew.

"WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BE SATISFIED?" somehow, she knew he was screaming at the humans, even though they couldn't listen him. "ARE NOT GOING TO SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THAN THE DESTRUCTION OF THIS WORLD AND MY FAMILY?"

He lowered his head again and started to punch the floor, each punch sending out vibrations across the earth, slowly creating a crater.

"YOU SELFISH BASTARDS!" he yelled. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL EXTERMINATE YOUR WHOLE DAMNED RACE!"

He eventually stopped and as he did, the world around Marta, the memories of Ratatosk's old life, slowly faded away…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Marta's eyes opened with a start. She then looked around and saw the Centurions around her bed. She made a motion to sit and they gave her space. It was then she noticed her cheeks were wet and brought her hand to it. She had been crying.

She wanted to cry when she saw Ratatosk's state in that last memory for she had never seen him like that. It didn't even compare to when she saw he shed tears when he was remembering his old life after awakening Solum.

She then looked to the Centurions around and slowly spoke:

"You guys… those were…"

"Those were memories of our Lord. We've been present in some of those situations. In others, he let us access his mind so he could seek our council about certain subjects," Ventus explained.

"However, he never let us have access to any of his memories during and shortly before the Second Invasion," Solum said.

Marta nodded, already guessing that much. She then asked what they thought about it. The Centurions looked between each other, before Aqua was the one that spoke their opinion:

"Look, we don't exactly think that was the best way to deal with it, but…"

"As you've seen, Lord Ratatosk was consumed by grief and anger over the situation of his family and the death of the Giant Kharlan Tree," Tenebrae completed, Aqua, for once, agreeing with him. "it's not our place to judge our Lord's actions."

Marta lowered her head, thinking on all of that, trying to put herself in his place. Would she have done that to the people responsible for the death of her family?

Alice's image immediately came to her mind and then she knew the answer. Yes, she would have. Maybe she would have regretted it later, but at the time she wouldn't even care about the consequences as long as those that caused the death of her family were punished. She had already thought as much when she saw her mother dying in her father's arms.

And then she finally understood Ratatosk's actions. They were no different from what many would have done in his place. The only difference was his decisions affected the entire balance of the world, which was already fragile. She remembered his smiles and laughter in his happier memories. She wanted him to be like that around her.

_Strange… _she thought_. Lately, I have been as much worried about Ratatosk as I've been about Emil. _no. The truth was, she had always seen the two under the same eye and assumed that Ratatosk's problems also affected Emil. In a way, she supposed it was true.

Anyway, she shouldn't lose her time thinking about it.

"Where is Ratatosk?" Marta asked the Centurions.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Ratatosk was close to having a mental breakdown.

Emil had been "bitching" at him ever since the two left Yuan's office and had yet to shut up. He knew the only way the idiot would stop pestering him was if he shared his thoughts on his newest plan, but that would bring a whole new set of problems and annoyances. One of them named Marta.

Emil was virtually unable to hide anything from her. If Ratatosk let out what he was planning, he could kiss his plans goodbye. There was also the fact that Ratatosk himself didn't know if he would be able to follow it through once Marta voiced her protests.

No, he had to do everything in secret and only after the deed was done should Marta know.

"_Do what? Ratatosk, this is already going to far. What is it that you're planning that involve effectively being hated by the others?" _Emil protested, making a vein pulse in Ratatosk's head. Maybe he should threaten to cut Emil's wrists like last time.

"Emil!" Ratatosk heard Marta's voice and turned to see her coming.

He had been standing near a window that gave view to the Renegade's training center, the only relatively isolated corridor he could find to think. Seeing Marta coming made him nervous.

"Oh. It's you, Ratatosk," Marta said, her voice free of the contempt and anger he expected after he just admitted to their faces he was responsible for the demons taking over Aselia.

"I'll pass the control to him," he said, hoping to avoid conversation with the girl. Much to his charging, she shook her head and said she wanted to talk to him. "What is it?" the Lord of the Monsters kept his voice neutral.

He could feel Emil glowering at him, ready to force the control off Ratatosk's hands and try and explain to Marta that there was something wrong with his other self. Then the brunette spoke:

"I come here to say I forgive you."

That made both personalities' minds come to a crashing halt. Ratatosk's eyes widened, while Emil stood mute. The gentler blonde had, like Ratatosk, expected Marta to be angry. She had loved her mother dearly and losing her had to have been a huge blow to her. He knew it, for he noticed she started acting odd when she said she was coming with him after the attack on the House of Salvation. If he had known then, he would have offered his shoulder for her to cry.

"F-Forgive me ?" Ratatosk said, without understanding what she meant. Marta nodded.

"The other Summon Spirits… you loved them. They were like family to you. And then the Kharlan War took them away from you. Also, the Giant Kharlan Tree was indirectly killed by us humans. That destroyed you, didn't it?"

_HOW DOES SHE KNOW? _Ratatosk thought in desperation. This had the potential to ruin everything. However, his surprised and shocked reaction only proved what Marta was saying was true, so she went on.

"In the end, we all lost loved ones. And I can safely say that, in your place, I would have thought the same thing; I would have wanted for those that killed my family to be dead," she lowered her head. Thinking of Alice, she closed her fists, making it very clear she was being sincere. The brunette then looked up, her gaze turning into an understanding one as she smiled a sincere smile. "So, I'm not going to hold it against you, because, in the end, you're just like us: another victim to this cycle of tragedies."

Marta then approached him, reducing the distance between them. Ratatosk could only stand still, seeing her approach. He whispered her name and she spoke again, now close enough so that their bodies were almost touching:

"I don't hate you. Even if everybody else does, I will never, because I know how you truly are. So, please Ratatosk, I would like to see… your smile."

Before he could voice any protest, Marta's lips were upon his. He suddenly felt Emil's consciousness merging with his and once again, their minds active at the same time as they felt Marta's lips upon theirs and a heat in their chest they never thought they would feel again.

Ratatosk momentarily closed his now mismatched eyes and his arms raised to embrace the girl that was pouring all of the affection she had for him in that single, blissful kiss.

Then images of his brothers and sisters smiling at him assaulted his mind and he suddenly saw Nebilim's smiling face from a lower perspective, pointing a blade made of fire to his face as he said:

_We all are slaves to our feelings… my dear Traitor of the World._

His eyes snapped open, the pleasant sensation gone as his eyes again turned into a matching, crimson tone. Emil's mind was forcefully separate from his so brutally that the blonde boy's consciousness went into sleep. He then grabbed Marta's shoulder and held her away, disconnecting their lips.

Marta's eyes opened, temporarily unfocused due to the pleasure she had felt in that kiss, but she soon recovered her bearings at seeing she wasn't connected to Ratatosk anymore, but being held at distance. She also saw he had a desperate gleam in his eyes and his expression was almost a panicked one.

"Don't…" he said, in a breathless voice.

"Don't what?" Marta asked, confused, trying to recover her breath too. She felt she was going so well. Did he not like her kiss?

"You can't… can't like me."

"What?" Marta exclaimed in surprise.

"No. This isn't supposed to go this way," Ratatosk lowered his head, seeming to speak more to himself than to her. "You can't like… can't love me… I'm a traitor."

Without any more explanations, he let go of her and sprinted down the corridor, ignoring the calls of a very confused Marta. He just stopped to run when he couldn't feel her presence anymore. Ratatosk put his hand on the wall and tried to catch his breath.

He had liked that kiss. Both him and Emil. He knew why he hadn't rejected her at first, knew what were the feelings he was developing for her and that panicked him more than anything.

He couldn't let this affect him. He just couldn't. If he started caring for her too much, he would end giving up everything because once she found out his plans, she would be hurting. Ratatosk then looked up, his eyes turning sharp and cold:

_I have to make these feelings go away, even if it means to make her hate me._

"My Lord," he turned at hearing Tenebrae's voice and saw his Centurions floating nearby with expectant gazes on their eyes.

Instantly, Ratatosk knew why Marta acted like that: his servants had told her about his past. He lowered his head, hiding his eyes behind the blond bangs as he strode forward to the Centurions. Lumen then asked in a hopeful voice:

"So, did you and your girl made u…"

Lumen didn't get to end his question, for Ratatosk grabbed his face and Tenebrae's and slammed them on the nearest wall, almost making a dent on the metal. The other Centurion's eyes widened as they floated a few inches away. They could see the cold, murderous intent on Ratatosk's eyes, as Tenebrae and Lumen struggled to get free from the death grip that threatened to crush their heads.

The angered Summon Spirit turned to look at his other servants and growled a threat:

"If you do something like that behind my back ever again I will immediately terminate your existences, is that clear?" the Centurions were too shocked to immediately comply. The tone their Lord was using indicated he would follow through with his threat. He slammed Lumen and Tenebrae's heads on the wall again. "IS THAT CLEAR?" he roared.

The Centurions would have jumped if they were not floating in the air and immediately nodded to their creator. As Ratatosk let go of Tenebrae and Lumen, who shook their heads, trying to get the sensitivity back, Ignis timidly approached the Lord of the Monsters and stuttered:

"W-we just w-wanted to m-make you happy, Lord Ratatosk," when he shot an icy cold glare to her, she made an "Eep!" sound, backing away in fear.

"I don't need you to guard my happiness," he said in a cold, detached tone. The crimson-eyed entity then turned and spoke before leaving, his tone lowering and turning more melancholic. "I don't need happiness. Only closure…"

* * *

Still not a chapter that calls for an entry of some of books pertaining this new reality. But at least we get a skit!

This one is between Ratatosk and Emil and occurs while the former is "bitching" the latter about his actions:

Plans

Ratatosk: Can you stop thinking? It's giving me a headache.

Emil: Why did you do that? You made it look like you don't regret making the demons invade.

Ratatosk: I don't.

Emil: Huh?

Ratatosk: Didn't it occur to you that what I did is exactly what should be done?

Emil: If that is so, why is it that I can't access your memories lately. It's like you're trying to keep secrets from me.

Ratatosk: Look, just sit back and watch. Everything will eventually fall into place and when we find my last Centurion, things will finally become the way they should be, so you don't need to worry your little head over such matters.

Emil: What kind of matters? Ratatosk, what are you hiding from me?

Ratatosk: Nothing that you should know. Just play your part like always and everything will be ok.

Emil: Ratatosk… what are you planning to do?

Ratatosk: Urgh! You know what, you ask too much. Man, makes me wish you were still the wimp from back then. Just shut up and let me handle things. You wanted to stay with Marta, right? Fine, I made adjustments so things will go in a way that will benefit both of us.

Emil: "Adjustments"? "Benefit"? You just told me to get the cores so we would be able to separate and I would live my life as a normal human, but now you're suddenly helping me to be together with Marta when you also have feelings for her. It's like you don't even care about her.

Ratatosk: What do you care? You wanted to run away from this whole thing in the first place! Just because Marta suddenly revealed to be a Summon Spirit you decided that you wanted to share the same life. Who is the hypocrite now?

Emil: …

Ratatosk: You know what? I'm already tired of discussing this.

Emil: … it's true that I didn't want this in the beginning and that it was when Marta… maybe he's right. It's much hypocrisy of me to suddenly start inquiring about his plans when I didn't want to have anything to do with it. But… I can't just accept it. Why does he want to hurt the others like this? What are your plans Ratatosk? What do you expect to get in the end?


	40. Objectives

*In a battlefield somewhere*

Soldier: Sir! We managed to hold back the Block forces for now, but there is no guarantee when they will be back.

General: Alright, soldier. I will send notice to the author. *turns and shouts* HEY! WE'RE DONE FOR NOW! GET YER LAZY ASS IN GEAR AND UPDATE THE DAMN CHAPTER ALREADY!

Well... don't want to discuss with the general. He's quite scare...

After this chapter we go back to action.

* * *

**Chapter 36**

**Objectives**

Genis was looking through the holographic reports made on the Summon Spirits' activities. Rodyle might be a creep, but his creations were certainly useful. The young-looking general was trying to guess what the Spirit's next moves would be.

Since they were probably under the protection of the Renegades now, they were temporarily inaccessible to him, unless the demons managed to find out where they were hiding. Genis sometimes wondered how those rebels managed to stay hidden for so long, considering the demons had the whole Aselia under their surveillance.

So, with that in mind, the only thing left for him was to wait for them to make a move. Genis smiled a maliciously at that. They certainly didn't expect him to be tracking them like this and he would surprise them all once they appeared out in the open.

_Looking from the perspective of Ratatosk's objectives, they still have to go to the Temple of Lightning and the Temple of Ice. Flanoir is too dangerous for them to go, so they will probably try the Temple of Lightning first. _

_There is also the matter of awakening the Summon Spirit's powers. From that perspective, they still have to go to Undine's altar in the Thoda Island, which is only accessible by boat. Thoda Island would make an excellent point for an ambush, weren't it for the fact the entire island is surrounded by protective spells against demons._

_And there are three other variables to worry about... _Genis's expression hardened as he changed the information on the holographic window through touch.

The screen now showed a depiction of each one of the Summon Spirits associated with profiles about their respective incarnations. However, there were four figures that had "unknown" below their pictures.

One of them was Volt, but Genis' attention wasn't on him, but on the other three, each one a formidable threat in their own right should they recover their powers. Above the markings of "unknown" were depictions of Origin, King of the Summon Spirits, Maxwell, Rulers of the Elements, and a single name without an image: Verius, the mystical and secret Summon Spirit of the Heart.

There was no information about who they could possibly be reincarnated into and, worse even, no known location where they might have left the other half of their powers behind. They didn't have temples or anything of the sort.

Genis knew that were they to regain their powers they would be challenging, even if caught alone. Origin held power that went much beyond the magic of this world; he had access to the very forces of creation itself. Together with Maxwell and Ratatosk, he challenged the Grand Demons Lords head on and held his own against Nerithmas, the youngest of the three Children of Chaos.

Maxwell was the ruler of the elements in that world, being the one that first introduced the use of magic to the other Spirits, according to the elven legends, who speculated he was even the one that trained Origin and Ratatosk in the use of the vital force of Aselia and mana. Genis was forced to recognize he was nothing in the matter of magic compared to the aged-looking Summon Spirit.

And finally, there was Verius. There was no information of her participating in the War of the Young Aselia and her origins are a complete mystery to everyone, but her own brethren. Lord Nebilim, who posted most of the information about the Summon Spirits' previous powers in the data banks of the Desians, only came across information pertaining to the hidden Summon Spirit by chance.

They had no idea of the true extent of Verius' powers or the exact nature of her magic. She was an unknown and Genis hated unknowns. You couldn't plan for them. All that they had was that Verius apparently existed to watch over all beings that possessed a heart and never got involved in any fights or disputes of any nature. She never even appeared to anyone before and couldn't be summoned, so it was only logical that information about the Summon Spirit of Heart would be so scarce.

They had no idea if she even depended on mana like the other Summon Spirits or if she was included in Origin's plan of reincarnation. All that the logs said was that Verius' powers came from the heart and the emotions of people. The stronger the emotion, the stronger her powers were… apparently.

That could mean virtually anything. Would that mean Verius' powers diminished now that people were full of sorrow and fear? Or would her powers change to adapt accordingly? Where could she be? Was she already in contact with the other Summon Spirits? Were her powers effective against the spread of chaos energy or were they already mined by it?

Too many questions, too many "if"s and "maybe"s. Genis couldn't work like that. It was like grasping at straws. He reclined back in the chair near his study table, deactivating the device. The General grumbled as he tried to adjust his still-healing arm. He had refused to use a sling when going to the common rooms, believing it would show weakness and incite those that had grudges against him to act (not that they needed a reason to do it in the first place).

He was starting to regret that decision, for his arm, though now better enough so he could move it, still hurt like hell, mainly when he had to grab something or somebody brushed against it. Because of that, Reriki and Rahishi now flanked his sides whenever he left his room. However, he could not show weakness here and...

Genis suddenly felt a shiver crept up his spine. A familiar shiver.

Rahishi was down training, besides, he didn't feel that around her. Alice was (thankfully) out doing some errand or another. That left only...

"Master Genis!" Reriki purred, passing her arms around his chest and pulling him to her, making the back of his head hit her soft, big breasts. Genis fought hard to suppress the blush and the nosebleed that threatened to come forth.

"Re-Reriki?" he couldn't believe how pathetic he sounded right now. But no matter how much he berated at himself, his body seemed to not obey his mind in situations like this.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, always with that cheerful smile.

"F-Fine."

"Is that so?" she looked around. Genis then noticed they were alone in his room. Not a good sign. "In that case, how about we have some fun?" she whispered seductively, leaning closer to his ear.

Genis could feel all of his blood rushing to his cheeks and another part of his anatomy. He started stammering as he slowly tried to get out of Reriki's (soft and comfortable) hold. However, he shifted the wrong way and ended up falling from the chair, right on his injured arm.

Genis let out an "ARGH!" as he felt pain burning through his entire limb. Reriki kneeled and asked if he was alright, taking his arm as gently as she could and inspected it. The spiritual demon then sighed:

"See, that's why you should use a sling."

"I can't," Genis replied, recovering his composure. "If I show weakness, they will all gang up on me," his tone was bitter.

Reriki sighed again, knowing that what he said was true. Genis then felt her scoop him from the floor bridal style and bring him to the bed, laying him there with an almost maternal care. Although he saw how gentle Reriki could be sometimes, it still surprised him when she showed that side of her personality.

"In that case, you should stay here and wait until your arm is better. By my estimations, it should be good in about two more days, then you'll be able to swing your orbs around in no time," Reriki said with an encouraging smile.

"But..." Genis started, but she shook her finger in front of him.

"No, no, no. I know that you're eager, but we won't have any fun until you're better, otherwise you won't be able to fully enjoy it," Genis blushed a scarlet tone at how double-meaning that statement sounded. "Rahishi and I will take care of everything," Reriki offered with a smile.

At least she answered the question he wanted ask. It was then he noticed something else: Reriki had just prioritized his well-being before her desires. He never thought that the lustful demoness would actually do that, considering all that he heard about her from Rahishi.

"Reriki," Genis called as the demoness was about to leave. She turned to him, murmuring a little "hmm?". "Why do you follow me?"

That had always puzzled him. While Rahishi he had to literally beat into submission before she considered being his aide, Reriki had practically begged to be his subordinate. He didn't understand why she seemed so eager to follow him and simply couldn't accept it was just because she wanted to get into his pants. Nobody would go that far and do so much work just for the sake of having sex.

Reriki looked at him with a confused expression, like she didn't understand what he asked. Genis decided to elaborate:

"I had to conquer Rahishi's loyalty, but you practically begged to become my aide. It's not heard of that demons would do this," Genis said.

"Oh..." Reriki let out. She put one hand covered in her long sleeves under her chin as she looked up. Genis thought she looked cute doing that, but wouldn't ever admit it out loud. "Do you know what attract us demons to one another?" Reriki asked finally, looking at him.

"No."

"It's our auras. Well, at least in the case of spiritual demons that is it," Reriki said. "Not that I don't think that a handsome appearance isn't good too," she quickly amended. "But nothing compares to the feel of being near somebody with a special aura."

"I see. You mean you're attracted to powerful auras," Genis surmised.

Reriki shook her head, making the Desian General raise his eyebrow as she spoke again:

"It doesn't have anything to do with power. Some powerful auras are so ugly you can't even look at them, let alone be near," Reriki said with a frown in her face. She then smiled. "But yours is different. It's so unique and strong. It's not ugly like some others, but rather it's..." she then saw Genis' confused face and sighed. "Well, it can't exactly be put into words, but let's just say your aura is really beautiful."

"Uhh, ok... I think..." Genis said, still not understanding, but deciding to leave it be.

As he dismissed Reriki and she exited his room, he couldn't help, but smile a little at the thought that she considered his aura beautiful...

- / - / - / - / - / -

Lloyd, Emil and the others could only stare as Regal showed them the birthmark on his right arm. Tenebrae and the Centurions immediately recognized it as the Thunder Sigil.

"Wow," Zelos let out. "Volt huh? Well, that makes things easier."

"Even so, what about your company, Duke Bryant?" Sheena asked.

"Please, just call me Regal since we will be companions from now on. As for the company, George will take care of everything while I'm away. He's more than capable of doing it. And as I see it, I now have a duty for with the world as a Summon Spirit, correct?" he directed the question at the Centurions.

"Yes," Solumn said. "However that doesn't mean you have to abandon your human life. Origin's intent with his plan was that the Summon Spirits, as living beings, would be able to directly oversee things. As you are in an influential position, that will make your work easier."

"With this the only Summon Spirits missing are Origin himself and Maxwell," Raine stated.

The group looked at her, knowing what she meant. There was also the matter of where they could have hid the other half of their souls, which none of them had any clue about. Lloyd suggested they worried about it when the time came and concentrate on what they would do now.

"Speaking of which, what's the plan?" Lloyd asked.

"Since we still have three Summon Spirits to awake and two cores more to find, I suggest we divide into teams," Ventus said.

"Why do you think so?" Presea asked.

"We have the Renegades' resources at our disposal. Yuan was very clear about how he wanted to help restore the world."

"Yeah," Lumen spoke up. "We could like, take Professor Water to her temple while other group go and find Tornitrus or Glacius."

The entire group turned their looks at Lumen, visibly surprised at what he said.

"That... was... an excellent idea," Tenebrae said, seeming unsure of his own words. "I can't believe that came out of my mouth..." the dog-like Centurion sighed.

"Anyway..." Raine said. "How about we go to Flanoir and collect the Centurion's core there while Emil collect the one in the Temple of Lightning?" although she tried to hide the nervousness in her voice, it still came out.

"I don't think it would be advisable. Considering all of the demons in the area it would be difficult to approach it even with an EC," Regal countered, making Raine go stiff. "If we could get Undine's power however, it would make approaching the continent easier."

"B-But..."

"Raine, we all know you have fear of water and everything, but don't worry," Zelos said, putting on his charming smile. "I, the Last Romantic, Zelos, will be right there to give you support."

"Coming from you that isn't very reassuring, Zelos."

Zelos feigned being hurt as the group discussed their future plans. They decided to go with Lumen and Ventus' suggestion of dividing into teams. Since Flanoir was unreachable for the time being, one team with Regal and Emil would go to the Temple of Lightning to awaken his Summon Spirit halve and get Tornitrus. The other team with Raine would get an EC and go to the Thoda Island to awaken her Summon Spirit powers.

Raine got a little worried at that and it seemed to show in her face, for when Lloyd looked at her, he immediately said:

"I'll go with Raine," Raine looked up so fast she risked breaking her neck. "I would like to give her some moral support."

"If Lloyd's going, I will too," Sheena said, but shot a look at Raine to say she was doing that for her boyfriend, not for the female half-elf.

"I would like to go with Sheena too," Colette said, very determined.

"If Colette is going with them, I will too. My powers might be useful in sea," Presea added to mask the fact she just wanted to be near the blonde girl.

"Well, if that's so, I'll go with the Temple of Lightning team then," Zelos said, making everybody in the group raise their eyebrows at him.

"Really? You're not going to demand to be in the group with the most girls?" Sheena asked, surprised.

"To be honest, I, for one, don't like to be the third wheel, no matter the couple involved."

Sheena's eyes widened momentarily as she understood Zelos' message. He did not speak any further and that gave her some peace of mind.

_Which reminds me. _Sheena thought as she called Presea for a particular and private talk.

Before they left, however, Emil suddenly called their attention with an loud, but soft "um…". The shy boy then asked:

"What about… well… what happened yesterday?"

The group looked between themselves, a heavy silence permeating the environment. They hadn't talked about Ratatosk's revelation since yesterday. Emil didn't like their silence and could only assume they were angry at his other self.

Raine decided to speak for the group:

"We didn't arrive at any agreement as what to do about it, but, as some of us said…" she looked at Presea and then Colette. "It's in the past, so there is nothing we can do about it. Besides, there are more important things to consider at the moment."

"I see…" Emil said.

That didn't tranquilize the other self of Ratatosk, but at least they weren't going to lash out on him for the Second Invasion (although he felt like he deserved it). He also couldn't get a single thought out of Ratatosk now. It was like his other self had closed his consciousness off and Emil couldn't reach him. He wondered if it had something to do with Marta kissing them.

Emil's cheeks went beet red as he remembered his self-declared girlfriend's lips over his. Luckily the others were distracted again, talking between themselves as Sheena and Presea left the room. It was then the automatic door opened with a hiss and Amelia arrived, Colette turned and saw her mother show her a message on her notebook:

_Yuan wants to speak with us._

Colette nodded and bid "bye" to the group, saying she would be back soon.

- / - / - / - / - / -

"What do you want to talk about?" Presea asked as soon as she and Sheena were alone in one of the many guest rooms they had been assigned to.

The ninja took a deep breath before speaking:

"I'll get right to the point, since you would do the same: what is going on between you and Collie?"

Presea didn't look too surprised at the question. Truth to be told, the pink haired girl knew the way she looked at Colette wouldn't go unnoticed by Sheena and Raine. She had guessed that she hadn't been called by the silver haired woman about this before because Raine didn't think it was any of her business. Sheena, however, was another story.

Sheena looked as if she was trying to read her expressions, but Presea had nothing to hide. Besides, she didn't need Sheena's approval to protect Colette. If anything, she could even stay away from the blonde girl if necessary, watching her at distance.

"There's nothing going on between us. I only seek to protect Colette," Presea answered. However, her emotionless tone didn't seem to convince Sheena, for she asked:

"Then let me rephrase the question: how do you feel about Colette?"

Presea could see in Sheena's face that was what she really wanted to ask and she wouldn't be satisfied until she got a satisfactory answer. Not that Presea didn't intent to give her one, she knew Sheena was practically family to Colette and if there one thing she wouldn't do, it was to anger those that only wanted Colette's well-being.

"I… am not sure myself," she admitted and before Sheena could open her mouth, the reincarnated Shadow added. "I feel deeply grateful for her. She was there for me when I wanted nothing more than to disappear. She gave me a reason to go on, to live, even with this cursed existence of mine. For that, I will do anything for her.

"But… at the same time…" here she looked at the floor. "I also admire her. She is a strong person. To go through all she did and still have the will to live on…"

Sheena could see the sincerity in Presea's words and decided to share with her a bit of information:

"Actually, she did that because she knows exactly what you went through," Presea looked at her as she sat on the bed. "In Iselia, there was this person she liked. The demons killed her just to get to Colette and exposed her mother, Amelia. You saw her, she looks just like Colette. Anyway, she was banished and when we met her, she was ready to abandon herself."

Presea looked surprised. She hadn't imagined something like that had happened to Colette. Surely, the girl admitted she knew how Presea was feeling, but she hadn't thought it was to that extend.

"We barely managed to convince her not to give up on her life," Sheena went on as she looked at Presea again. "And, knowing her, I'm sure she wouldn't want somebody else to pass by the same thing she did."

"I understand," Presea said. Then her mind registered a particular word Sheena had used before. "Wait a minute. You said 'her'," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I did."

"Does that mean Colette… ?"

"You should know that. Aren't you just the same?"

Now Presea had a surprised look on her face. She feared that would come out sooner or later. Not that she had been conspicuous when she ogled Martel earlier. She swallowed dry as she waited for the ninja to go on and drop the hammer on her.

"Do you like Colette?"

"Huh?" that… wasn't what she had been expecting. Neither was that begging of a smirk tugging at the corner of Sheena's lips.

"I asked if you like her. From my point of view, it seems like you do, the way you react when around her."

"I…" Presea tried to articulate an answer, but she couldn't. Her mind couldn't come up with an appropriate answer to that. She expected rejection and accusation, but instead, she only got that look of a friend that asked another if she was having a crush on that popular guy. "I'm… not really sure. I don't remember if I ever felt like this. Besides, why would it matter? Colette is so beautiful and nice... she doesn't need a broken shell like me."

Sheena just chuckled at that, making Presea look at her with a raised eyebrow. Colette's surrogate sister then spoke, stifling her laugh:

"Sorry, it's just this looks like something out of a clichéd love novel. I suppose this is the part where I encourage you to go on and pursue what you want, for you don't know for sure if she will or not return your feelings."

"Then you…"

"I only want what's best for Collie and if that happens to be you, then who am I to deny her that? My mother used to say that love comes in many forms and shapes, regardless of social standards or racial grudges."

Presea looked down, thinking about that. By logic, she knew Sheena was right. And if all that she said was true, then there shouldn't be anything stopping her from acting on her feelings. But still…

"I… don't know…"

And there it was again; that indecisiveness and confusion that she hated so much, which prevented her from drawing a conclusion, a course of action towards something. It shouldn't be a complicated matter, so why did she feel like that?

Sheena could see the internal struggle the girl was having and couldn't help, but feel a little guilty. Maybe she shouldn't have dropped all of that on Presea, but the way things were going she felt it was her duty as Colette's surrogate sister to clear that matter. However, she forgot to take into consideration Presea's situation.

The pink haired girl had discovered not one month ago she was a Summon Spirit and that people would never truly understand that. Thinking now, Sheena knew their destiny would be similar to Presea's; stay living for eternity, seeing people grow old and die while they remained. She couldn't imagine what the sensation of people at seeing they were getting old while there were others that stayed always the same was. Surely, that must be the reason some were so afraid of half-elves.

_But if that is supposed to be our destiny, then shouldn't we at least be allowed to have some happiness? _she wondered.

"I think you should give it some thought," Sheena said as she got up, attracting Presea's attention once again. The ninja then patted her head before she left, leaving the girl with a look of cute confusion on her face. "Oh, by the way…" Sheena then turned with a smirk in her face. "Almost forgot that I had to say this: you hurt her, I'll hunt you down."

For some reason, Presea couldn't help, but smile as she said "understood" in that typically serious tone of hers, as if acknowledging an order.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Meanwhile, Colette and her mother were walking in leisurely peace in the facility. It had been some time since mother and daughter had been alone like that and Colette couldn't help, but smile to Amelia, who smiled back. The two always felt safe and comfortable around each other, just like a united, happy family could.

However, Amelia knew she had to ask the questions she and Sheena combined before they arrived in Yuan's office. She then squeezed her daughter's hand tighter, getting her attention.

"What is it, mom?" Colette asked.

Amelia then transmitted her questions through look and touch, using the old method of communication she and Colette had developed while in Iselia. It had been sometime since they last used it, but she was glad when she saw Colette making a surprised face as she asked her about Presea and the attention her daughter paid to the pink haired girl.

"Um... well... I don't know for sure. I want for Presea to live her life. She deserves to be happy after all she passed through."

Amelia looked at Colette with more intensity, asking:

_Do you see yourself in that girl?_

"I do sometimes, but Presea is her own person. She sees things in a different way than I do. I'm not confusing things or projecting my feelings on her, mom, I want to help her to find her own way of living, even if we are destined to become Summon Spirits. And..." here she hesitated as her mother tilted her head to the side, as if encouraging Colette to go on. "She's... pretty. And her Summon Spirit form is... so beautiful, I..."

Colette blushed a crimson tone. Her mother giggled a bit, knowing what Colette meant. She had seen Presea's adult form and she had to admit she looked stunning and sensual in those form-fitting clothes, even though Presea made no effort to be so.

_Do you like her?_

"I... I do, mom. But it's different from what I felt for Maki. I want Presea to be happy and I don't mind if she's with me or not. I just want her to live on, because I feel she deserves that."

_And if she decides that staying besides you makes her happy? _

"Then I... well..." Colette blushed even more, giving Amelia all the answer she needed.

She didn't know much about the reincarnated Shadow, just what Sheena had told her, but even from that she could see Presea prioritized Colette's happiness over her own and the way she behaved and looked around her daughter was very different from how she did when she was alone, it was like Colette made Presea more relaxed and comfortable.

_If she really is that dedicated to Colette, then I wouldn't mind if my daughter chose her. _Amelia thought.

She smiled to let her daughter know whatever Colette chose to do, she would support her, just like always. The two then looked forward… and stalled. In front of them was Martel, who had come to look for them and, by her confused face, seemed to have overheard their talk. Colette and Amelia were worried about how much the so-called Goddess of Victory had heard.

"Um…" Colette made.

"I came looking for you two… did I arrive in a bad time?" she asked, seeming a little embarrassed.

Amelia blushed and shook her head to let the half-elf know it was alright. Martel then led them to Yuan's office. The blue haired man invited them to take seat in two chairs that were in front of his desk. Colette and Amelia sat as Martel stood behind her husband.

"I called you two here because there is something I would like to ask you," Yuan started, getting right to the point. He looked at Colette's mother. "From what I've heard, you lived in Mizuho for some time and then in Iselia, right?" the adult blonde nodded. "Do you remember something of your life before that? Like your last name?"

Amelia shook her head and the sent through touch a question for Colette to ask:

"Why are you so interested in our story? We're not really that special," she then amended. "Well, besides me being a Summon Spirit."

"This has nothing to do with you being a Summon Spirit," Martel spoke. "It's just… we happen to be…"

"Martel, let's first be sure before jumping to conclusions," Yuan said, interrupting his wife, who nodded. He turned to mother and daughter. "Anyway, don't you remember anything at all from your original family? Do you have a keepsake or something?"

Amelia stood thinking for a moment and even Colette looked at her with curiosity. The reincarnated Gnome had never asked about her grandparents, being content with just her mother. The cursed woman seemed to be thinking hard, until she looked up with a gleam of enlightenment in her eyes. The blond woman quickly took her notebook and started writing on it. When she was done she showed it to everybody.

In the white page was a single word, a name:

_Yggdrasil._

Martel and Yuan's eyes widened at seeing that. The leader of the Renegades asked where she had heard that from and Amelia wrote:

_I don't know. The name just came to me. Do you know somebody named Yggdrasil?_

Martel finally decided to talk:

"Yes, in fact, my last name, the one that I kept even after my marriage, is Yggdrasil."

Amelia and Colette looked surprised. Amelia didn't remember ever meeting Martel and Colette wondered if her mother really knew the Goddess of Victory, but didn't remember it.

"Yggdrasil was the name me and my younger brother shared. And, if I'm right, it's also…"

"Martel," Yuan said.

"Yuan, it has to be them!" the green haired woman looked almost desperate.

"There's no way to be sure, unless they're both willingly to try out Resonance."

"What's this _'Resonance'_?" Colette asked, getting nervous at how the talk was developing.

"It's a lyric spell that is used to test if two magical auras are compatible," Martel said. "For what we are proposing, it would verify if one of you has an aura matching with mine or Yuan's."

"Lyric spell… wait, isn't it like those you know, mom?" Colette asked.

That made Yuan and Martel look even more surprised as Amelia nodded. Sensing their looks at her, she quickly fumbled with her notebook, feeling a little nervous to be under the gaze of the two resistance leaders. She then showed them the message:

_I don't remember where I learned them, but when I turn into demon I can utilize them to attack. _

"C-Could you sing one?" Martel asked, looking a little nervous and... hopeful?

Amelia nodded and stood. She opened her mouth and letting out a single note. The effect was almost instantaneous as chaos energy swirled around her and she changed into her demon form. Thankfully, her dress this time was larger, sleeveless and had an ample opening in the back, so her wing could appear without much problem and without ripping the fabric off.

Yuan and Martel were quite impressed at what the saw. Not because of the transformation, but at Amelia's demon form appearance. It was, by far, the closest to a demon of high species than they had ever saw, very different from the poison-green, humanoid shaped mass or even the disfigured bodies most of the other cursed half-elves looked like.

She then started to sing in an ethereal-sounding voice. Colette just observed, but could feel some kind of power building up as her mother sang the notes. Martel did too and she was impressed when she felt her aura resonating in time with the song. More so, she could now clearly see Amelia's aura and what laid beneath the chaos energy on it extending just as her own and swirling together between them. She could see traces of an aura… a very familiar one.

Yuan just observed, _seeing_ everything that was happening. When the song ended, the auras of both women returned to their previous states, vibrating normally. Amelia then opened her glowing eyes and asked, her voice now sounding wrapped:

"Um… what just happened? I never saw it happening before when I sang it."

"That was what we call a magical resonance," Yuan explained, seeing Martel was too shocked to speak. "The song you just sang is actually the lyric spell Resonance. Are you sure you don't remember where you learned that? You surely must have noticed that you just sang in elven."

"Yes, I knew that much, but as I said before, I don't remember much about my childhood."

"Even so, you remember that spell."

"Mom used to sing it to me as a lullaby when we were in Mizuho," Colette quipped up.

"Which is a very common use the elves give to it, since the connection between auras enables the caster to transmit feelings of relief and peace more efficiently. Martel used to sing that to our child every night."

"Your… child?" Colette asked.

"We had a little girl," Martel finally spoke. "It was shortly after we started the Renegades. But we lost her in the middle of the crowd in a village that was being attacked by Nebilim himself and never saw her again."

"Her name was Melia," Yuan spoke up again. "Does this sound familiar to you Amelia?"

The demon-turned woman had her eyes wide at hearing that, starting to understand where those two were coming from, but… was it possible?

She knew her family had been an adopted one, they told her they found her unconscious at their doorstep one night. Her adopted family had always wanted a child, but was unable to conceive, so they took her in and raised her as their own daughter.

She couldn't remember much besides that. Everything started to eventually get blurry, so she couldn't make out many details, but she did remember key facts. And now...

"You... you think I'm her?" Amelia asked, to which Martel nodded.

"The fact you know lyric spells is the proof of that. There are no other living half-elves with the knowledge of such enchantments besides me. I used to sing these spells for you when you were little, so you probably guarded them in your mind," Martel said.

"Then, that would make you my grandma!" Colette realized.

Amelia looked down, not knowing what to think. She had had a mother before and she did wondered what happened to her real parents, but now... being in front of them, she didn't know what to do. How did you made up for thirty-three years away from your real mother?

Before she could say something however, Martel hugged her. Amelia blushed, not knowing what to do, but... she also felt incredibly safe and comfortable in the older woman's arms.

"I'm so glad to see you again, Melia," Martel said, her voice a little strained, like she wanted to cry. Amelia, however, felt a pang at being called that.

Even if she was Melia, even if she was really Martel and Yuan's daughter, so much had happened. She didn't feel like she belonged to this picture, but...

She hugged Martel back, trying to transmit some of her own warm to the green haired woman. She might not feel like she was Melia, but...

"Colette… would you accept me as your grandma?" Martel asked as she released Amelia from her embrace and looked at the smaller blonde, seeming a little unsure herself.

Colette smiled a radiant smile as she thought about that. She always liked Martel and she felt she could trust in Yuan too. She had never thought of having grandparents before, but seeing them working so hard for the sake of Aselia made she like the two already.

"Well, to tell the truth, I always admired what you two are doing. So, I would be happy to call you all my family," Colette said.

Martel smiled a radiant smile very similar to Colette as the two hugged each other.

Amelia was happy for her daughter. She might not feel like she fit, but if Colette liked Martel and Yuan and accepted having them as part of their little family then she would keep her doubts to herself.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

As Amelia (now back to her human form, with the help of Martel) and Colette left Yuan's office, intending to tell the others about their findings, Martel called her husband's attention and decided to tell him what she overheard in the corridor. Yuan raised an eyebrow at hearing that:

"So Colette's attracted to that Presea girl…" he surmised, putting his hand under his chin. He then looked up at Martel. "What do you think about this?"

"Honestly? I don't care," his green haired wife said. "I don't care because we have just found out our daughter is alive and that we have a granddaughter. It doesn't matter what her sexual orientation is. The important thing is both of them are alive and well."

"I am of the same opinion," Yuan said, earning a smile form his wife. "There are more serious things to worry about than this. Besides, she is a Summon Spirit, she will eventually outlive us all and I don't want to be remembered as an incomprehensive grandfather."

"My, my. Already feeling old, darling?" Martel jested.

"Well, I am technically seventy-something. By human standards, I would be eligible to an asylum," Yuan joked back.

"Then I guess I will have to infiltrate it and disguise myself as your nurse. Speaking of, I think it's time for your sponge bath, Mister Ka-Fai," her tone became sultry at that.

"You know, you remember me of my sweet, innocent wife. What is your name again, miss?" the two laughed at their joke and got up, going to their room to celebrate the safety of their daughter and granddaughter.

Before they could get to the door, however, it opened to admit a crimson-eyed, blond young man.

"Ratatosk?" Martel let out at seeing the Summon Spirit look at them with a serious look. "Is there something we can help you with?"

"Actually there is. I have a favor to ask of you two…"

Unnoticed by the three, a figure was hearing everything on the other side of the automatic door...

- / - / - / - / - / -

The next day, the group reunited in Yuan's office once more.

Marta's father looked more relieved after her daughter spoke to him and said she wouldn't back out on her feelings for Ratatosk, no matter what kind of mistakes he did. Brute nodded and accepted her decision, having already given his thoughts on the subject. In his eyes, it wasn't his place to judge a Summon Spirit.

"We called you all here to inquire about what is your decision regarding our offers of support," Brute said, his authoritative tone back.

Regal looked between all of his brethren and they nodded, letting him speak for them.

While he was the newest member to the group, they quickly warmed up to him. Zelos and Regal already knew each other, so they were on a short of friendly basis. Sheena, Marta and Lloyd held respect for his efforts in trying to help Aselia and believed in his morals. Raine was a little skeptical, but after a little chat with him the two bonded on an intellectual level. He was a scholar in the ways of business and economy and she was on history and magic.

Presea held gratitude for him for taking in her sister and giving her a stable lifestyle and Colette… it was quite hard not to warm up around the gentle, friendly girl.

"We've discussed and decided to accept your offer," Regal announced. "As such, we would like to request transport for two locations."

"So, you all are ready to move again, but why two locations?" Brute asked.

Raine was the one to answer, although there was some bitterness in her tone, like she wasn't looking forward to it:

"Since the demons and now even Cruxis are aware of our activities and will certainly be on the lookout, we decided to speed up our journey by dividing into two teams. One will go to the Temple of Lightning to wake Regal's powers as a Summon Spirit…" she meant the President of Lezareno with her hand. "And retrieve Tornitrus' core. The other will go to… Thoda Island…"

* * *

_Thoda Island: A small rock formation, offcoast, located in the south of the Palmacosta Continent. _

_Formed by a now sleeping, underwater volcano, the island is famous by its geyser which erupts boiling water at high temperatures from times to times. (...) During the falls, the sea level increases and the lower part of the island becomes submerse, making it impossible for boats to approach. (...) _

_It is also known that the Thoda Island once housed a temple dedicated to Undine, Summon Spirit of Water. However, its location's records were lost after the War. _

_(...)_

_Temple of Lightning: Located north of the Gaorachia Forest in the Altamira Continent, it is a great tower that pierces the skies, situated in a region known for its frequent thunderstorms. _

_The temple is considered off-limits to civilians due to the high charges inside subjecting the person to become struck by the lightning. Only faculty members and authorized perssonel are allowed inside with the appropriate protection gear. (...)_

_It is of common knowledge the temple holds an altar which is said to be directly connected to the Summon Spirit of Lightning, Volt. Due to the volatile nature of said Summon Spirit and his insistance in speaking an old dialect, popularly called "Heaven's Language", summoners that attempt a pact, often recruit the services of a translator. (...)_

_- Excerpt from "Aselia's Most Famous Locations Guide" -_


	41. The Thunder's Apprentice

****Life is very complicated on my end: college, job interview, tests and specialization courses. So, sorry by the lateness here. Between all of this I have had a hard time finding my inspiration to write, but I promise that, as with all my other fics I'll finish this!

* * *

**Chapter 37**

**The Thunder's Apprentice**

The Temple of Lightning was nothing more than a tall tower, around the same size as the Tower of Mana. However, whereas the Tower of Mana had an internal library and displayed a rich architecture, the Temple of Lightning was more like a grayed pole sprouting out of the earth.

Regal, Marta, Emil and Zelos arrived at the local using a buggy that the Renegades lent them. Zelos was more surprised at the condition of the vehicle than the vehicle itself (like Lloyd had been). He had already seen photos of these kind of vehicles from the Kharlan War, but it was his first time being in front of one. He complained about how his bum hurt as they drove it off.

"These vehicles were made not thinking in comfort, but mobility," Emil spoke, going into Aster Mode as he discoursed about the origins of the transport. "Some said it would have been a revolutionary means of transport, had it been designed for civilian use. However, since it's first design was purely for military purposes, they kept the fabrication under close scrutiny, so the blueprints wouldn't leak to the other side."

"Thanks for the explanation I didn't ask for, Professor Encyclopedia Castagnier," Zelos grumbled, feeling sleepy just form hearing it.

"I think it is better than going on foot anyway," Marta said. "It was nice of daddy and Sir Yuan to lent one to us."

"Yeah... while Lloyd and the others get a nice, comfortable EC..."

"It was necessary since they were going for Thoda," Regal said. The president had kept himself silent for most of the travel, concentrating on driving the vehicle.

The group then disembarked and approached the gate to the tower. Emil approached the door and raised his eyebrow, looking at it in confusion:

"Something is… different," he said.

"What do you mean?" Marta asked. Ratatosk then took control and explained.

"The seal… it was already broken. The temple is open."

"What?!"

"Didn't you all say only Summon Spirits could break these seals?" Zelos asked. "Do you think another one was already here?"

"But nobody said they came here before," Marta reminded him.

"It would be possible that either Origin or Maxwell were the ones that did it," Regal suggested.

"They would have to be aware they are Summon Spirits first to then awake the knowledge to undo the seal," Ratatosk said. "Anyway, stay on your guard. Something doesn't seem right here."

"Ratatosk…" Marta tried to talk to him, but the crimson-eyed entity gave the control back to Emil before the brunette could start. Emil looked at her inquisitively, but she only sighed and said it was nothing.

She needed to talk to Ratatosk, not Emil. She still wanted to ask him what he meant the other night when they kissed, but lately it felt like he was avoiding her, always switching to Emil whenever she wanted to talk to him.

As the group entered, Zelos had to jump to the side to avoid being hit by a lightning. He looked ready to wet his pants as he saw more lightning striking at poles and the floor at the stairs of the temple.

"Great…" he mumbled, recovering his pose. "Regal, do you mind going in front of us. If there are any lightning, they will hit you first."

"Huh?" the President of Lezareno let out.

"Oh yeah. Lightning tends to strike at taller objects," Marta spoke up. "Well, we're counting on you then, mister tall President," she said with a cute smile.

"I… really don't know how to answer to that…" Regal said with a drop of sweat running down his forehead.

"That's just how they act. You get used to it," Emil said with a sympathetic smile.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

They didn't have to walk too far to arrive in a large, three floor room with Volt's altar at the top. Regal felt something pulling him to the altar and remembered what Marta had told him about her own experiences while they were traveling in the buggy.

_So this is the pull of a soul seeking to be complete. _Regal thought as he and the others climbed the stairs and walked to stand in front of the altar.

Suddenly, the air seemed to get charged with electricity, making Zelos and Marta's hair stick to their ends. Zelos grumbled something about having to brush it again as lightning started to strike the spiked poles around, energy gathering on them before being redirected to above the altar, forming a steadily growing sphere of electricity.

Said sphere then manifested red eyes, some short of "internal sideburns" floating inside itself and a more concentrated core. Regal immediately recognized the apparition as the Summon Spirit Volt.

…

The electrical entity spoke and Zelos and Marta tilted their heads, the brunette asking what he meant.

"Wait, I'll translate," Emil said, as Volt spoke. " _'I am the fragment of the one known as the Hammer of the Godly Thunder. Who are you?'_ "

"Fragment?" Marta wondered.

"From the stories, Volt is nothing more than a big ball of electricity. So maybe he can divide himself with more ease than the other Summon Spirits," Zelos suggested.

"I am Regal Bryant. I was told I am the reincarnation of you original form," Regal spoke with an authority that made the others remember they were standing before the son of a Duke.

…

" '_I sense the mark on you. Your aura also matches. However, I was instructed to test you and see if you are ready to wield my powers, which are just as terrible as they are great. Are you ready?'_ " Emil translated.

Regal nodded and almost immediately after that the Fragment Volt widened its eyes and released a powerful bolt of energy at Regal, who barely had time to get his arms up in defense and was thrown back by the force of the blast, falling to the first floor.

"He doesn't waste any time, does he?" Zelos commented as the group looked down to see Regal twist in the air and land on his feet, crouching due to the impact.

Fragment Volt floated down and the two stared at each other. Marta and Emil were a little nervous to see the fight start so suddenly, but knew they couldn't do anything to intervene. Zelos was interested to see how Regal fought.

The fighting started with Fragment Volt widening its eyes again and lightning falling all around it, Regal putting his hands up in defense again as he was hit again and again, electricity flowing through his body.

"This isn't good," Emil said, biting his lips. "Lightning is faster than any being in this world and Volt can cast an endless number of lightning at the same time, so short of blocking it with a weapon or Arte, you can't really do much."

"I think you're underestimating the guy," Zelos said in a carefree tone, making Marta and Emil look at him. He was smiling that carefree smile so common to him. "You don't know Regal. He won't let something like that take him down."

As if to make Zelos' point, they saw Regal getting up. All the electricity around him converged to his right hand, which had its arm being held by his left hand. It was like he was controlling the electrical currents coursing through his body.

Regal then swung his hand and released a crescent blade of energy, striking Volt dead on and pushing the floating sphere of electricity back.

"But… how?" Marta let out. "I thought Summon Spirits were immune to magic of their own elements."

Ratatosk then took control and explained while still looking at the fight:

"It's not really that. Summon Spirits can adapt the vibration of their auras to match the wavelength of the magic spells cast by those that use their elements. Think of it as you suddenly seeing and knowing the trajectory of an arrow the moment someone points a weapon at you. Summon Spirits can easily change their wavelength to adapt to that of the attack used against them.

"Volt however, is different. His special ability is that his aura is constantly changing its wavelengths and that extends to his own attacks, so it's virtually impossible for you to cancel or repel them with magic."

"Well, that certainly would explain that then," Zelos said. "It's like pitting two starving wolves against each other. In the end, both will leave with several scars."

The group quieted then, only observing Regal's battle from that moment on.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

He couldn't remember what was the last time he felt like that. The feel of energy flowing through his body and the knowledge he could bend it at his will…

Regal had discovered this strange power of his when he visited the underground power storage of the Lezareno building. He had gotten too close to one of the generators being repaired, which resulted in the core being exposed. The blue haired man didn't know what led him to extended his hand to the generator, but he knew that soon enough an electrical current shot to him and hit his body like a lightning striking.

However, he didn't panic, for it hadn't hurt in the least.

When that happened, his first instinct was to find a way to dispel the charge and he could feel it doing exactly that, going down to his legs and dispelling in the floor like he was a human lightning rod. That made him raise his eyebrow as he reached for the generator and again electricity came to his hand.

That time he had been prepared and tried to make the electrical currents circulating his body concentrate on his arm. They did as he wished without frying his muscles or causing any nasty convulsions. It was like the electricity was a part of himself. This wasn't much different from then, but now he could actually feel pain and his muscles coming close to being paralyzed by the strong bolts of electricity.

Regal charged again while Fragment Volt was recovering and struck out a kick… only to have it go right through the electrical entity, like he was trying to kick water. Regal was momentarily surprised and that caused Fragment Volt to unleashed an electrical vortex around him, catching Regal inside it and expelling him. Before the President could use the charges on himself to attack the entity, the energy seemed to escape his body and return to Fragment Volt.

_He won't leave me any chance to strike back. _Regal realized.

Fragment Volt's eyes widened, as the air around it cackled with electricity and suddenly several energy spheres formed around it and shot to Regal. The blue haired man struck back with his fists and feet, using all of his concentration to dispel the projectiles as he hit them. The last one was aimed at his face, so Regal reared back his fist... and a lightning bolt struck the sphere, making it exploded right when the President's fist was reaching it. The explosion pushed Regal back as he yelled in pain, feeling his arm almost being tore off when it was caught in the explosion.

He got back on his feet, clutching his now useless right arm, and looked at Fragment Volt, knowing he would have to finish that fight sooner, before the reflection of his previous self got further accustomed with his fighting style, which already wasn't a great help against that kind of opponent.

_The others mentioned that fighting against the keepers of the other half of their souls wasn't won relying entirely on strength; rather, they had to outwit their opponents. _Regal reflected to himself and started to look around for anything he could use.

It was then Fragment Volt struck the floor with a thick column of energy originated from itself. Regal tried to jump back, but soon found himself unable to, or to move from his place at all. He tried to move his foot, but felt like it had been glued on the floor.

_A magnetic bind. _Regal reflected and saw Fragment Volt hovering above him.

The floor was lit up with a runic circle and soon thousands of lightning fell on Regal, their energies quickly dissipating in the floor before the noble could gather them. Even with his resistance to the electric bolts, Regal started to feel his insides burning. Fragment Volt was overwhelming his defenses.

Fortunately, that attack eventually undid the magnetic bind on Regal's feet, and he jumped forward, rolling and getting out of the circle. He then sprinted to the stairs, jumping to avoid the explosive, electrical spheres Fragment Volt sent his way.

Regal close his knuckle and silently prayed this would work. Thankfully, it seemed his training, combined with the natural enhancement of being a reincarnated Summon Spirit was stronger than the temple's structure, so when his fist connected with one of the several spikes that decorated the stairs it broke and fell.

The President of Lezareno quickly grabbed a hold of it. It wasn't bigger than him, but with a quick charge of electrical energy on it, he threw the spike at Fragment Volt, who only widened its eyes again and sent a blast of electrical energy the way of the projectile.

The two opposing currents created an explosion that demolished the projectile, but that was what Regal had been expecting as he jumped amidst the debris while Fragment Volt was distracted and managed to get close enough to plunge his left hand "into" the electrical entity.

Fragment Volt tried to fry Regal using all of its power, discharging it on the blue haired man, but, in a last ditch effort, Regal also used all his last energy and some that he was absorbing from the attack and converted it all into a powerful blast that he unleashed point blank into the entity's core.

An explosion came and Regal was launched backwards, slamming hard into the wall, grunting as he felt the searing pain of his burns and one or two ribs cracking. The others, seeing Regal wasn't in conditions to fight anymore, ran to him.

Marta kneeled near the President, starting to cure him with her Artes, as Zelos smiled in approbation and said:

"Well, that was what I call, going out with a bang."

"Thanks…" Regal said, with a pained smile and trying to recover his breathe. "Just don't ask me… for a repeated performance… using my Artes… like that drained me completely."

Emil then looked at where Fragment Volt had been and saw only static crackling in the air, with no signal of the spherical entity. However, the air then started to get more charged and a small, glowing, purple sphere appeared, slowly approaching Regal.

The group looked up and Zelos tried to draw his sword, only for Emil to put his hand over his and shake his head, silently saying there was no threat. The red head seemed to relax and Regal got up, regardless of his injuries and approached the other halve of his soul. Electricity was released from that sphere and it formed two eyes and what appeared to be sideburns if there were a face there.

…

" '_I've seen your determination and ability and deem you ready to wield my powers…' _" Emil translated Volt's speech. " _'Make sure to use it wisely and to do what is necessary for this world, regardless of the mortal's views over such necessary actions… are you ready, Thunder's Apprentice?' _"

Regal reached for the glowing sphere and the energy was absorbed by his arm, as his body was slowly enveloped by a purple aura. There was a flash and the sound of electrical current, which forced the rest of the party to shield their eyes.

Lightning passed around Regal's limbs in a similar fashion as the others. His travels clothes were replaced by a light armor that left his collar and arms uncovered, its color being mostly blue and gray. In Regal's wrists appeared two thick, silver-blue bracelets which had small rectangular openings on top, spaced between each other. The blue haired man could see what looked like living lightning coursing inside the bracelets.

His feet were enveloped by silver greaves with Volt's Thunder Sigil on them and decorations that resembled wings with sharp feathers. His tattoo-like birthmark on his right bicep lit up with a purple glow and the light receded, allowing the others to see their companion again.

"That's… fitting I suppose," Regal murmured, examining his new attire.

"Nice one, heh?" Zelos said, slapping Regal's back. "Bet you'll have chicks digging for you if you go around like this. Of course, it probably won't compare to my Spirit Form, but you might come close."

Marta and Emil sighed, shaking their heads at their perverted friend's antics. Regal rolled his eyes and asked Emil if he knew where Tornitrus might be.

"The memories aren't very specific. I just know he's somewhere in the temple, sorry," Emil said in an apologetic tone.

"Don't you have any hunches? Colette was able to tell after she awakened her powers," Marta asked.

Regal put his hand under his chin and closed his eyes in thought. Sure enough, thoughts came to him and suddenly he knew exactly where Tornitrus' altar was and how to arrive there.

"It seems I do. Follow me," he said, indicating the others to the stairs.

They arrived at Volt's altar again and Regal got up on it, going to the wall and touching it. A section of it suddenly sparkled and slid down, revealing a narrow passage to the center-most section of the tower. The group entered and saw they were on a suspended walkway, which went up in a spiral around some kind of giant device that had an electrical core.

"Talking about thematic decoration…" Zelos commented as they walked up the path and its stairs.

They met some monsters on the way and Emil once more performed the pact ritual. Regal also took the time to test his new power and found he was now faster and stronger. Plus all of his attacks caused the bracelets on his writs to generate energy that enveloped his fists and his greaves charged, enhancing his blows with lightning energy.

The Lezareno President could also summon some minor lightning bolts whenever he attacked and felt he had more energy with which he could utilize in _that _technique, however, he wouldn't try it out now. It always drained him whenever he performed his most powerful Arte.

They eventually arrived at the top, but when Tornitrus' altar came into view, the group stopped on their tracks, eyes widening at what they saw. Ratatosk took control of Emil and gritted his teeth, scowling:

"I knew it…"

Tornitrus' core was gone.

The flower-shaped plate where it should have been had nothing floating above it, just empty space. Ratatosk ran to it and looked around. Regal and Zelos also started to search for clues. Marta spoke:

"But… how can it be? It should be here. Nobody can open the temple …"

"But the temple had already been opened, remember?" Zelos said with that rare, serious tone on his voice as he looked at Marta. "We saw it at the entrance. Whoever did it, probably took the core too."

"Which is not good," Ventus said, appearing together with Lumen and Solum. "The core's power will drive anyone exposed to it mad if they have little resistance to spiritual energy."

"I'm more worried about where they took it to," Ratatosk said. "I couldn't sense Tornitrus' presence when we entered the temple. Even now I can't feel any traces, which can only mean…"

"He was taken a long time ago," Solum completed for his lord.

"In that case, we would have to look for the other missing Summon Spirits," Regal said. "Since they are the only ones who could undo the seal."

"Any chance it was actually Nebilim?" Zelos asked, tossing away ideas.

"If it was, he would have to blast his way inside and that would definitely leave signs of his presence here," Ratatosk spoke.

"You don't think they have took it to Nebilim and then…" Lumen asked, gulping as he suggested it, but everybody understood the message. The atmosphere became somber at the prospect, but Ratatosk quickly shook his head to it:

"If Tornitrus was destroyed, I would have felt it. From the looks of it, he's probably…"

Whatever Ratatosk was going to say they would never know, for in that moment the entire platform shook, making the group lose their balance and fall as explosions sounded near the base. Lumen quickly ran to the edge of the platform and looked bellow.

"Um… guys… we have company…" Lumen said, his cheetah face bearing a fearful expression. Another explosion sounded. "Mean company."

"It's the demons! Besiegers!" Ventus said as the platform shook again. "They are trying to destroy the foundations!" the demons seemed succeeded on their intent, as the entire structure started to tilt sideways and a wail of metal twisting and breaking sounded. Below the reincarnated Summon Spirits was a seemingly bottomless abyss.

Marta entered in Spirit Form and Ratatosk summoned his newly acquired Lord Wyverns, one of them positioning so the Lord of Monsters fell on its back, riding the aerial monster and the other had Regal grabbing its talons. Marta quickly flew and grabbed Zelos by his hands.

"WATCH OUT!" Lumen alerted them as spheres of concentrated fire and chaos energy flying at them.

They avoided the aerial fire, knowing there was only one escape route, which was by the narrow passage they came from. Luckily there was still a section of the walkway near it that survived and that was where the demons were shooting from.

Ratatosk commanded his monsters and the Wyverns shot blasts of lightning from their mouths at the demons. Some of them got electrocuted and paralyzed, which allowed the group to get close, while avoiding the projectiles and bombarding the platform with the lightning breathes from the dragons.

They then jumped and Marta quickly sent a wind disk, which divided into several, at their attackers, slicing clean through their bodies. As the party landed on the platform, they made a run for it, intent on getting back at their truck as fast as they could.

"How did they get in?" Zelos asked as the group ran and returned to Volt's altar and jumped to the floor below, not wanting to lose any time.

"I didn't reactivate the seal with all of this. I'm sorry," Emil said.

"Apologize later. We still have to…"

It was then they heard the sound of bowstrings pulling back and energy being charged. As they looked up, they saw the walkways and the door to the entrance were packed with Besiegers, Bone Archers and Scion Snipers, all with their weapons aimed at them. The group knew if the demons shot they would be overwhelmed.

It was then something came to Regal; an instinctive knowledge that told him he had the right Arte to counter that situation. All he needed was…

"Everybody, gather together!" he yelled and, as if on cue, the demons shot at them.

Regal knelled and punched the ground, immediately an electrical dome raised around them, serving as a shield as the attacks impact on it and were either repelled or exploded against its surface. The group watched in astonishment. However, the demons didn't seem to get deterred by it as they continued to rain arrows and explosive shots without pause.

The President of Lezareno knew he could keep up the shield for a long time with the help of the energy of the temple, but that would get them nowhere.

"I'm open to suggestions, if somebody has a plan," Regal grumbled while keeping part of his concentration on maintaining the dome up.

Emil thought, looked around and came up with one. The blonde said for Regal to lower the shield when he gave the signal. Regal nodded together with the others, who drew their weapons. Emil waited for a second and when the explosions and projectiles lessened their intensity enough for the group to find an opening, he shouted an "NOW!".

Regal dispelled the dome and the group spread. Emil summoned several bird and dragon monsters, which flew towards the demons and attacked them, throwing their aims off and killing others with teeth, claws and elemental breathes.

Emil and the others were quick to do short work of the demons, Marta specially, being the only one with flight ability in the group she could easily dodge and launch wind blades and disks that easily cut through their targets, a testament to how her powers had evolved. However...

_Something is not right. Demons normally aren't this organized. _she thought as she dispatched a group of Scion Snipers that tried to shoot chaos-enhanced arrows on her. "There must be a general somewhere."

"You are right..." a familiar, malicious voice said.

Before Marta could wonder or even warn the others, a glowing, yellow orb impacted with her face, soon followed by others. She felt like she was being rammed from all sides.

Emil looked up and saw Marta being attack by orbs and that moment of distraction was enough for another demon to teleport near him. The reincarnated Ratatosk only noticed when he saw seal cards organizing themselves around him in a half-sphere.

"Nexus Impulsion," a feminine voice said and the seal released a blast of concentrated chaos energy that hit Emil like a charging dragon, rocketing him out of the walkway and right into Marta, the two impacting on one another and falling.

"What the... ?" Zelos let out at seeing that and saw something fall near him by the corner of his eyes. Weren't he alert, he wouldn't have seen the wicked-looking, red blade coming up, ready to slice his left arm off.

Zelos put his shield up as he stepped back and that was what prevented him from losing his hand as the sword melted the ice like a hot knife through butter. He only got a cut on his arm, but it was deep enough so he felt his muscles burning as he let out a yell of pain.

Regal saw all of that and quickly prepared to go and help his companions, but a cry of "Flame Lance!" made he look at the direction of the altar to see an ethereal, flame spear coming his way.

"Thor's Protection!" Regal used another defensive Arte, the flame lance hitting it and exploding against the bubble-like shield, but it fortunately hold against it.

"Hmmm. Thought as much," Regal looked up to see someone near the edge of the altar, a silver haired boy who didn't look older than fourteen, however the malicious smile on his face and the pose of superiority were certainly not something somebody that age would show. "Inside this temple your powers are greater than ever. Right Volt? Or should I say, Duke Regal Bryant?"

The others then recovered in time to see Rahishi and Reriki jumping/floating to the sides of their general. Ratatosk took the control and growled Genis' name as the half-elf only smiled at them. Marta got up and now understood what had just happened; Genis set up an ambush for them.

The monsters around the walkways came after the young boy, who didn't drop his smile as he gave a simple command in demonic and Reriki and Rahishi charged at the monsters. The red haired demoness' blade neatly cut three monsters by their waists as the voluptuous, spiritual demon only smiled a cruel smile as the servants of Ratatosk approached her. The seals forming the halo behind her shot forward and attached to the dragons' bodies and she quickly touched each one.

The monsters flew backwards as they received a strong blast of chaos energy that created holes in their chests, killing them before they fell to the ground.

Genis then looked at the group scattered around the temple before looking back at Regal.

"My, my, today must be my lucky day. Not only can I kill a Summon Spirit, but also the main supplier of the rebel groups. How convenient."

"Damn. That brat again!" Zelos spoke, using ice to stop his bleeding and making another shield.

"Reriki, Rahishi…" Genis said. "Sic 'em."

"At once, my General," Rahishi said.

"With pleasure, Master Genis," Reriki said with a malicious smile and a sweet tone.

Marta casted Healing Wind right before the two aides jumped and landed near them. The Whirlwind Rider blocked the flaming blade of the demoness as the spell healed her and Emil's injuries. Ratatosk took control and attacked, only to be blocked by one of Reriki's seal as she backhanded him with her sleeved hand, the blow carrying enough power to knocked him aside.

Genis observed the fight bellow until a cry of "Everfrost Glory!" made him narrow his eyes and look in the direction of Zelos. Icebergs started to form around him, but he merely commanded his fire orb to float at chest level and spin around him, producing a fire ring around the Desian General.

"Fire Halo!" the ring expanded as the icebergs exploded. The meeting of the two extreme temperatures made the ice melt.

Genis then saw Zelos jumping above the fire ring, blade poised to strike at him. He doesn't even speak, as a Spread spell erupted near him, catching Zelos in mid-flight before he could reach the young-looking spellcaster.

"Did you really think I would be caught a second time by the same tactic?"

As Zelos fell, Regal jumped from the nearby walkway and caught the ex-Representative, landing with him. Zelos was about to thank the blue haired noble when they heard a shout of "Indignation!". However, the spell circle wasn't formed beneath them, but beneath Marta and Emil who were still fighting Reriki and Rahishi off.

The two demonesses retreated as one after shoving their respective adversaries inside the circle. The two teenagers could only look as energy gathered above them and prepared to release a massive bolt of lightning. It was in that instant that Regal used all of his enhanced speed and arrived spreading his arms and taking the brunt of the attack. However, he couldn't absorb all of it as Marta and Ratatosk were still hit, feeling like their bodies were burning from the inside out.

Barely the attack ended and Regal sensed Rahishi advancing, her blade poised to strike. He defended it using his metal bracelet, electricity crackling on it as it deflected the weapon, temporarily throwing the demoness off balance. Regal seized the opportunity and attacked her with a flurry of kicks and punches, each one charged and summoning bolts of lightning for good measure.

When the blue haired man was about to hit the demoness with the palm of his hand on her nose, her covered hand rose up and grabbed his wrist. Rahishi looked up at Regal with a smirk.

"Is that the strongest that you can punch? That Presea girl hit harder than this," Rahishi said right before kneeling Regal in the stomach and making her sword vanish before she punched his face with tremendous force, sending the man away.

As Regal was sent flying, Marta and Ratatosk tried to attack Reriki, who constantly floated away while brandishing her seal cards in a blur, sticking the seals to the bodies of the reincarnated Summon Spirits and inflicting strong energy discharges upon them.

Marta's projectiles were all blocked by Reriki's seals and when Ratatosk tried to use Destroyer's Song on the demoness, she quickly thrust her arm forward and a seal appeared from her sleeve as she seemingly punched Ratatosk in the chest.

"Mental Break!" instead of being launched backwards, as he had expected, Ratatosk felt strange, like his insides were in disarray. The spiritual energy on his sword suddenly got unstable and Ratatosk looked at it just as it suddenly entered in a critical state and exploded on him.

"RATATOSK!" Marta called, just to have her vision blocked by Reriki teleporting in front of her.

Marta tried to get distance between her and the demoness, but Reriki had the vertical halo of seal cards behind her tilt forward and grabbed the nearest one, swinging it together with the others like a giant chakra. Marta tried to block the attack, but the multiple hits from the seals repelled her spectral spinner and left her wide open to an attack.

Reriki cut the reincarnated Sylph with her seals several times and ended by rearranging them in a formation similar to Genis' Elementum Cannon. Each seal shot a beam, blowing Marta away.

Zelos watched all of that from a corner in the room, staying out of the other's way. He knew he couldn't do anything without his Summon Spirit powers. However, he couldn't help, but grit his teeth at seeing the others losing like that.

"Damn! What's up with them? Hadn't we won against these demons before?"

"That's only because I retreated," Genis' voice sounded from above.

Zelos looked up and see the Desian General jumping off Volt's altar. In the middle of the air, he grabbed his wind orb, which released a downward wind current that slowed his descent. Genis then landed with a soft stepping as he turned to the red head behind him, his smile condescending.

"Had I decided to continue, I would have come up with a tactic to put you all to rest. However, having Reriki and Rahishi fighting you all served its purpose," Genis said.

"Purpose?" Zelos wondered what the silver haired brat meant with that.

"Collect data," Genis said simply. "I never go into battle without knowing my adversary's capabilities. It would be moronic on my part. Besides, I wanted to know what Ratatosk was capable of and what his unique kind of magic was like," that elicited a grin from Genis, but he soon schooled his expression. "However, I lost sight of my objective amidst my enthusiasm. I admit that."

"So you mean you weren't being serious last time?"

"My, my. You're not as stupid as you look."

Zelos could feel a vein pulsing on his head as he gave an angry smile. He really would like to teach this brat a lesson right now.

"Anyway, since you're not actively contributing to my research, I think it's safe to simply kill you," as Genis said that, his wind and fire orb floated in front of him, glowing as he channeled his powers through them. "Spiral Flare!"

Zelos quickly raised a thick ice barrier between him and Genis. When the hybrid spell hit it, some of the ice was melted, but the barrier managed to hold. Genis simply stared at it... until he felt a concentration of magical energy near him. He turned and saw an iceberg had formed and it soon exploded, launching pointed shards at him.

Instinctively, Genis brought his arms up to defend himself as the sharp pieces of ice dug on his skin, cutting his flesh and part of his uniform. It was then he realized what this was...

"A distraction..." he thought aloud as he looked and saw Zelos had melted his ice barrier and casted Freeze Lancer. "Good thinking, but not enough!" Genis said, his fire orb coming forth. "Flaring Twister!" his orb produced a high-speed spiral of fire that consumed Zelos' icy projectiles and melted them.

The red head ran before the spell reached him, colliding with the wall and spreading flames around its impact point, leaving a scorch mark behind. The battle continued to rage between the two groups as Genis and his aides had the upper hand.

Regal was trying his best techniques, but Rahishi simply took it all without even drawing her sword again. When she blocked a high kick and countered with a spear-thrust of her hand, which Regal avoided, the reincarnated Volt asked:

"Why aren't you using your weapon anymore?"

"I don't believe in use of excessive force," Rahishi replied with a smile, clearly enjoying that battle. It had been sometime since she had to fight hand-to-hand. "It's unbecoming of a Knight to gloat at their weaker opponents."

"I see... so you believe I am weak?" Regal said, his stance relaxing. Rahishi noticed that and wondered why he would do such a thing in the middle of battle. "Well, I can't say I don't respect it, however you shouldn't underestimate your adversary merely because he doesn't use weapons..." there was a quick distortion in the atmosphere around Rahishi. "Master Field!"

A runic circle appeared beneath Rahishi and soon thousands of lightning bolts fell around it, electrocuting the demoness and strong enough for her to feel her muscles contracting as she let out an yell of pain. Regal then ran to her at an inhuman speed, arriving right after the attack ended.

"Wolverine!" Regal inflicted a sequence of strong kicks followed by a leg sweep that took Rahishi off her feet and an ascendant kick that sent her into the air. "Eagle Dive!" while still in the air, Regal applied a hammer kick on Rahishi's midsection that produced an impact wave in the air and sent her rocketing to the floor just for the Thunder's Apprentice to descent in rapid speed and stomp on her, causing impact waves on the floor.

Even so, the demoness quickly recovered and grabbed his foot, hurling him away, just for the reincarnated Summon Spirit to land on his feet. Barely seconds after Rahishi got up she summoned her blade and swung it in the air, sending a scorching fire blade against Regal, which he defended with his metal bracelets.

"I stand corrected. I'm sorry for underestimating you..." Rahishi said as she slowly got up. "But don't worry. I won't commit that mistake again," her blade ignited as she said that.

Meanwhile, Ratatosk had been cured by Marta when she managed to sidestep Reriki, but got blown out by another blast of the demoness' powers for the temporary distraction. Ratatosk launched himself against the demoness again. He couldn't use any of his specialized Artes thanks to Reriki's enchantment, but he still had most of his Artes, which would be strong enough to kill her by his calculations. However, Reriki had shown she was quite a challenging opponent.

The crimson-eyed entity sidestepped a swarm of seals going for his head and used a Converging Fury Arte to deflect the other pieces of paper and rush to Reriki, who floated to the side, however, she didn't count on Ratatosk quickly turning:

"Savage Light!" the Lord of the Monsters used an upward slash that hit the demoness with a charge of light, burning some of her aura, and thrust his sword with all his strength, finding almost no resistance as it sunk into her robe, bellow her ample chest. However, Ratatosk soon noticed something wrong; no blood came out.

"See? That's why I tell you are all wrong," Reriki said with her malicious smile and tone in place as she grabbed Ratatosk's sword in a strong grip. "My body is merely a solid projection. It's as real as I want it to be. Which means..." she started shoving the sword out of her as Ratatosk tried to take it from her grip. "Attacking it won't do you any good if you don't attack the part that contains the real me."

She then gave a strong push and made the hilt of the blade hit Ratatosk's gut taking his air out. Marta was then behind Reriki and slashed at the voluptuous demoness with her ethereal spinners, shredding the back of Reriki's robes and revealing her back. But the brunette widened her eyes at seeing no scar was left by her attack.

"Really, are you all deaf?" Reriki said, quickly turning and thrusting her sleeved arm forward, grabbing Marta's head. "You won't get anything from attacking me like this," she then threw Marta into Ratatosk and quickly evoked an Arte. "Cyclone Seal!"

Identically to Sheena's Arte, the couple was thrown into the air by a tempest of seals that released a burst of spiritual energy onto them in the air. It's then they get trapped inside a concentration of darkness that soon exploded, Marta recognizing it as Dark Sphere.

"Who said you can manhandle my aide?" Genis' voice sounded as the two look up at him, the silver haired half-elf showing a condescending look. "I think you all need a lesson about how to treat my subordinates. Volcanic Tower!"

With a wave of his earth and fire orb, Genis made a rock formation throw Marta and Ratatosk in the air as red light start to shine in grooves around it and the rock formation split in the middle, an eruption of molten lava coming forth, reaching the two.

Reriki teleported to near Genis as he smiled at his handwork... just for it to become a frown as he saw the lava falling to the floor and Ratatosk and Marta unharmed, protected by a bubble-like shield the reincarnated Sylph had created.

The Whirlwind Rider dispelled her shield as she and Ratatosk landed. Regal was suddenly blown back to near them by a Flaring Twister cast by Rahishi, which hit and burned him several times, although his Summon Spirit protection absorbed most of the damage. Zelos reunited with the group, standing in guard, although he knew he wouldn't be much useful.

"Hu... just look at you; a bunch of hypocrites thinking they can 'save the world'..." Genis said.

"You're one to talk," Marta growled at him. "A Desian who isn't a half-demon and can't even recognize his own sister."

"What I am or not, is none of your business! And what do you mean 'can't recognize my own sister'? My sister is dead, killed by the humans during the end of the Kharlan War."

"Is that the story they told you? And here I was, thinking you were a smart-ass brat. Seems I was wrong. You're just a stuck-up brat, who looks like he barely got out of his diapers," Zelos spoke in disdain.

"Try all you want, but your lies will have no effect on our general, or change the outcome of this battle," Rahishi spoke in an austere tone.

Regal just observed as he got up, intrigued. So that was Raine's brother that Lloyd and the others spoke about. Regal had heard about a General Sage from some of his contacts, but never had he imagined this would be him. Plus, he could feel something strange in Genis. Something... familiar.

It was then the group suddenly felt an agitation in the chaos energy around, like a wave that splashed against a rocky cliff. They could tell it wasn't nearby. No. In fact it felt as if it had occurred several kilometers away from their position, which made the hair on their necks stand to its end. Ratatosk knew that whatever had produced that agitation in the chaos energy had to be powerful and the only creatures he could think of with that level of power were demons of Lord ranking.

Genis, Rahishi and Reriki looked to the direction the perturbation had come from, a grin coming to the General's lips as he spoke:

"Seems like he managed to do it…"

However, Ratatosk decided to worry about what had been that agitation later and teleported near Genis, his control over his spiritual energy finally returning as he charged his blade and held it above his head. Genis could only look, not having noticed the approach of the Lord of Monsters before he was already upon him.

"Destroyer's Song!" Ratatosk swung his sword at a surprised Genis, creating a pillar of multicolored flames that consumed the young-looking Desian, who took the brunt of the attack and let out a yell of pain.

"MY GENERAL!" Rahishi called and before she could turn to Ratatosk, Marta quickly flew to her and delivered a double kick in the demoness' face, reuniting her power as she did so.

_Now is as good of a time as any to test this. _Marta thought.

The Whirlwind Rider's ethereal spinners started to glow and spin at blurring speeds. She sensed Reriki teleporting behind her and ready to blow her away, but she spun in the air, releasing tornadoes in all directions, two catching the demoness' and blowing them up as the sharp wind blades cut at them from inside the wind manifestations.

Marta then seemed to disappear and reappeared behind Reriki, who was still stunned, and slashed the spiritual demon across her back again, this time releasing twin tornadoes that blew her away to near Rahishi. Before the demonesses could recover, Marta disappeared again and unleashed a series of slashes around them, releasing stationary tornadoes each time that only added more nicks and cuts on Genis' aides armor and clothing.

Disappearing again, Marta appearing right above the two and spun in the air, arms and palms extended to the sides and her eyes closed as she focused on uniting the fiery winds attacking her adversaries, forming a single, giant cyclone, which blew the two to its extremities, making the demonesses ran into each other in high speeds, incapable of teleporting or getting away of the enchanted winds.

"Let no evil survive these sacred winds!" Marta intoned as she stopped spinning and crossed her arms above her head. "Gaia's Whisper!" Marta then threw her arms down and suddenly the winds reversed and became a drill formation, throwing Reriki and Rahishi into the floor and crushing them with its pressure.

Marta flew down and her wings dispelled, the brunette returning to her normal form after spending all of her power using her Summon Spirit Mystic Arte. She knelled, feeling exhausted. She then looked up and saw Ratatosk and Regal attacking Genis without pause, the silver haired half-elf's clothes looking burned and some blood running from his split lip and a bruise on his face.

However, when Ratatosk and Regal avoided another volley of Genis' orbs, not giving the master spellcaster any chance to charge a spell, Genis decided he had enough and put his wind orb before himself, grabbing it and creating a propulsion wind. Regal and Ratatosk defended, although, Genis' objective wasn't attacking them, but getting himself away of the two as the orb propelled him backwards.

He landed and quickly chanted a spell:

"Gravity Well!" Regal and Ratatosk didn't have the chance to get away when a distortion in space appeared around them and increased the gravity pull where they were standing, nearly crushing the two, but effectively slowing their movement speed.

"Elementum Cannon!" the young-looking General prepared his most potent attack and Regal and Ratatosk knew they wouldn't be able to dodge in time. However, the reincarnated Volt wasn't going to let Genis kill them.

Regal punched the ground again and an electrical dome rose once more as Genis fire his multi-elemental beam at the reincarnated Summon Spirits. Different from before, Regal had to strain his powers to beyond their limits and even use all the energy from the temple that he could collect. Yet, the Thunder's Apprentice managed to hold against Genis' spell even when the beam reached its critical point and exploded.

Seeing the pause on their battle, Genis went to the side of his aides to defend them as Zelos and Marta casted a First aid spell on the group. However, there was a definite decrease in the healing spells' potency, being both the casters tired and running only on adrenaline. Ratatosk and Regal were also panting, the blue haired man's powers were almost failing and his defenses were already failing. However, that didn't seem to be the case to Genis as he turned and quickly charged another spell:

_What does it takes for this guy to stop weaving his damn magic?! _Ratatosk mentally berated as Regal raised his electrical dome again when Dark Lance was cast on them, the barrier holding out against the enchanted blades of darkness that bounced off of it and the great, last sword of darkness that came, which shattered upon contact.

"Singer's Cry!" Ratatosk quickly united his spiritual energy on his blade and swung it, releasing a blast of it. However, Genis could see what it truly was; several minor blasts united to give an impression of a single one, acting like some kind of burst shot.

The Desian General decided he wasn't in the mood to discover how much power those scattered blasts had, so he quickly altered his aura's wavelength and called for his defensive Arte:

"Conqueror's Shield!" the concentrated burst impacted with his defenses and released several small explosions that former a bigger one. However, when the smoke dispersed, Genis was completely unharmed. "Aqua Laser!" the water orb came in front of the Desian and produced a large beam of water, which Regal blocked by using his electrical dome once more, relying entirely on the energy contained within the temple to use it.

The Desian General evaluated the situation; if either of them tried to approach, they would be shot down with a barrage of spells and magical projectiles. If one tried to attack, the other would defend, negating the attack completely. Genis might use his Elementum Cannon again, but Ratatosk and the others would probably try to attack him mid-charge, which would prompt Reriki and Rahishi to defend him and would invariably end up throwing his aim off or he might accidently blast them.

They had reached a stalemate.

However, considering what he had felt earlier…

"Well, it was fun..." Genis said, his smile coming back and his aides relaxing, also exhibiting smiles despite the state of Rahishi's dented and scratched armor and Reriki's shredded robes, which barely covered her projected body now and showed much of her slim and creamy skin. "Besides I already won. There's no point in overdoing it."

"Won? What are you talking about?" Marta inquired. "You didn't win. Ratatosk, Regal, Zelos and I are still alive."

"Not all battles revolve around merely killing your adversary," Genis said in a tone of who tried to lecture a child. "Some have other objectives and I don't remember ever saying mine was to kill you here and now. Though, don't worry..." Reriki then waved her arms, leaving glowing lines in the air as she formed a symbol. "Your time will come eventually."

With that, Reriki finished her spell and a portal opened, blocking the reincarnated Summon Spirit's view of Genis and his aides. When the portal closed, the three had disappeared. Ratatosk and the others relaxed as the crimson-eyed entity gave the control back to Emil.

"What do you think he meant by that?" the blonde asked.

It was then Regal and Zelos' eyes widened in realization, both looking at each other and seeing they had reached the same conclusion. Marta and Emil noticed that and the brunette asked them what it was.

"I fear we have been deceived," the Thunder's Apprentice started. "This whole battle was nothing, but a diversion; a means to keep our attention focused here."

"But why would they... ?" Emil started and then remembered. "Lloyd! The others!" he exclaimed. Zelos nodded.

"Plus, that agitation in the chaos energy before, that Genis brat looked really satisfied when we sensed it. Something probably happened to Bud and the others and I have a feeling its not good," the red head said, his tone serious and somber.

"Then we have to get back to the Renegade base immediately to contact them," Marta urged them.

"Indeed," Solum said, reappearing with the other Centurions. "Though it will be impossible to help them, since it's probable they are still in the sea."

"There is also the matter of just _what _released that amount of energy," Ventus said. "It felt like a demon of Lord ranking, but... quite different at the same time."

The group decided to leave their speculations for later and took a sprint out of the temple. They just hoped they could reach Yuan and Martel in time, though those two might have sensed that already.

_I hope they are all ok... _Marta prayed.


	42. The Serene Sage

Life sometimes can be quite eventfull... looking for a job, college, works and tests...

Well, let's forget my rant and get this going, shall we?

* * *

**Chapter 38**

**The Serene Sage**

"Are we there yet?" Raine asked for what seemed to be the thirteenth time while facing a corner in the command cabin, refusing to look outside the window and to the sea.

"Not yet, Lady Raine," Kratos said. He was commandeering the crew on the boat as a request from Yuan.

"Call me just Raine, if you please," the Professor said, still not looking at them.

Sheena and Lloyd sighed at the silver haired woman's behavior. Colette and Presea were on the superior deck, the blonde having asked to take a look at the sea. Sheena also would have liked nothing more than to wear her swimsuit she bought in Altamira and take a good sunbath in the superior deck... and ask Lloyd to pass oil on her back. However, with Kratos there things might turn awkward, so she was restraining herself.

"Raine, the sea won't eat you if you look at it," Lloyd spoke, trying to calm his friend down.

"I have my suspicions," Raine replied.

"Alright. Be paranoid then," Sheena said.

"I am not paranoid!"

"Do they always act like that?" Kratos asked his son. The two women had been "exchanging pleasantries" since they departed from the base.

"Pretty much, yeah," Lloyd said with an embarrassed smile. _Although if they're back at jabbing at each other that might mean Sheena isn't angry with Raine anymore._

Kratos sighed. Seeing that everybody was paying attention to their chores and Raine and Sheena are preoccupied with one another, he decided to have a talk with son:

"So, how are things between you and Sheena?"

"Pretty well," Lloyd replied. He then remembered something and, although it would certainly embarrass him, he decided if there was somebody he could talk to, it was his dad. "Um... dad... how do you know when... she wants that?" Kratos looked at Lloyd with a raised eyebrow, clearly not understanding what he meant. Lloyd started to blush a scarlet tone. "Um... you know... _that_."

He could practically see the gears turning in Kratos' head and it finally seemed to click as he let out an "oh". The auburn haired man spoke:

"Well... there are some signs, but why the question, Lloyd? Do you think you are ready?"

"I-I... don't know... Sheena's the one that takes the initiative most of the time."

That made Kratos shoot a forlorn look at his son.

_He lets her take the initiative even on _that_! What is he? The housewife? _Kratos was about to voice his thoughts when he remembered that when he had been married to Anna, he bent to her will most of the time too and did most of the work in the home, such as dusting and laundry, which she was horrible at. _Thinking back on it now, what did they say? That I was whipped? Maybe I shouldn't recriminate him, considering I'm not that much of a manly role model either. _"And are you completely okay with that?" Kratos asked.

"Well... it does make me feel like a child in that regard, but Sheena doesn't seem to think of me as a bad boyfriend because of that. She even said that she wouldn't mind learning together with me," Lloyd spoke.

"If you two have reached this decision and are content with each other, then I won't oppose," _Mainly because I was just the same when Anna and me started dating. _Kratos added as an afterthought with a sigh. _Like father, like son I suppose…_

- / - / - / - / - / -

In the past, the Thoda Islandused to be a touristic spot famous for its geyser. It was also rumored the island housed an altar dedicated to the Summon Spirit Undine. Now, the eruptions of boiling water ceased ever since the Second Invasion, like a sign of Undine's absence. Moreover, with the sea infested by demons, few people bothered to venture so far from civilization.

The EC anchored near the tiny docks that gave access to the island. Lloyd and the others started to leave as Kratos gave instructions to the Renegade and Vanguard crew to stay on the EC and contact him through his walkie-talkie in case there was any trouble.

Raine had to hold the urge to kiss the boards of the pier once she got out of the EC (which she affectionately dubbed "the Infernal Vessel"), but cringed when she was reminded why they were here.

_Honestly, I swear irony is on my case. _Raine sighed.

It was then the group heard a scream coming from the geyser area. They drew their weapons and ran up the stairs, arriving in the rocky area surrounding the geyser to see a blonde boy being harassed by three mermaid monsters with tridents and lances. Lloyd recognized the boy:

"Mithos!"

"Lloyd?!" the blonde exclaimed back, seeming surprised to see his self-appointed friend there.

"Hold on!" Lloyd said, charging with the others and slashing at the monsters.

The battle didn't last long. Even in their human forms, the party was still slightly stronger than the average, seasoned warriors. Kratos sheathed his sword after beheading the last monster and turned to the young half-elf, who sighed in relief.

"Who are you and what were you doing here?" he asked in a suspicious tone.

"I don't owe you any explanation, huma…" Mithos started, already on the defensive.

"Mithos, there's no need to be like that and dad…" Lloyd spoke, turning to his father. "He's my friend. He even saved Raine when she was being harassed by some Martel Knights from the Church."

"Really?" Kratos asked, to which Lloyd nodded. "In that case, I'm sorry."

"I… I apologize too," Mithos reluctantly said. "I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Anyway, why are you out here in the wilderness?" Lloyd asked, although a bit more tactful than his father.

Raine and Sheena greeted Mithos, just like Colette, who greeted him warmly and shook his hand event though they were complete strangers. Mithos' eyes seemed to gleam with some unknown emotion when Colette came forth and presented herself, but most of the group didn't catch that, except Presea who narrowed her eyes as she took a better _look_ at Mithos. After Mithos returned the greetings, Presea noticed his tone and expression seemed to get a little meeker as he spoke:

"I don't really know. I slept in a commerce boat that I boarded to go to Luin and next thing I know, I woke up here in Thoda."

"They probably left you behind after discovering you were a half-elf. I'm sorry you had to get through that," Sheena said sympathetically.

"It's alright, I'm used to it. But what are you doing out here?"

The group looked between themselves, debating whether they should tell Mithos the real motive for them being in Thoda Island or not.

"Why don't we tell him? It's not like it will make that much of a difference, considering everybody who already know," Lloyd suggested.

"Yeah, besides, Mithos is Lloyd's friend right?" Colette said, smiling a warm smile.

"That doesn't automatically make him trustworthy," Presea surprised everybody by saying that, and even more by the cold, serious tone she used.

The pink haired girl had been working on making her tone sound a little bit warmer, so others wouldn't get so intimidated when meeting her. Around Colette and the others, her tone had a particular warm to it, though it still sounded neutral. Around unknown people, it was completely emotionless, but to those she identified as her enemies, it gained a cold edge to it. The watchful, devious look she was shooting Mithos was also something the group didn't see often in her face.

"Presea!" Sheena said.

"What?"

"She's right, you know," Mithos said, returning Presea's look with an icy one.

"Anyway, what Lloyd said makes sense," Raine said, deciding to cut the hostilities off.

Lloyd nodded and explained to Mithos about them and their mission on Thoda. Mithos' eyes widened as he looked from one member of the group to the other.

"You're all Summon Spirits?!" he explained.

"Pretty much, yeah," Colette said.

"Unbelievable…"

"Have you seen any 'Wanted' posters with our description before boarding a boat?" Sheena asked, trying to support the story with facts.

"Oh. Now that you mention it…" Mithos shuffled his pockets and brought out a folded piece of paper, which he quickly unfolded and showed the group. "I found this on Palmacosta."

Sheena and Raine's eyebrows shot up. Colette looked confused. Presea was neutral, while Kratos narrowed his eyes. Lloyd's left eye twitched at the sight.

"Is that… supposed to be me?!" the reincarnated Efreet asked in indignation.

Displayed to the group was a 'Wanted' poster of Lloyd, but the face of the dual swordsman's face had been greatly deformed, having a very pronounced chin, slated eyes, a small "conman" smile at the left corner of his face and a small disproportionate body. To say Lloyd was pissed at seeing the so-called "portrait" was an understatement.

_Was the artist drunk when he drew this?! _

"Well, look at the bright side, nobody will recognize you like this," Mithos teased at seeing Lloyd's infuriated face.

"Don't worry Lloyd. I can vouch and say you are handsomer than this," Sheena said.

"Maybe they tried to make a caricature?" Colette suggested.

"You're not helping, guys," Lloyd grumbled lowly.

Raine sighed and decided to tell Mithos that the Church was chasing them due to them being Summon Spirits (letting out the part where they entered in direct confrontation with the angels). Mithos seemed a little skeptical about it, but spoke no more.

Kratos then reminded the group they had a mission on the island. Lloyd asked if Mithos wanted to accompany them, or he could go down the pier and leave for land in the EC they came in.

"I don't want to trouble you all," Mithos said.

"It's not really that dangerous. Most of the time we might fight a few monsters," Lloyd spoke, obviously wanting to spend some time with his road friend.

"Can you even fight?" Presea asked in that cold tone.

"Presea, don't be rude!" Colette recriminated the girl, who, for the first time, seemed to not pay heed to her, instead fixing her gaze onto Mithos.

"I can take care of myself, thank you," he answered back with some venom in his voice.

Lloyd decided to break the tension by asking Raine if she knew how to get inside. She put her hand on her chin and walked forward, to a more elevated part of the path.

Suddenly, a section of the wall on the other side of the geyser fell and a glowing, blue path appeared. The others all jumped at seeing that. Mithos was the first to recover and asked:

"Is this kind of thing normal?"

"For us? Yeah," Sheena answered.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Raine felt like she had died and gone to heaven.

"Ohhh… look at all these ruins. I never thought there would be something like this hidden away from view so close to the Thoda Geyser!" Raine said, frantically running from one pillar to the next, ignoring the monsters roaming the place as the others slew the creatures before they could get to the distracted Professor. "It is clearly elven architecture, but I never heard of an elven tribe living out in the sea. I must find out its origins!"

Kratos could only look as the woman went on and on about ruins, ancient civilizations and whatnot. He turned to Lloyd, who looked embarrassed at having Raine in Ruin Mode in front of his dad and his road friend.

"I would have never guessed that… she had that kind of hobby," Kratos said.

"I really thought being so close to water would tone it down, but it seems Raine's Ruin Mode is stronger than anything," Lloyd sighed.

"Ruin Mode?" Mithos asked.

"Well…"

"Lloyd! Get me my tool kit! NOW!"

"Just a minute. She gets cranky when I don't hand over her tools whenever she asks," Lloyd said, taking out the referred tool kit from the Wing Pack Yuan had given them and Lloyd kept in his possession.

"Since when is Lloyd her baggage boy?" Kratos asked Sheena, who rejoined the group with Presea and Colette.

"She seems to hope being around her will help the younger ones in our group learn something," Sheena said. "I think it's her inner teacher or something."

"No! No! I said the cleaning solution, not the dissolver!" Raine berated loudly at Lloyd.

"How am I supposed to tell each of them apart? I can't even understand what the label says!" Lloyd answered back.

Kratos sighed at the sight. Colette then decided to help and went to Lloyd, taking the right product and handing it to Raine, who thanked her and mentioned something about "people who didn't pay attention". Lloyd groaned.

After that little episode and Raine collecting a small amount of old tools and skulls worthy of being in a museum, the group continued to explore the temple. Lloyd fell back with Mithos and decided to chat a little with the blonde. The red clad swordsman also noticed Presea's suspecting eyes looking at Mithos every now and then. Lloyd then spoke with him in a mild-ashamed tone:

"I'm sorry for Presea's behavior. She normally isn't like that."

"It's fine," Mithos said. "I'm more used to it than you can imagine."

"Yeah, but just because she only met you today doesn't give her the right to…"

"Do you remember what I told you the second time we met?" Mithos interrupted him. Lloyd looked confused and let out an "huh?". "'The ties of hatred between our species are stronger than those of friendship'."

"Yeah… I've seen that a lot often lately," Lloyd admitted, looking to the side with a sad expression.

"Then why is it you still travel with Raine?"

"Because she's my friend, regardless of her race," Lloyd said without hesitation.

"Are you attracted to her?" Mithos bluntly asked.

"EH?!"

"I said…"

"I heard what you said!" Lloyd let out, looking and seeing Sheena look at him in confusion for his outburst. He sighed in relief at seeing she hadn't been catching on their conversation.

"You do, don't you?" Mithos spoke more in an affirmation than a question, a teasing smirk on his lips.

"Can we please change the subject?" Lloyd asked in a pleading tone. The last thing he needed was Sheena getting more aggressive with Raine because of jealously.

"You know, if you really are a Summon Spirit, then you're going to live forever. Don't you think you should enjoy it as much as you can, considering the heavy charge of duty that will come with it?" Mithos continued, his teasing smile never leaving his face, clearly pleased with the tight position he put Lloyd in.

"I never pegged you for a matchmaker, Mithos... or a pervert," Lloyd talked back, narrowing his eyes.

"Haha! Nice comeback!" Mithos said in a jovial tone. He then saw Lloyd's surprised face and his mood immediately became one of confusion. "What?"

"That's the first time I heard you laughing."

"Wh-What about it?" Mithos asked, blushing. "I can laugh too, you know?"

"Dunno. You're always so serious. Remind me of this guy I met. He's a half-elf like you, but a lot more stiff."

"I'm not stiff!"

As the two friends went on, Presea continued to observe them. Colette noticed that and elbowed her friend/crush to get her attention. When Presea looked to her, she put her best angry face (which wasn't that much intimidating, considering it could easily be mistaken by her determined face and made her look a little cute) and told her pink haired companion:

"Why are you being like this around Mithos? You were never like that even around Raine."

Understanding what Colette was insinuating, Presea shook her head.

"It's not that, it's just… something about him isn't right."

"Like what?" Colette asked, now a little surprised. Mithos couldn't be cursed like her mom, could he? Raine would certainly have noticed it and told them right away if that was the case.

"I don't know. I can't _see _it. It's like he's hiding it," Presea said, looking at the half-elf again, who was now chatting away with Lloyd.

Colette was even more confused by that. Raine and Ratatosk said that Shadow had the best vision out of all the Summon Spirits, being able to perceive things that were normally missed by his brothers and sisters' eyes. Was Presea seeing something in Mithos that they couldn't?

She put those questions on hold as they entered a large room and walked towards a transporter on a platform. The sound of rushing water reverberated around the cavernous room and made Raine feel anxious and nervous at the same time. Utilizing the transporter, they arrived at the altar.

All around them was what looked like a shrine in the middle of an underground lake. Raine walked ahead of the group, her steps trembling a bit at being surrounded by so much water and knowing what possibly might come.

She was then stopped by Lloyd, who put his hand on her shoulder, making she look at him. He gave her a firm and comforting look as he said:

"If you think you can't do it, we can go back and try again other time."

Raine looked from Lloyd to his hand and back to him. Her expression eased enough for her to give him a smile.

"Thanks, but I think we both know it's better that I do this now, rather than later," Raine spoke, walking the rest of the distance to the altar as the others stayed behind.

"Are these rituals hard?" Mithos asked in a curious tone.

"Ah, no. It's just that Raine has a problem with water," Lloyd explained.

Mithos looked at him with curiosity, but didn't speak anymore.

When Raine arrived at the altar, thin water veils rose up from the nearby lake and gathered above the altar, almost making the half-elven woman jump. They formed a water sphere that started to glow until it seemed to turn into a sphere of blue light.

"You who possesses my soul. I am the one once known as Undine."

"I-I'm Raine," the woman said in a shaky voice that Lloyd never heard on her before.

"You seem disturbed," Undine's soul halve noticed.

"I-It's nothing…"

"In that case, if you are here that means it's finally time to proceed with Origin's plan. You will have my powers once you pass this test. May luck be on your side."

_I have the impression I'll need it. _ Raine thought.

There was a sudden flash of blue, which made the group and Raine cover their eyes. When they could see again, Raine almost fell back at the sight before her. A blue serpent-dragon was curled on the altar. Its head was half the size of Raine's entire body and it had a set of long arms with armor-like, spiked scales. Along its body and head were several sets of fins.

Before Raine could begin to charge a spell, the creature lashed its tail out and bound her, throwing the older Sage in one of the pillars. Raine got up, feeling a little dizzy by the impact, but well nonetheless.

_Thank goodness Martel lent me some of her equipment. These elven armors are quite resistent. _Raine thought. However, she knew better than to abuse her luck, so she quickly charged a spell as the dragon slithered to her. "Photon!"

The explosion of light spheres caught the creature head on and Raine charged another spell, this time the circle around her glowed a poison-green.

"Neran Liard!" the binding runes appeared and chaos arrows rained upon the dragon. However, instead of blood flying out of the cuts, water flowed from the guardian's body and when the massive, ethereal, chaos sword fell upon it, the monster exploded in several water droplets that floated around the altar.

Raine didn't understand what was happening until the water shot to her and joined around her, reforming the dragon's body, which had Raine in its grasp. As the woman fought to free herself, the dragon jumped into the underground lake with her still secured on its grip.

"RAINE!" Lloyd let out, running to the edge of the altar with the others. Sheena gritted her teeth as Colette looked at the water with her hands over her mouth.

That was bad. Raine was always nervous whenever near a large body of water. If she stayed down there too much…

All of their worries were half-eased when Raine was thrown out of the water and landed with a painful thud on the middle of the shrine, shriving and hugging herself as she sat up, an expression of fear and shock on her face.

"C-cold… t-too c-cold… please d-don't…" she mumbled, shivering uncontrollably.

The dragon then came out of the water and slithered with incredible speed around Lloyd and the others, its gaze fixed on Raine as it brought its head back. Lloyd couldn't keep himself quiet at seeing his friend hadn't noticed the action of the monster:

"Raine, WATCH OUT!"

She looked behind just in time to see the dragon spilling a jet of purple fluid on her. Raine reflexively casted Force Field, defending herself from the strange substance that spilled everywhere around her. When the shield went down, she seemed to recover enough to grab her staff, but started to cough as the foul smell of the substance the dragon tried hit her with arouse around her. Raine recognized it as a rare type of poisonous substance she had once studied with Neran.

In that moment, she was glad she was able to hear Lloyd's warning in time, however that didn't save her when the dragon dashed in and grabbed her in a death grip with its claws. The serpent-dragon was about to go into the water, which made Raine's eyes widen in panic and she casted the first spell that came to her mind:

"Khist Tresay!" a runic portal appeared right in front of the dragon in the middle of the air, repelling it once when it tried to go through. Several other portals appeared around the dragon and unleashed light mixed with chaos energies, burning the guardian's aura and soon shooting beams of light into the creature.

The dragon glowed and exploded with a roar, transforming into water again and liberating Raine, but before she fell to the ground, the water seemed to stop in the air and converged to her, forming a giant, water sphere that encompassed Raine completely and floated above the shrine. Lloyd and the others could only observe as the silver haired woman beat her arms and legs uselessly in the shifting waters of the sphere, her panic only making she lose more precious air.

Lloyd wanted to tell her to calm down, but he doubted Raine would be able to hear him, given the expression of panic in her face as she tried to get out of the magical sphere threatening to drown her. All he could do was call out her name as she slowly stopped her desperate motions and brought her hands to her throat, gulping down large quantities of water.

_Lloyd… ! Sheena… ! _her lungs felt like they were on fire, trying to pull in air that wasn't there, only filling with more water. _Professor Neran…_

_You didn't get this far to let it end here, did you? _Raine didn't know why it sounded so familiar, but she could already feel herself giving in, her body feeling heavy. As darkness was claiming her, she could still hear it. _Raine… Raine._

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"_Raine!"_

_A three year old Raine Sage looked up from her divagation, shooting a look of curiosity at her teacher._

"_Is my lesson really that boring to you?" the man asked in a good-natured tone, smiling at her._

"_N-No, of course not Professor Neran!" a flustered Raine said. "I… was just thinking…"_

"_Really? What is it that you were thinking?"_

_That was one of the things she liked in her teacher. Neran was always asking for her opinion, wanting to hear her thoughts. Many grow-ups underestimated her, thought she couldn't understand what they were saying even when she could. But Professor Neran wasn't like that. He kind of reminded her of her father._

"_Professor, you said that magic could use emotions to enhance its power, right? Then why is it that we're always taught to control our emotions and separate from them when we're casting, if that would make them more powerful?"_

_Neran pondered about her question. _

_Although he was the lord of the lands her mother and many half-elves were living, lands that were owned by his family since who-knows-when, he never acted the part. A pure-blooded elf with the appearance of a man in his early thirties, with his crimson hair combed back and tied at the end, glasses, regal suit and a pair of eyes the same tone as his hair which often drew dreamy sighs from all female around, Neran was the most decent person Raine ever knew._

_And he was her teacher. He taken upon himself to teach the many children around about the elven lore and magic and other subjects he considered essential such as letters, math, geology, etc. However, to those special like her, he liked to give an extra attention, believing in the cultivation of one's full capabilities._

"_To answer that we need to look back on the foundations of magic and its true meaning," Neran started, after having formulated an answer. "Raine, what is magic?" he asked her._

"_Um… it is what separates elves from humans. It's the ability to enter in contact with mana, manipulating it," Raine answered._

"_Yes, indeed that's correct, if you want to go by the textbook answer. However, magic is so much more," to make his point, he raised his right hand and produced a flame on his palm. "Think on this flame as a representation of your will, your desires and your dreams. Now…" he raised his other hand and produced a second flame. "Think of this one as representing your emotions."_

_The flame on Neran's right hand burned brightly and steadily, while the one in his left danced, like trying to leave his hands, sparks flying wildly. _

"_As you've said, emotions can indeed enhance magic, as the mana we manipulate through our blood is affected by our mind, which in turn can be affected by our emotions. However…" he raised his left hand and the flames shot up, describing a wild path in its trajectory until it exploded in several fire tongues in a vortex-like formation. "As you can see, emotions are unstable and ever changing. You can feel several of them at the same time, or even lose control over yourself because of them and that will reflect on your spell."_

_Raine had been observing the show the entire time and nodded to her teacher, understanding perfectly what he was telling her. _

"_Now, here is a thing that most people get wrong: desires, dreams and will," he extended the arm still holding the steadily burning flame on his right hand. "They aren't feelings per saying, but manifestations of our hopes for this world and our lives. And contrary to our emotions, which can change from one moment to another, they are stable through most of our life, for they are as we perceive the world. So…" he let the flame fly. It described a line in the air until it reached several feet above them and exploded. _

_The effect was incredible. A giant sphere of fire expanded from the point where the flame stopped and inside it Raine could see a pyrotechnical show of flames that swirled, licked and sparkled with a core on its center that shone just like a small sun. _

_Then it all dispersed, not a single trace of its existence remained although Raine could still feel the heat from where she and her teacher were sitting around his tea table, outside of his manor. _

"_Magic, Raine, is not just an ability that separates us from humans. It is an impression of our will and hopes upon this world," he smiled at her as he explained it. "So remember, whenever you use your magic, remember what is it that you want to be your legacy to this world, think of what you want to achieve. Do so, and, who knows, the world might even lend you a hand in making your dreams come true…_

"_Remember…"_

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

_Remember…_

Raine opened her eyes and her aura unleashed a powerful pulse, which blew her water prison away. She fell painfully, but her mind didn't seem to register the pain. She remembered now…

She had forgotten that; one of the last lessonsNeran had given her before he left to plot the downfall of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant and put an end to the war. She couldn't believe she had forgotten that.

_You still have much to learn…_

Raine started laughing, first at a low volume, but it increased until the others could hear it clearly and Lloyd started to suspect that staying without breathing for almost a full minute had caused brain damage to her. Raine slowly got up as the water monster behind her started reforming himself.

"I can't believe it… he was right," she spoke, more to herself than the others. "And I call myself a teacher…" she then turned and saw the dragon had reformed itself, although it still retained its liquid form instead of turning solid. "Even if I am the Summon Spirit of water I still wish, I still hope. It doesn't matter whether my element is that which I fear or not. So, in that sense…" she then extended her arm to the side and started charging another spell. "I can't possibly let something like this get in the way of my objectives."

The dragon charged and in that moment Raine released the spell she had been holding:

"Norfeas Aol!" a wide runic circle appeared in front of Raine and fiery flames arose, seeming to consume even the space.

Raine fought to keep the control of the chaos magic. She had only used it once and it had almost killed her, such was its power. She always felt there was something missing when she tried this, that there was a particularity involved in its control that she had overseen. Now she knew what it was. She focused all of her will and her hope and kept them on the forefront of her mind as she controlled the demonic flames that she summoned.

The group observed, slack-jawed as the all-consuming, roaring fire evaporated all water and poison on the platform until nothing was left. When the spell finally receded, not a single drop of the water monster remained.

Raine then left her arms fall to her sides and fell backwards. That made Lloyd rush forward and catch her before she hit the granite floor with her head or something. The others walked forward, still astonished by the demonstration of the true extend of Raine's control over demonic magic.

"Remind me to never get on her bad side…" Mithos mumbled to nobody in particular, his expression was the most surprised of them all.

Raine opened her eyes and saw that Lloyd was supporting her. Blushing, she quickly made an effort to get up, though it left her somewhat dizzy. All of it disappeared as soon as the glowing blue concentration of spiritual energy that was the other half of her soul appeared above the altar once more.

The group observed as Raine walked to the altar, Undine's voice sounding in the little shrine on the underground lake:

"I must admit I never once thought my new self would manage to attain control over the powers of Niflheim. Though, if it is for the better or for the worse, I still have my doubts. However, I cannot deny the power of your will and your desire for a new future. It is my hope that you don't forget these…" Raine then reached for the glowing lights, which soon bathed her body in a blue aura. "Serene Sage…"

A flash of blue and soon water rings were passing around Raine's body, who closed her eyes and tried not to panic. Her coat, hat and shirt disappeared, the only thing covering the upper part of her body being a water ring that pressed slightly against her breasts like bandages. Her arms, collarbone and her left cheek were covered by markings and symbols and a metal chocker appeared on her neck with a blue aquamarine jewel on its center.

Her pants and shoes were replaced by a long, blue skirt, which reached until the floor, but moved against it like it was made out of water. Her birthmark shone inside of the skirt, and blue, ethereal wings sprouted from her back.

The light then receded and the group heard a light gasp from Raine as she took a complete look on what had happened to her.

"Where's my hat?!" she asked, looking around for it. "And… why am I…" she couldn't end that phrase.

Raine was never one for revealing clothes. She wasn't like Sheena who seemed to have a thing for clothes that showed her ample cleavage. To her, being like this… she changed back to her human form and was relieved to see that all her clothing was back, hat included.

"Is that your Summon Spirit form?" Colette asked. "It doesn't look much different from how you normally are."

"That's because she reverted back to human form," Kratos said. Raine shot the man a look that clearly spelled "traitor".

"C'mon Raine. We couldn't see it well. I bet it is cool!" Lloyd said, encouraging her.

"Well… it's just that… it…"

"It what?" Sheena asked.

Raine sighed, knowing they wouldn't drop the subject. She then transformed and her clothes disappeared, her pale skin becoming visible and marks appearing along her body. The group could only look at her in surprise. Even Presea seemed to lose her neutral expression.

"I feel too exposed…" Raine whimpered. "I'm starting to think Marta is right and the feminine Summon Spirits do have a fetish or something."

"If I remember well, they said that Undine had the form of a topless woman with blue skin and fins," Colette thought aloud.

Raine was very glad that her Spirit form preserved at least some of her modesty and that she hadn't grown said fish-related parts. Sheena then approached her, still looking her up and down. Raine was about to ask her what was it when the ninja then touched her water "bandage" covering her breasts. The ninja's hand went right through it and Raine felt it touching her skin.

"Hey, it's really made of water," Sheena said.

That proved too much for Lloyd and Mithos, who brought their hands to their noses in hopes to stop the nosebleeds they were having. Kratos looked away, trying to preserve some of Raine's modesty. Presea brought her hand to her nose and then looked at it to see some blood on it. Looking at the boys, she understood what had transpired and blushed a crimson tone.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Raine screeched, taking a step back and covering herself with her arms.

"What? Are you shy? Oh, isn't that cute?" Sheena said in a cooing voice, although she had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Well, I should expect that kind of behavior coming from you,"

"Can't wait to tell Zelos about this," Sheena talked back.

Raine blushed a crimson tone and looked ready to berate at Sheena, but Kratos interrupted the two women, by clearing his throat and speaking:

"Since we already did what we came to do, I think we should go back."

The group nodded along with him and Raine quickly went back to her human form, deciding she would only use her Summon Spirit powers when absolutely necessary.

It was then her analytical mind started to think back on the markings that appeared around her body and the strange skirt she was wearing. What exactly was the material it was made of? What was the meaning of those markings? The silver haired woman soon found herself torn between preserving her dignity and studying the new changes in her body.

Amidst that, she suddenly heard something and looked up. She thought she saw something amidst the openings in the rock wall far ahead, but…

"Is there a problem, Raine?" Aqua said, materializing when Mithos and Lloyd left.

"I thought I saw… no, forget it," she shook her head and accompanied her friends…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

It was night when they exited the Thoda Ruins and Kratos decided it would be better if they camped out in order to restore their strength before leaving. The group agreed and soon enough Raine was back in Ruin Mode and dragged Colette and Lloyd back to the ruins to do some more study. Nobody got in her path or protested, deciding that after everything Raine went through, she deserved it.

Presea materialized her axe and was sharpening it around the campfire as Sheena cooked some of the rations they brought. Mithos excused himself, saying he wanted to see something back in the geyser. Kratos let him go, but warned the young blonde not to get too far away.

In that moment, Ignis materialized and yawned, deciding to chat a little with Kratos until she noticed something:

"Um… Lady Presea," she called the pink haired girl's attention. "I don't think spiritual weapons like your ax need sharpening, From what I remember, they take the form you want them to and…"

"I'm taking a stroll," Presea declared, standing up and dismissing her weapon.

Kratos and Sheena only watched as Presea left. They wanted to say something like "take care", but there was something about Presea's mood that made the words die in their mouths. Ignis cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Did I say something to upset her?" Ignis inquired.

"I don't think so…" Kratos answered.

Presea walked down the same path as Mithos and found him near an old stable, with his back turned to her. She approached and could hear he mumbling something. The only word she achieved to get was a "right." at the end. Then she accidentally kicked a stone that alerted the blonde half-elf to her presence, making him jolt his head up and turn.

"Who's there?!" Presea felt a spike on his normally weak aura and could swear she saw light glowing on his right hand, but everything was so fast she barely had time to register it as his aura returned to its normal state. "Oh. It's you," Mithos said at recognizing her, recomposing himself.

However, the look of suspicion and ferocity he showed as he turned was not lost on the girl. Presea didn't show it, but knew Mithos could read the distrust on her eyes, for he spoke:

"Is there something you need?"

"Are you hiding something from us, Mithos?" she decided to be blunt and get right to the point. Subtly was never her forte after all.

Mithos didn't answer, only glared at Presea and eventually spoke:

"Why is it that you ask? Do you have a problem with me?"

"How about the fact you hide the your aura? There's no way a half-elf has an aura that vibrate that weakly."

"Ah, so you noticed that," he didn't deny the fact, but didn't give much more away. "What I do or not, is none of your business, now if you excuse m…" he stopped speaking as he saw the great ax's purple blade centimeters away from his nose.

To his credit, Mithos didn't panic. It was like he didn't even feel threatened.

"I'm warning you…" Presea said, her voice cold and emotionless. "Do anything to hurt Colette, or Lloyd, or any of my friends, and I'll take you down."

Her tone never wavered and there was no doubt she wasn't blundering. Presea never gave an empty threat. But Mithos held his ground, not seeming worried in the least. He simply smirked as he said:

"Sure. I'll take that into account."

Presea didn't say anything more. Even though Mithos didn't seem to feel threatened by her, she had given her message, so that should suffice for now. Presea dispelled her weapon and turned, aware for the case the half-elf decided to stab her while she gave him her back. He didn't try anything as she left.

Arriving back at the camp, Sheena said to Presea dinner was ready, however, the pink haired axwoman said she was going to bed, not feeling hungry at the moment. Mithos soon came back too and Sheena asked him what happened between him and Presea:

"Nothing really. We just had a little chat. Oh, are those noodles?" he said, soon changing the subject as Lloyd and the others came back.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

The day was clear and the weather was not too hot or too cold. Presea could feel the breeze at the top of the EC as they sailed back to land. Mithos was down there with the others and Raine closed herself in her cabin, refusing to come out until they reached land.

"And here I thought she would have gotten over her fear of water," Lloyd said with a sweatdrop.

As Presea was looking out at the seas, she sensed Colette approaching, but didn't turn yet as the girl was only getting to the stairs to the top of the ship.

Colette was trying to steel herself as she mentally reviewed her plans:

_Ok. I'll go up there, walk to Presea and say: Presea, I like you. Would you like to be my… no, that will never work! But what else can I say? Maybe I should start slow to not intimidate her. She's still recovering her emotions after all. _ the blonde thought, running mental circles around her decision. _No! I have to be clear on the subject, otherwise she'll never know. Mother and Sheena support me, so…_

"Do you need something, Colette?" Presea's voice got the blonde out of her mental debate and Colette realized she had almost run over Presea as she was not looking where she was going.

"Um… yeah! Presea… I… um… you… I mean! …" Colette felt her tongue rolling over itself as she tried to form a coherent sentence. _Great, she must be thinking I'm stupid now. _Maki had alwaysteased Colette about her shyness around subjects like love and relationships, mentioning she was a real blonde and innocent puppy. She tried to deny it, but the blush and stammering just served to reinforce her friend's point.

"Is there a problem?" Presea asked, tilting her head to the side.

Colette thought the pink haired girl looked cuter with that curious expression on her face, but shook her head to clear her thoughts. She needed to think clearly otherwise she might get embarrassed again and start stuttering.

"Actually, I…" Colette started, but lost her words once more. She took a deep breath and spoke. "Presea, I want to tell you something. You see, I…"

However, she never got the chance to say it as the two sensed a powerful manifestation above them and looked up in time to see what looked like a star falling out of the sky, except it was broad daylight and they could feel a powerful aura emanating from it. Presea then noticed it was on collision course with them and grabbed Colette's arm, trying to make a run for it, but the falling light would reach them in no time.

The boat was shaken when the human-sized, sphere of light suddenly stopped centimeters away from the boat's roof, but the rush of air produced an impact wave that made all systems on the EC go awry and the engines shut down.

Colette and Presea went down to the floor and looked back to see the light hovering up their transport suddenly release a light pulse and a flash. The two covered their eyes and when they opened they saw a girl who looked around Colette's age softly land on the boat.

She didn't have any shoes on and used long, midnight-blue leggings that formed a triangle over the top of her feet and had golden lining. She also used arm-length gloves of the same color and design that drew a triangle on the back of her hands, leaving the fingers uncovered. The rest of her attire consisted of snow-white laces and a robe that covered the black, form-fitting suit she wore underneath them and showed off her body's still-in-development curves and small, perky breasts.

The girl had brilliant, green eyes, short, black hair and markings on the exposed skin of her arms. She also possessed pointed ears that would have denounced her as a half-elf, weren't it for a small detail: three pairs of ethereal wings sprouted from her back. She also had Cruxis' symbol tattooed on her left cheek.

"Hi there!" the angel girl said in a rather cheery voice, although that only made Presea and Colette tense. "You two must be part of the reincarnated Summon Spirits group, right?" she asked with a smile.

"Um... yeah?" Colette hesitantly said, ready to enter in Spirit Form at a moment's notice.

"Great! Name's Raya. Seraphim of Punishment," when speaking her title, her smile suddenly turned a malicious one as her expression and tone morphed into a dangerous one. Presea didn't lose any time to enter in Spirit form after the girl proclaimed herself as a Cruxis agent. "Oh, isn't that just sexy?" Raya said her expression still dangerous although her tone sounded a little lecherous. "I wonder if you're a screamer," she licked her lips, making Colette feel an unfamiliar feeling come up inside her.

It was then the rest of the group came after asserting that it would take some time to restart the engines and reactivate the EC's navigation system. They gasped at seeing the Seraphim, Lloyd and Sheena immediately entering in Spirit form.

"Cruxis..." Kratos breathed as Mithos, who was behind him, gasped.

"I think I don't need to say what you all are accused of, do I?" Raya said, her tone now reverting back to a cheery one.

"What do you want?!" Sheena demanded.

"Oh, so feisty... you all gave quite the trouble to Gaelius, so, it just happens that our Lord decided to wrap this thing up and sent me," she pointed to herself, making a pose. "So... prepare for your punishment," she then resumed her dangerous smile and tone as she reached to her back and drew a pair of gilded, orange rapiers with runic inscriptions along the edges and golden handles with dark onyxes at the center.

Lloyd, Sheena, Presea and Colette felt the power coursing through those blades and realized they were up against Runeblades once more.

_Do all of the Seraphim use these? _Lloyd wondered.

Raya was upon them in the blink of an eye. Lloyd and the others barely registered her movements as the Seraphim attacked. They all knew magic wouldn't do any good against such an adversary so they launched coordinated attacks when they found an opening.

Presea took the front, using all of her speed to keep Raya occupied while Lloyd and Sheena took the sides, charging their weapons with their respective elements and preparing to attack. Raya, however, only smiled a sweet smile as she jumped into the air, opening her wings and saying in a sickly sweet tone while shaking her finger:

"No, no. It's no good if you gang up on me."

Presea didn't stop to listen to that and hurled one of her hand axes at the girl, who batted it away with her weapon and soon found herself surrounded by Lloyd and Sheena. The two flew to engage, but the Seraphim simply dived, zeroing on Colette, who entered in Spirit Form and prepared to fight.

It was then a large column of water hit Raya and pushed her to the other side of the EC.

Colette looked back and saw Raine there, already in her Spirit form. The silver haired woman then spoke:

"It would be best if you left this fight to us, Colette. The only metal around is the one of the ship, and we don't know what would happen if you were to extract it."

"Ouchie," Raya spoke as she got up and saw the reincarnated Summon Spirits, minus Colette, gather before her. "Oh, so the entire gang came together. Nice!" she said, with her malicious smile in place and liking her lips. "I always loved dishing out group punishment."

_Man, she sounds like an angel version of Alice. _Sheena thought with a shudder.

"So… ready to scream?" before anyone could move, Raya dashed forward, blades poised to attack. "Millennium Storm!" she stopped at a short distance from the group and started to executed several thrusts at incredible speed, forcing Lloyd and the others to use all of their coordination to block or dodge the attacks.

Raine jumped behind, since she was the least nimble of the group, while Sheena and Presea either avoided or blocked the incessant rain of thrusts upon them. Lloyd resorted to mostly block, but suffered some minor cuts, which were quickly multiplying. Kratos could barely see the blurs that were the arms of the Seraphim of Punishment.

Raya ended the attack by thrusting one of her rapiers forward in a violent motion. The blade itself wasn't what hit the three reincarnated Summon Spirits, but the impact wave unleashed from the Runeblade. Lloyd, Sheena and Presea were thrown in the air, which gave Raya the opening she needed to advance using her incredible speed and execute an upward cut on Lloyd, followed by several slashes, kicks and ending in a hammer blow to his midsection that threw him onto the boat again.

"Blade Dancer!" Sheena retaliated, summoning eight blades of light. Raya only smiled and let the ninja come. All blades shattered when Sheena swung them at the Seraphim, who blocked with her Runeblades. "Ring Bea…" she thrust her hand forward only to find that Raya teleported and reappeared behind her. Sheena barely avoided being impaled, having her side cut by the rapier Runeblade as she tried to dodge.

Spirals of darkness then rose and engulfed the Seraphim, throwing her further up. Exactly below her was Presea with her arms crossed in an X, holding her hand axes as she closed her eyes. Raya, however, emitted a pulse of power that dispelled the darkness and turned to Presea:

"Screw Dive!" she shot to the Warrior of the Deep Abyss at high speed, spiral lines of her power being left behind.

"NO! Stop her, or she will sink the ship!" Kratos warned.

Presea obeyed and blocked the attack, although the impact made the EC bob up and down in the waves. Raine fought not to get sick by the motion, being unable to concentrate with that. The General of Unity decided he had enough of that fight and got his communicator out:

"Bring the A.D.A. up here, ASAP!"

Mithos only looked in curiosity, before seeing Presea swing her weapon at Raya, who flew off effortlessly. Sheena then teleported behind her and tried to apply a Demon Seal on the Seraphim's back… just for Raya to teleport right when the Radiant Maiden was swinging her arm and reappearing behind her.

"Impact Arrow!" Raya thrust her Runeblade forward and hit Sheena in the center of her back, throwing her to Presea. Several light arrows appeared around the sword of the Seraphim and shot to the reincarnated Luna.

"Abyss' Eye!" Presea hugged Sheena and pronounced her defensive Arte, enveloping the two in a purple, bubble like shield with Shadow's emblem on the front, which repelled the light arrows. Raya reappeared in front of them and prepared to break the barrier…

"Brutal Maim!" Lloyd was upon her and unleashed three fire Beasts on the Seraphim, ending with a needle dive that created an explosion.

That gave the rest of the group the time to jumped back, but as Lloyd was floating back he felt something behind him and turned to see a silver, ethereal iron maiden materializing behind him. His eyes widened as he stopped before he ended up entering it. It was then he saw Raya rushing to him with a bloodthirsty smile on her face. Before the Wielder of Victory's Flame could defend himself, Raya kicked him into the ethereal iron maiden, which closed once he got inside.

"Sinner's Cage!" Raya disappeared and reappeared above the iron maiden, grabbing the ring on top and starting to beat it on the roof of the EC. Lloyd's painful grunts and yelps could be heard as he was violently thrown inside. Raya finished by spinning the magical projection of the torture device above her head and smashing it against the floor, breaking the iron maiden like it was made out of glass with Lloyd falling out.

A black hole then rushed to the Seraphim, but Raya already took flight when Presea came out of it in a Dark Tempest. The Seraphim of Punishment teleported again and reappeared near Presea, flying to her with the speed of a bullet. Presea defended, but Raya teleported again and repeated the attack several times, eventually catching Presea off guard and finishing by beating her with her two Runeblades, sending the girl flying back to the EC.

"Ah. Your screams are so dreamy," Raya said as she floated back to the EC. Her expression was one of pure rapture and bliss, like inflicting pain on them brought great pleasure to her. "I want to hear them more."

"Bliss!" Raine casted a healing spell over her three companions and suddenly they didn't feel their powers leaving them anymore through their wounds.

Raya noticed the change and pouted as she said:

"Hey! That's no fair if you cure them!"

"Thanks Raine," Lloyd said, ignoring the Seraphim.

_Yes, but I didn't actually cure the damage made by her Runeblades, only enclosed the wounds with a layer of magical protection that stops the loss of power. _Raine thought. _Even so… _she looked at her hands, surprised that she managed to cast something of that level without even a weapon. Looking at the markings over her body, she then understood. _In my Spirit Form my body itself becomes a magical focus. That's certainly useful._

"You know what?" Raya said. "If you're going to cheat, then I'll have to enforce the rules..." Lloyd and Sheena grit their teeth, not liking the sound of that. They then saw a glowing circle appearing beneath the angel-girl's feet. "And wipe off the board."

They knew what she was about to do and knew they wouldn't have time to stop her. When Raya was about to cast Judgment and send the ship with its entire crew to the bottom of the sea, the group heard the sound of something being charged.

An energy blast hit Raya and suddenly she wasn't charging her angelic spell anymore, but was on the floor screaming, her entire body being electrocuted as she hugged herself, trembling.

"Take her weapons away, NOW!" Lloyd heard his father yell.

They didn't need to be ordered twice. Sheena and Presea were so fast the two became a blur and suddenly Raya's Runeblades were violently beaten out of her hands, flying through the air and clattering on the middle of the EC's roof. The Seraphim's multicolored wings blinked out of existence.

"M-My wings! My powers!" Raya exclaimed when the currents passed and she could speak again. She looked up. "What did you damn humans do?!"

Lloyd and the others looked at Kratos, but their attention rested on the two Renegades besides him carrying what looked like a large rifle, which was being supported on the deck stair's last step. Kratos smiled at his subordinates, giving them a "good job" before he looked at the Seraphim of Punishment, who had a light kunai and a hand ax poised against her neck.

"This is the A.D.A." Kratos said, motioning to the gun. "The Aura Disruptive Artillery rifle. Developed by the Weapons Research Division of the Renegades. A special rifle made to disrupt the vibrations of one's aura, thus interrupting any casting and preventing magical usage for sometime. We originally planned to test it against the demons, but since you decided to come here and threaten my son…"

Kratos' tone was cold and serious, like one of a judge passing a sentence on the guilty. Lloyd never thought his dad looked so cool as of now.

"You have some answers to give and I suggest you give them, because my son's girlfriend looks very cross by the fact you threatened him," Kratos continued, pointing to Sheena, who really looked like she wanted nothing more than to pass that light kunai on the neck of the angel-girl and separate her head from the body.

Even so, Raya recovered and gave him one of her malicious smile as she said:

"Really now? And what if I don't wanna?" her answer was an ax blow to her back that made she fall forward, courtesy of Presea. She looked up to the Warrior of the Deep Abyss.

"You threatened Colette too," Presea said, her tone colder than ice and her eyes promising much worse.

Raya's smile resumed and that started to worry the group.

"Who said I was going to kill her? My orders were to kill the rest of you. She gets the special treatment."

After that many things happened at once.

Colette yelled as the sound a spell hitting its target was heard, followed by the thump of a body.

The Renegades carrying the A.D.A. were thrown overboard with the rifle.

Kratos was knocked back by a sphere of light exploding against his chest.

Raine was incapacitated by a punch on her stomach, charged with enough power for her to lose air and revert back to human form, falling on heap in the floor.

A white blur passed by Sheena and Presea before they could react, leaving a gash on their sides that soon exploded with powerful lights, throwing them to the sides and forcing them back to their human forms.

And the responsible for it all was there, at the end of the EC, arms extended and things that looked like razor sharp, multicolored, ethereal wings coming out of his wrists. Lloyd saw he straighten himself, the wrist-wings disappearing as he turned to regard Lloyd with his green eyes and an empty expression the Wielder of Victory's Flame never saw on them before.

"M-Mithos…" was all Lloyd could say as his friend stood there, unmoving, acting like there was nothing special on his actions, like this was routine to him.

"Azeal's Cleanse," Mithos casted a spell, a runic circle appearing below Raya, bathing her with a pearl-white glow.

The Seraphim of Punishment's wings reappeared and she moved with that blinding speed again, grabbing her Runeblade rapiers and sheathing them before she caught the unconscious Colette on human form. She then turned and gave Mithos a beaming expression of pure admiration:

"Thank you, Lord Yggdrasil!"

"Ygg… drasil?" Lloyd asked, confused as he looked from Raya to Mithos.

Sheena and Presea were coming to themselves when Mithos gave Lloyd a mocking, condescending smile.

"Thanks for your help, Lloyd," he said. "You made this so easy that I started to wonder how come I've had so much difficulty tracking her down."

"'Tracking her'? Mithos, what the hell are you talking about?!" Lloyd got up. "Why did you attack Colette and Sheena and… !" he stopped speaking and suddenly he was gurgling as he felt something trespass his body. Looking down, Lloyd saw the point of one of Raya's Runeblades sticking out of his belly. He could only look behind with wide eyes as he saw the serious, cold look on the girl's face.

"Who are you to even think you have any right to address to Lord Yggdrasil in this manner, human trash?"

"Give him a rest, Raya," Mithos said in a nonchalant tone, like Raya hadn't just attacked Lloyd in a brutal way.

Sheena only took bits of the conversation, but when the Seraphim stabbed Lloyd through the stomach, she could only look in horror as his clothes and form started to fickle between human and Spirit. Finally it resumed to human as Raya took the sword out of Lloyd's body, blood quickly coming out as he could only look in surprise.

"LLOOOYYDD!" Sheena ran to him and knelled near her boyfriend who was lying in a quickly expanding puddle of his blood. She looked around and saw that Raine had been knocked out, although she was moving a bit. Her sight then rested on Mithos and the Seraphim of Punishment that joined his side with Colette slung over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Mithos, what the hell is this?!"

"What? Haven't you get it yet, or is getting in his pants all that you're good at?" Mithos jabbed with that mocking smile of his.

"What?!"

"In that case, let me show you."

Raine had finally woken in time to witness Mithos' aura starting to agitate and its range extend. Before, his aura vibrated so weakly everybody would assume he was a common person, but then it expanded in an exponential rate, wind starting to pick up around the EC.

"Carius Seal: Release!" an explosion of power hit all of the members of the group and even woke up Kratos. The wind got so strong they had to hold onto the floor or use their powers to not get blown away. It was like trying to stand at the center of a storm.

_What is this?! How could he be hiding such power?! _was everything Raine could think. Even Presea looked surprised at sensing the explosion of power on Mithos' aura.

When it finally ended, the group felt like their own auras were trying to keep another, very powerful one from consuming them. The reincarnate Spirits looked at Mithos and were surprised to see it was not only his aura that changed.

Mithos' entire form changed. Where once had been a teenage boy now stood a man with mid-length blond hair and pupil less green eyes. His attire was basically a white, form-fitting bodysuit with golden lining and designs. Sharp-looking, multicolored, ethereal wings came out of his sleeves on his wrists and on his back sprouted a large pair of majestic wings of the same consistency and colors.

The man looked at them with a condescending smile and pose, floating inches above the ground. He spoke on a more masculine and grave voice, very different from the almost effeminate, prepubescent one Mithos used:

"This is the first time I have released my seal on Aselia. I think you can probably guess why it is not often I do that."

Indeed they could. An aura of that level being released would be sensed from kilometers away and with the way the world was, they wouldn't be surprised if every half-elf across the globe hadn't felt at least a bit of it. Mithos then continued:

"I am Mithos Yggdrasil. I am the Holy Lord of Cruxis and leader of the Four Seraphim; the Seraphim of Enlightenment."

"Holy… Lord of Cruxis?" Kratos repeated.

"Y… you…" Lloyd tried to speak, just to end up coughing up blood. Raine saw that and ran to him, casting a healing spell as fast as she could.

"Don't try to speak!" Raine adverted him, but Lloyd insisted.

"Why?" was all he could get out amidst the pain.

Mithos only smiled and spoke:

"Because I needed to find Colette and you just happened to be there. As for why I deceived you, I think you already know the answer."

Lloyd looked down, seeming disappointed in himself. Even so, Mithos went on:

"'_The ties of hatred between the half-elves and the humans are stronger than those of friendship'_. Did you really think that just because I saw you as a friend that automatically redeemed all sins of your species? How sad… and naïve. You yourself aren't even completely human to begin with."

"SHUT UP!" Sheena shouted at him, tears in her eyes. "Lloyd believed in you… he trusted you… and this is how you repay it?!"

"Didn't Presea warn you not to trust me?" Yggdrasil talked back. "I even supported her claim, but you, being the naïve fools you are, didn't listen to her. Isn't that right, Presea?" Mithos then turned to the woman in question, who got up and looked from Lloyd's form to Mithos and then to Raya who was carrying Colette over her shoulder.

She didn't seem to pay attention to that as she transformed into Spirit Form and pointed her hand ax at him and said in a cold, serious tone:

"Let Colette go."

"No," Yggdrasil simply said. The next moment he was holding Presea's hand ax with his bare hand. A dark wave emanated from the weapon, but all it seemed to make was blow Yggdrasil's hair. "Is that all you have? To somebody who seemed so intent on carrying out her threat that's rather disappointing."

He then shoved her ax away and spun while she was still recovering her balance, slashing at Presea' leg with his wrist-wings. The Warrior of the Deep Abyss could feel the injury burning like it was on fire. Mithos then proceeded to kick her in the face, making she skid on the ground to near the others.

"Are you done? Then if you don't mind, I'll take Colette away now."

"You're not getting away…" Presea started, but Mithos shot a light sphere on her that blew the reincarnated Shadow away. Her weapons flew out of her hands, clattering on the ground.

"How stubborn of you. You could barely fight Raya and think you are in position to stop me?"

Sheena made motion to get up and go after them, but Mithos pointed at Lloyd and that stopped the Radiant Maiden. She understood the message; if she tried anything, Mithos wouldn't hesitate to kill Lloyd.

The Lord of Cruxis and his Seraphim then took flight, quickly leaving the EC behind and taking Colette with them. Presea could only look as they left with the girl that she liked without her being able to do anything.

Kratos cursed and took out his communicator, asking the cabin if they were ready to depart.

"We fixed the engines and rescued the men on sea. We are just awaiting your command General Aurion," the crewman answered.

"Follow those angels!" Kratos ordered.

"It's not going to do any good," Raine said as she was still trying to keep Lloyd stable. She looked to the skies. The two Seraphim were just dots now. "They are already too far ahead and we don't have the necessary power to fight them back with Lloyd in this state."

Sheena stomped her foot and swore aloud, feeling frustrated and angry. She couldn't believe Cruxis had taken Colette on her watch. She couldn't even do anything to stop them:

_DAMN IT! What do they want with Colette?! That bastard Mithos! If I get ever my hands on him again, I'll…_ her thoughts went on as she impotently raged.

Presea, however was just staring at the tiny points that were Mithos and Raya in the sky. The scene kept playing in her head over and over: how Mithos called her friends fools and then proceeded to take her most precious person away, batting Presea aside like she was a bug when she tried to rescue Colette.

_No… No! _ she slowly got up, attracting the attention of Kratos, Sheena and Raine. _I won't allow it... I won't allow it… _suddenly her hair started flapping away as dark winds seemed to emanate from her feet. _I won't allow them to take Colette! I won't allow another person dear to me die!_

Presea then screamed and darkness erupted from her back, surprising all those present. The darkness then started to take the shape of two, great wings with charcoal-black feathers. Aqua and Ignis appeared and had to protect themselves against the winds.

"Wings?! But I thought she didn't have them!" Ignis let out.

"She doesn't!" Aqua said. "It's a remnant of Shadow's shape shifting technique!"

Without waiting for anybody, Presea took flight after Mithos, ignoring protests from Sheena and the others. Raine was speechless from what she just saw and Sheena was left equally dumbfounded. Kratos was the first to recover and yell at his communicator:

"What are you all waiting for?! Follow her, NOW!"

* * *

No skit this time, sorry.

Anyway, we're approaching the end of this act. Stay tunned for the confrontation next chapter!


	43. Defiance

Hey people! College's semester is finally over and I can dedicate a little more to write.

Anyway First there are some things I would like to answer in the reviews:

- 1st: As for me focusing so much on the description of auras. Well... the name of the fic _is_ "Spirits and Demons" and although it is market on the general genre, it is only because it involves many genres at once, one of the most prominent being spiritual (what with ethereal guardians and reincarnation). As such, it will take some time to describe this aspect, since it is very important not only to magic, but also concerning the demons.

- 2nd: About Nebilim not taking the front. I can't say much about it without committing HUGE spoilers for the end. Let's just say it is all going according to his plans. What is plans are or what is driving him? That you will only know near the end of the fic.

Anyway, that's it. Oh, and before we begin, here is the skit I owed you all from the last chapter:

This one is between Lloyd, Sheena, Raine, Colette, Presea and Aqua and occurs sometime at the begging of the previous chapter

Traumas

Raine: Really, why couldn't I be the Summon Spirit of lightning or even Maxwell or something?! Any other is fine by me. Why did it have to be Undine?!

Aqua: You know, it is quite ironic the reincarnation of the Summon Spirit of water would have hydrophobia.

Colette: I think it is pretty sad. I mean, isn't there something we could do?

Sheena: These things take time to overcome Colette, generally years of treatment. Raine might have all this time, but I don't see how we can find a good therapist.

Presea: We could always try to encourage her.

Sheena: Hey, I know what! Lloyd, go talk to her.

Lloyd: M-me?! Why me?

Sheena: Because she seems to answer better when you are the one doing the talk.

Lloyd *sigh*: Alright, but don't get angry with me if anything happens latter. Um, Raine?

Raine: Honestly, I know some ruins are sunken, but… oh. Um… hello Lloyd. What is it?

Lloyd: I… just wanted you to know… you don't need to go through this alone. We all support you. And if you're afraid of your duties, you just have to say it and we will cover for you.

Raine *looking down*: Lloyd…

Lloyd: We all know you have this hydro-thingy, so if you want, we can always postpone your awakening as Summon Spirit.

Raine: We both know that is impossible. If we are to defeat Nebilim, all of us have to be awakened as Summon Spirits.

Lloyd: Yeah… well… you know, as a Summon Spirit you would have unlimited time to study ruins and such.

Raine: I thought of that, but… *sigh* Forget it. It's useless to stay dwelling on something you know is inevitable. But, anyway, thanks for the support Lloyd.

Lloyd *smiling*: It was nothing.

Raine: Also, transmit to Sheena my thanks and tell her that should anything happen in the future, she can't come over blaming me.

Lloyd: Ok… *confused* wait, what?!

Sheena: Damn, she's sharp. … wait. What did she mean with "can't blame her"?

Aqua: Wonder when this will turn into a soap opera.

Colette: Oh, I love those! Have you ever read the one titled "A Night in Altamira"?

Aqua: Actually, I did. It is based on the TV version, though.

Colette, Lloyd, Presea & Sheena *confused*: What's a TV?

Aqua *sighing*: Where's Ventus when you need him?

WARNING: Yuri scene ahead, just to remind you.

* * *

**Chapter 39**

**Defiance**

How, when, why… none of those mattered to Presea at the moment.

How she just grew wings and the ability to fly? She didn't care.

When did she gain that ability? She didn't care.

Why did it suddenly manifested? Well… to that last one she might have the answer. But right now, she didn't care either.

What she _did_ care was to keep the two Seraphim within her sights and herself out of their range. Once they landed, she would kill those two and rescue Colette, consequences be damned. She might have been acting a little rashly, considering her rational part was screaming at her about the foolishness of even considering she could take on Raya, let alone Mithos, by herself.

Again, she didn't care.

Her mind was narrow at the moment and her vision became tunneled. There was a single objective in her mind and that was rescuing Colette. All else was secondary.

She idly noted they had reached the continent and were near the mountains at the west of Ozette. But what would Mithos and Raya want in that region?

Her answer soon came when the air ahead of the two angels suddenly seemed to shift and Presea felt something that she hadn't felt there before, like it had suddenly came into existence: a great agitation of magical power.

Then what she could only call a "hole" opened in the middle of the air and suddenly she could see something else ahead in the space where before there was only empty sky. She realized the "hole" was closing and pressed her flight speed, barely making it. Even though she was in a hurry to save Colette, Presea couldn't help, but gasp at what she saw.

Not too distant from where she had entered in that barrier stood a giant, sky-piercing, ash-white tower. Presea could see countless symbols along its extension and not even her sight could reach the top of the structure. It was like it went beyond the skies of that world.

Presea shuddered at the sight of that architectural gargantuan. There was something about that tower that she didn't like. Plus, there was some kind of aura around it and…

She then remembered why she had come and looked below to see Mithos and Raya had already landed and were walking through some ethereal, magical steps to the base of the tower, which seemed to be supported by three large extensions of the tower's main body (although Presea knew that wasn't true, because, no matter how many supports it could employ, a construction that tall would have never stood without collapsing on itself).

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss stood floating around the tower, observing as Mithos put his hand on something that looked like a stone tablet near the smooth wall at the platform in the end of the path. An archway appeared out of thin air near the wall of the tower and the two Seraphim walked into the blinding white space under the entrance.

Presea landed and dissolved her wings into darkness, which returned to her body, and ran to the passage before it closed. When she passed the archway she suddenly found herself inside what she could only describe as another dimension.

_There's no way a tower's inside would look like it, unless this is an illusion. _Presea thought at seeing the endless, green space around her as she stood on a transparent pathway that had pillars on its edges, delimitating the blue "tiles" that composed the path.

There were some hexagon-shaped rocks full of runes floating around and what looked like two spirals made out of brown stone with moss on its top. The spirals encompassed the path where Presea was. When she looked bellow, her heart practically stopped as her eyes widened.

Below her, floating in circles that lessened their radius as they went down, were several blue coffins with a green, human-shaped form painted on their tops and several orange straps that seemed to keep the coffins closed. Presea felt several emotions at the visage, emotions she thought had abandoned her long ago. Between them, the most prominent was fear.

Why were those coffins there? Who was inside them? Would Colette end up in one once Mithos used her for whatever he wanted her for? All those questions came to Presea and each answer she could think of made fear arise in her heart.

_I have to save her, before its too late. _Presea urged herself as she tore her eyes from the circle of coffins and saw what looked like a transporter ahead of her.

The reincarnated Shadow took it and she soon found herself in what looked like an upper section of the tower. The environment around was still the same, only without the coffins and now she saw what looked like an elevated altar ahead of her. On top of it was Colette, still unconscious.

"Colette!" Presea called, but the blonde couldn't hear her.

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss ran to her friend. Quickly taking one of the two flights of stairs that led to the altar. She never noticed the fact that they were apparently alone until Mithos, still in his adult form, appeared in front of her, with his hand outstretched and a sphere of light on its palm. She just had enough time to stop and let out an exclamation of surprise before the powerful explosion of her opposing element threw her back as the light sphere hit her.

Presea grunted as she hit the floor. She gritted her teeth and looked up to see Mithos floating down to her level, but still hovering over the ground as he looked at her with that condescending smile.

"You didn't really believe I wouldn't have noticed, did you? Raya and me knew you were tailing us ever since we left your rag tag band of friends behind," the leader of Cruxis said in that adult voice of his. "However, I'm still surprised you actually came alone. Is it because you're so confident on your powers that it borders on arrogance, or is it our of sheer desperation?" Presea glared at him. "No. With you it is certainly to former."

"Give Colette BACK!" Presea shouted as she got up and quickly charged at Yggdrasil, only for the Holy Lord of Cruxis to disappear and reappear behind her, slashing at her back with his razor-sharp, wrist wing.

The burning pain was followed by an explosion of light as Mithos' power attacked her even after the blow. Presea went to the ground again as Yggdrasil stood behind her, his arm still stretched as he looked down upon her with that same smile that was so quickly irritating her.

"As you can see, you're nowhere near capable of demanding such things from me. If I were you, I would drop the defiant tone and simply accept the truth," in response to that Presea gripped her hand axes tighter, something that Yggdrasil noticed. "Why are you so intend on rescuing the girl, anyway? It can't be out of sheer friendship. No one would go that far for that."

"And who are you to talk about friendship after betraying the one that considered himself your friend?" Presea spat back as she got up.

"I never asked for him to be my friend, but I have to admit it was… convenient. You should know that, after all, you too are not a human," Presea threw her hand ax at him. Yggdrasil simply put his hand up and the weapon was deflected by an invisible barrier. "Please…"

Presea grit her teeth in frustration, only now truly realizing she had no way to defeat the being in front of her. She could only stall Gaelius when she fought against him and Yggdrasil was in a level of his own. The difference of power between the two was monstrous.

The pink haired woman cast a quick glance at Colette's still form, a glance that did not go unnoticed by Yggdrasil:

"What is that?" Presea looked back at him as his expression turned into a curious frown. "Don't tell me you actually…" at her silence and her angry frown, Yggdrasil's expression became surprised. "So… you really do feel for this girl," he then smirked at that. "My, my. I knew there was something familiar with your eyes; they're the eyes of a reject. But in your case, society rejected you because of your sexuality."

Presea stared at Yggdrasil. She wouldn't let him know how that subject was still sore to her. At least that victory she could take from him.

"Isn't this interesting? We're both paragons of rejection, yet we are in opposing sides of the same field."

"Then…" Presea spoke, deciding to try an idea that came to her. Lloyd and the others would certainly protest if they ever heard of it, but… "Take me in Colette's place," she would do anything to protect her.

"Oh. So, you are ready to sacrifice yourself for the girl you love?"

"Yes…" she answered simply, lowering her guard, but not letting go of her weapons.

Yggdrasil smirked at that, clearly pleased with the outcome of this situation. He then spoke in a challenging tone:

"Then show me. Show me how much you love this girl. Get on your knees and beg for her life."

Presea knew what he was playing at. Mithos believed humans were arrogant and would never bow for the sake of anyone, but themselves. He believed she would refuse.

_He's in for a rude waking then. _Presea thought as she got on her knees and lowered her head, momentarily catching Yggdrasil's surprised expression. "I beg of you… please, let Colette go."

To the Warrior of the Deep Abyss, pride was something she didn't need. It was foolish and useless and a feeling she didn't need. Not if it would cost someone's life. Not if it would cost Colette's life. If bowing to her enemies would ensure her crush's survival then she would do it.

"No," Yggdrasil answered in a tone of finality after recovering… and soon had to stop Presea's two hand axes from biting the skin on his neck.

Bow Presea might do, but if she knew it was useless then she would fight. She didn't mind humiliation, it had been a constant companion through all those years she spent on Ozette, but she wouldn't be anyone's doormat anymore.

_That's not what Colette would want._

Yggdrasil pushed her back with great strength, but Presea landed and turned to him. If fighting was what it took to save Colette, then she would fight even if it had to be in a death match against a Grand Demon Lord.

"Huh… so you insist on this foolishness. What a confusing little one you are," Yggdrasil spoke.

"If you won't give Colette back willingly, then I'll kill you to get to her," Presea said in her icy, serious tone.

"You're welcome to try… that is, if you can survive."

Yggdrasil waved his hand and several light blasts flew at Presea, who avoided them all and closed on the Holy Lord of Cruxis just for him to teleport. She activated her Spiritual Sight and could see the flow of energy around her, with Yggdrasil coming behind her.

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss ducked under the wing swipe and quickly rotated, bringing her hand ax up and slashing Yggdrasil across his chest. However, there was no damage visible on the Seraphim Leader, not even his white outfit had a tear on it.

"Outburst!" Yggdrasil adjusted himself parallel with the ground and touched on it, quickly discharging an abhorrent amount of his power, creating a explosion dome that threw Presea away and burned her aura with light. "Holy Lance!"

Instead of defending or even adjusting herself in the air, Presea "dove" in the ground, escaping the spell as the black hole in the floor positioned itself under Yggdrasil, who teleported at the last possible moment.

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss emerged and was soon surprised by the angel teleporting near her and backhanding her in the face. She felt like she had been hit by a truck at full speed and was launched away.

"Death Eater!" the Seraphim Leader put his hand on the ground and several light beams fell, some hitting Presea and forcing her to the ground. Yggdrasil teleported once more and prepared to cast Outburst right on her, when Presea decided she had enough.

"Bloody Tornado!" several dark tendrils came from the ground around her in spiral and hit Mithos dead on, interrupting his casting. Presea grabbed his face and discharged a great amount of darkness right on it, blinding the angel. "Beast's Maw!"

She momentarily let go of his face only to call her hand axes and align the two perpendicularly with her body, one up and one down. She quickly charged them and swung them. The pressure in the air around her weapons became filled with darkness that started to take the shape of two rows of giant, dark, monstrous teeth that close right on the Holy Lord of Cruxis.

Presea followed the attack with blinking fast strikes from her axes, leaving trails of darkness behind that sucked Yggdrasil's power and energy as the darkness clung to his body. She was going to drown the bastard in her darkness until he was completely drained from even his vital energy.

"Is that all?" came Yggdrasil's calm voice.

Suddenly, Presea was launched backwards by a powerful pulse of Yggdrasil's aura into a nearby pillar, breaking half of it and letting that fall to the abyss below them. The reincarnated Shadow tried to get up, but Yggdrasil was suddenly upon her, viciously kicking and punching, keeping a straight face all the while.

"Iris' Chains!" Yggdrasil shot his hand up, palm open as several light chains extended from his palm around him in a dome formation. They caught Presea and suddenly all of them were binding her as Yggdrasil pulled the reincarnated Shadow and made she hit the altar, pulling her again and throwing her against the stairs. All the while, Presea felt like she was burning from the inside at the places where the golden, light chains were touching her.

Yggdrasil finished by throwing the woman at the ground, creating an impact crater. Presea let out a mute exclamation of pain as the chains dissolved. She tried to get up, but felt her legs and arms suddenly seem to shorten and then enlarge again.

Looking at herself, the reincarnated Shadow saw some of her limbs covered in darkness, which made them shrink or grow alternatively. She knew what that meant. With all the fighting, Presea's powers were at their limit and she soon wouldn't be able to maintain her Spirit form, reverting back to her human one.

"Is that the extend of a reincarnated Summon Spirit's power? How sad…" Yggdrasil taunted. "If that's the case, there is no need to keep you around. Disappear."

He raised his hand summoning a sword of light on it, ready to cleave Presea… until a metal chakra impacted with his wrist, making him let go of it and turn just for another one to impact with his face. Yggdrasil held his nose, although it wasn't broken.

Looking up, the two saw Colette, already in Spirit form and with two chakras on her hands.

"Get away from Presea!" the blonde demanded as the pink haired woman whispered her name.

"So you woke up. I should have known a mere sleep spell wouldn't hold you down for long," Yggdrasil mumbled. "However…" he then pointed his hand to Presea. "You are in no position to…"

"Earth Cage!" Colete interrupted him, immediately casting an earth spell that made a dome of rocks quickly close around Mithos before he could attack Presea. Several stone spikes attempted to skewer him inside the dome, but all broke upon contact against the angel's body.

Yggdrasil easily broke the cage with a pulse of his aura, reducing it to rubble. He then saw Colette was already helping Presea up. The blonde was about to ask if her friend was feeling ok, but decided it would be quite stupid considering their situation. Instead she turned to Yggdrasil and asked:

"Why are you doing this Mithos?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I need you and she refuses to hand you over," the angel said, soon adding with a sly smile. "You must be quite proud of having such an… _devoted _admirer."

Colette blushed despite the situation, but shook her head to recover her cool. She looked again to Presea and knew they had to leave immediately, but there was no exit in sight and the device she saw on the floor appeared to be deactivated.

"Presea, can you take us out?" Colette discreetly asked while keeping her eyes on the Holy Lord of Cruxis.

Presea _looked _around. She could see it: a little fissure, almost imperceptible, but it was there. If she could widen it, maybe she could break through whatever spell Cruxis used to make the interior of the tower like this.

"I might be able to… LOOK OUT!" she jumped in front of Colette and stopped a slash from Yggdrasil's wrist-wings.

"I'll hold him off. You do what you must!" Colette said, throwing her chakra at Yggdrasil, who dodged. She soon went after him throwing producing and dividing chakras as Yggdrasil batted them all away or deflected them with his invisible shield.

He then teleported, but Presea decided she wasn't going to let that happen to Colette:

"Negative Field!" a sphere of purple energy emanated from Presea and Yggdrasil was forced to reappear, looking a bit confused.

That was all Colette needed as she ran and punched him in the stomach with all force she could muster. Even she was surprised when the white-clad angel flew back like a rocket and smashed into the right stairway creating a crater on it.

As she looked at it, Colette suddenly sensed something. She only had a second to put up her Terra's Shield and stop Mithos' Miguel Blades, which bounced back. Yggdrasil then shot out of the rubble and slashed at Colette, who dodged and ducked under his attacks, sometimes blocking it with her chakra when he got too close.

Yggdrasil then kicked her to the ground, and before he could go after Presea, Colette put her hand in the floor and two stone slates came up, closing on Yggdrasil. However, due to the angel's protection, the two slates broke and exploded when they touched him.

_Magic won't work on him_. Colette thought.

The Holy Lord of Cruxis charged and quickly released a Photon spell. Colette blocked it with her Terra's Shield Arte once more.

"Presea?!" Colette called.

She looked and saw Presea's axes glowing with a purple aura, but it didn't seem so strong compared to what Colette normally felt from the pink haired, adult-turned girl.

_She's too weak from the battle with Mithos. _the Keeper of Terra's Oath realized, mentally berating at herself for being so stupid.

"COLETTE!" Presea called and swung her axes, sending blades of darkness to near Colette, who turned and saw Yggdrasil dodging them when he tried to attack her.

The Warrior of the Dark Abyss came to Colette's side, trying to defend her, but it was clear to the blonde that Presea wouldn't be able to do so. They had to get out of there and fast. But how?

It was then an idea came to Colette. She didn't know if it would work, but it was their best shot. But first…

_We have to keep Mithos occupied. _"Presea, let's attack him together," the blonde said.

Presea looked at her with an expression of confusion, but when Colette looked at her she caught the message, nodding to her crush. Yggdrasil only observed the exchange, his condescending smile never dropping:

"Are you quite done? Why don't you simply give up? You know this defiant stance of yours is futile."

"I don't think so. Spinning Wheel!" Colette imbued all power she could on her chakra and threw it.

Yggdrasil put his hand up and expected the projectile weapon to be deflected, however it pressed against his shield, trying to saw its way to him. When the Holy Lord of Cruxis had to put some power in his defenses to stop the sawing chakra, he realized something was not right here.

_Is this her true power?_

He then felt a presence behind him, but was too late to raise his other hand and form another shield when Presea came out of the floor, her hand axes already charged with her powers:

"Tearing Slasher!" Presea executed a series of quick slashes, leaving behind trails of darkness that tried to absorb Mithos' energy. The pink haired ax woman finished by joining her two hand axes and executing a cleaving attack always leaving that trail of darkness behind.

The attack worked and Yggdrasil lost the concentration, lowering his shield and the spinning chakra hit the white-clad angel on the chest, trying to tear him open, but unable to do so. Instead that gave Presea another opening to execute a quick ax spin and another, releasing a burst of dark energy that took the form of a red lion's head; her Beast Arte.

As Yggdrasil was blown away, the reincarnated Shadow returned to Colette's side. The Keeper of Terra's Oath had used that time to gather all the power she could, preparing a Mystic Arte. Presea put her hand on Colette's shoulder and transferred as much power as she could onto the girl, altering the Arte she initially intended to cast.

Yggdrasil realized that, but before he could recover from being stunned by Presea's attack, Colette had already put her hands on the ground.

"Oh mother earth…" several cracks opened beneath Yggdrasil and rocks flew at him, hitting the Seraphim leader from all sides repeatedly.

"You who cries in agony…" Presea joined the chant as Colette got up and the two held hands. The yellow lights that came from the fissure suddenly turned purple and a rush of dark energies and rocks came up, attacking Mithos.

"You who has suffered to evil…" stalagmites sprouted everywhere, breaking apart when coming into contact with the adult-looking Mithos, but the several fragments flying everywhere left him blinded and he hadn't removed Presea's seal on his teleportation ability yet.

"Let your rage be know…" the rocks that were launched up before merged into bigger chunks coated with darkness and fell on Yggdrasil like dark meteors.

"Let your sorrows be healed…" the floor shook as the yellow lights in the fissure intensified and darkness reunited above Yggdrasil's head.

"Close your fist around the hapless beings that seek your harm…" Mithos could feel strong energy coming from the ground and above him as a giant, dark, runic circle formed. The air was saturated in power.

"Cleanse the sins of those who know no better…" the Seraphim Leader's eyes widened at sensing the increase in power above and below him. He looked at the two women, but those seconds in which he was distracted was enough for them to finish their chant.

"Terra's Blades!" thousands of silver, metal blades twice the size of an adult man, and the width of one rushed out of the fissure pointing as all angles, some shattering against Yggdrasil, but others hitting him with blunt impact force. A huge column of darkness descended from the runic circle above him, seeming to devour space itself. Yggdrasil screamed in pain and frustration.

When the darkness dispersed, Colette and Presea still had their hands united as they observed the result of their Unison Arte. The silver blades turned completely dark and were arranged in a way that made look like a pit trap. There was no sign of Mithos. The two knew he was probably buried by the several blades that rose.

_But for how long? _Presea wondered.

As if on cue, they heard a rumble coming from the center of the formation, where the concentration of blades was thicker. Colette dragged Presea away, knowing the entire time that Yggdrasil wouldn't be killed by something like that. The dark blades seemed to shake as the cry of metal bending was heard.

Colette and Presea stopped near the end of the pathway that led to the teleporter to the lower section of the tower. Colette looked to Presea, who in turn looked at her. The two nodded and Presea and Colette gripped the former's hand ax with their two hands, pouring all power they could on it.

Presea knew that wasn't the most opportune time, but she couldn't help herself from thinking how warm Colette's hands were. She blushed, but that was quickly replaced by worry when the two heard the blade formation shaking even more. Presea looked back and saw some blades cracking as the rumbling and cries of metal became almost deafening.

"Presea…" Colette called her.

"Yes?" the Warrior of the Deep Abyss asked.

"Thank you," Colette gave the pink haired woman one of her trademark, radiant smiles.

Presea blushed and was about to reply, but they then heard an explosion behind. Some of the blades had been destroyed and light was coming from the center of the blade formation.

Colette and Presea swung the ax down, leaving a trail of brownish-yellow and purple power on their wake. Suddenly the ax stopped in midair, as if it had hit something and a crack in the middle of the air appeared and started to widen as the two forced the weapon down.

_I knew it. This entire place is an illusory plane. _Presea thought.

The two had been instructed by Solumn and Tenebrae on the nature of their elements and its relationship with space and magnetic forces. Darkness, according to the Centurion, was one of the so-called transcendental elements, not being bound by either time or space. As such, it could traverse both and travel beyond them.

With that knowledge in mind, Presea theorized that she would be able to cut through the illusion that composed the plane inside the tower of Cruxis. As soon as she saw it was a success, the light behind them turned into a flash. Yggdrasil had freed himself.

Not losing any time, Presea grabbed Colette, adrenaline giving her a temporary boost in strength, and jumped through the crack in the "reality". In a blink of an eye, they were back to the platform incrusted at the base of the tower, right where the gate to the inside had appeared.

"Let's go!" the Warrior of the Deep Abyss said, not wanting to waste any more time around this place.

Dark wings sprouted from her back and Colette fell on her bum at the sudden rush of wind and to avoid the wings. Before she could get up, Presea was already carrying her bridal style and taking flight to the dirt path ahead of the tower.

When they landed near the barrier that kept the tower invisible, the Keeper of Terra's Oath jumped to the ground and the two joined their hands, holding one of the Warrior of the Deep Abyss' hand axes once more. It was then they felt a powerful aura suddenly manifesting itself.

The two reincarnated Summon Spirits turned and saw the entrance to the tower had reappeared and Yggdrasil came out of it, looking peeved. The two then turned and swung the ax down, however, their aim wasn't the barrier itself. The angel saw that and started to chant an Angelic Arte, intent on not letting the two away.

"Enough of this nonsense! JUDGMENT!" several beams of light rained down on where Colette and Presea were exploding on contact with the ground, releasing strong lights.

The Holy Lord of Cruxis looked on as the lights died away… and frowned.

There was no trace of Colette and Presea…

- / - / - / - / - / -

A rift appeared in the middle of the air as a blonde girl and a pink haired woman fell out, the rift closing right behind them.

"Well… at least we're safe now," Colette said with a smile as she got up, having fallen forward again. Presea nodded.

Knowing they would never be able to breach the barrier in time, Presea used a variation of the technique that allowed her to distort the space on the ground and create a homing wormhole. However, hadn't Colette been there, she would have never been able to pull that off, due to her exhausted state.

"Colette…" she called her crush's name. Colette looked at her with a "hmm?". "Thank you. Hadn't you been there, Mithos would have killed me."

"It… it was nothing," Colette blushed as she looked down and played with a long strand of her golden hair.

"Colette…" the blonde looked up at her again. Presea took a deep breath. "There's something I've wanted to tell you for a while now."

Colette felt a little nervous at Presea's tone. On the reincarnated Shadow's part, she was fighting against her own insecurities and nervousness, but she completely disregarded those for now. Fighting Mithos had shown her she was not invincible. She also could be killed.

_If that might make Colette happy, then I'll tell her my feelings. If not, then maybe she still might let me protect her. _Presea thought. _No more hesitation. _"Colette, I like you."

"Oh…" Colette almost jumped at that. She was trying very hard not to let her thoughts take another direction, but for one moment she…

"I like you as in a strong attraction between two people."

Colette's thought process came to a screeching halt.

The blonde widened her eyes at that. Was Presea really saying she was attracted to her?

"I don't know if you might feel the same, but… if you don't… can I at least continue to protect you?" Presea started, taking Colette's silence and shocked face as a sign of rejection. "I'll keep my distance if you…"

"NO!" Colette didn't know why she suddenly screamed, but that was enough to make even Presea surprised. Colette blushed a scarlet tone at the unintended outburst and quickly tried to correct herself. "W-wait! I didn't mean it l-like that! What I'm trying to say is… I… I… do t-too!"

She thought maybe Presea wouldn't understand her, the way she stuttered and altered her volume, but from the surprised look on the pink haired woman's face, it seemed she had understood Colette perfectly.

"You mean…"

What followed was the most uncomfortable silence either of the two had ever experienced. No one knew what to talk about.

Presea was the first one to break the ice:

"Are… you sure? I mean, look at me," Colette looked up. "Half of my life I lived as an unaging freak. I killed my own father, chased my own sister away and effectively abandoned my heart and was ready to do so to my soul, only to die and escape.

"I'm… I'm a coward. I don't deserve somebody like you."

It was incredible in Colette's eyes just how that girl… that woman, could take all bad things that happened in her life and make it sound like she was the sole responsible for them. Colette could sympathize with that, because she was just the same. The only difference was, she decided she would live so she could stop those bad things from happening with other people.

But Presea, she conformed with all of that and absorbed the insults and jabs thrown at her like a sponge. It was easier to think you were responsible to all of that and play the victim of the circumstances.

The blonde then remembered something Ratatosk had once said. It had been in a vastly different context and with a different intention, but the message was the same to Colette.

"Presea…" she called and when the pink haired woman looked, Colette (in an attitude she was sure would made Maki swell with pride) kissed her full on the lips.

Presea was surprised to say the least, but, slowly, she started returning the kiss, bringing her hands up and encircling Colette's shoulders with them. The reincarnated Shadow was on auto-pilot now.

When the kiss ended, Presea's eyes were glazed and the reincarnated Gnome gave just enough space for them to look at each other's faces, although they could still feel each other's breath. Emboldened with a courage she never knew she possessed, Colette spoke:

"Don't think like that Presea. You're better than this. You're a strong woman and you're very determined. So, please, don't keep thinking everything is your fault. That is the same as playing the victim."

"But…" Presea started, but Colette interrupted her again.

"Presea, I'm telling you don't," Colette was surprised as soon as she heard the words coming out of her mouth. _What was that? Did I just order her?_

Colette had never used that tone in her whole life. She never ordered anyone or spoke with them like that. Presea only nodded and the look she gave said that she had taken Colette's words to the heart. Suddenly, Colette remembered the things Solum said about dominant companions on couples.

_Maki, wherever you are, I'm sure you must be seeing this and is rolling on the floor right now. _

The two then got up and Presea reverted back to her human form, stumbling on her own feet, but Colette caught her before she could fall. Presea thanked her and the two walked away from the barrier that kept the tower of Cruxis hidden from sight, knowing that Yggdrasil wouldn't come out unless he wanted to call a lot of attention again with his aura.

"So, should we tell the others about this?" Presea asked.

Colette thought on it. What were they now? Were they like her onee-chan and Lloyd? Or more like Emil/Ratatosk and Marta? Besides, how would they take it?

"Do you think they'll be against it?" Colette asked, worried. She didn't want to lose her friends over something like this.

"Who knows? They are surely more open minded than most people I knew. However, your mother and Sheena will surely notice the moment they see us."

"Y-You think so?!" Colette asked, blushing at the idea.

"They are very perceptive. Which reminds me, Raine and Zelos might also notice," Presea said in her neutral and analytic tone.

Colette honestly didn't know what to think. Maybe they should just come out with it already. She then remembered that Martel was her grandmother. How would she react?

_I'm getting a headache… _the reincarnated Gnome decided to wait and see how things would play.

They soon reached what looked like the coast and were surprised to see Kratos, Sheena and a few Renegades coming to them. Presea could see the EC docked on the sands in a beach some kilometer away.

"COLETTE!" Sheena called, and before the blonde could even answer, Sheena was already enveloping her in a crushing hug (though to her it felt more like a normal one). "Are you ok?! Are you hurt?! Did they do something to… ?!"

"Miss Sheena, calm down. We are fine," Presea said when seeing Colette couldn't find an opening to answer her surrogate sister's frantic questions.

"Really? Thank goodness. I thought… I thought…"

Sheena was almost crying when Colette hugged her back and tried to comfort her "sister" as much as she could. Sheena hugged back and seemed to calm down enough for Kratos to catch up. Lloyd's father looked and let out a relieved sigh in seeing the two girls were alright, though Presea seemed ready to fall on the floor.

"What happened anyway?" Sheena asked.

"Presea saved me from Mithos," Colette said.

"You did?" Presea nodded. As soon as she did that, Sheena hugged her. "Oh, thank you Presea. I swear I'll be the best sister-in-law you ever had."

That declaration made Kratos raise an eyebrow and Colette blush a scarlet tone. Presea only raised an eyebrow.

"Are you two… ?" Kratos asked, looking between the girls.

"Well, kinda…" Colette said, fidgeting.

"Oh," Kratos said, not speaking anything or using any tone that could show displeasure. If anything, his expression said that he didn't mind that.

"'Oh'? Is that all you're going to say?" Sheena asked.

"Yes. Is it a problem that I don't mind it?"

"No, far from it. I just didn't know you…"

"We should go back now," Kratos said, suddenly interrupting her and sounding… nervous?

Sheena raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and called the girls. Colette passed Presea`s arm around her shoulders, knowing the girl was struggling to remain standing. The pink haired axwoman didn't complain and let Presea guide her to the EC as she held Colette's hand in a strong grip.

The blonde smiled to her as Presea found herself blushing at how beautiful Colette looked when she smiled like that...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

The night had fallen and the trail ended in the shore. He knew the chances of stumbling upon them again were nill and they would be on the look out for him. Mithos sighed.

Remaking the seal on his form and aura, he had come out of the Tower of Salvation area too late to even catch a glimpse of the EC leaving with his target.

"Now getting her will be harder. They will know I'll be after them and that Cruxis will try and take her too," Mithos thought aloud. "Things have just gotten complicated."

"And what would be the fun if they didn't?" a new voice said, a familiar one. Mithos didn't need to turn and see the teleportation rune appear in midair to know who had just come. However, the blonde smiled.

"Yeah… thinking again, that's about right."

Steps came from behind him as the figure walked until it was right besides him.

"So, are you going to use that sap again? Or change tactics? You know, I could always help you with that."

"Oh, I'm sure you can. But I don't want to burden you with my work. This is something I have to do. And anyway, is that jealously I hear in your voice when you talk about Lloyd, Genis?"

The silver haired, young-looking Desian General scoffed at the notion. Him? Jealous of a human? Nonsense.

"Oh please, as if. We both know you would never truly befriend a human," the Desian General pointed out.

"Of course. You are my only, true friend," Mithos smiled an honest smile.

_How conceited humans are… _both of them thought.


	44. The Knight of the Frigid Glory

Hello all and happy new year! (although a little late)

Anyway, I've noticed my usual readers aren't reviewing me anymore, so, I would like to ask you guys to leave your oppinions as always if you could. It's good to know if I can maintain a certain level of quality in my story telling.**  
**

Without further delay, here's the new chapter

* * *

**Chapter 40**

**The Knight of The Frigid Glory**

The reincarnated Summon Spirits, plus Yuan and Martel, were reunited in Yuan's office after Colette and Presea returned together with the group from Thoda Island. Before they got to discuss the last happenings, Presea and Colette said they had something important to tell them.

That something only made the group gaze at them as Colette blushed a crimson tone and started sweating in worry. Presea remained as serious and neutral as ever, looking like whatever the group said wouldn't matter to her.

And that was a lie.

"So you two are lesbians?" Emil repeated what the two girls had just confessed.

"Yes," Presea said simply.

"And you two are going out?" Lloyd asked.

"Not yet… but we intent to…" Colette admitted.

"Oh. Ok then," Lloyd said. He would have put his hands behind his head to emphasize his point, but he was still in pain from Raya's attack, so much that brusque movements sometimes shot pain through the entire upper section of his body.

"You… don't mind?"

"Should I? Who you like is your business and as long as it's not hurting anybody, then there shouldn't be a problem with it."

Colette smiled and thanked Lloyd. Presea smiled too and thanked him with a somewhat raspy voice as the others also voiced their opinion:

"I don't mind it either. As Lloyd said, it is your choice," Regal spoke.

"I already noticed this and I don't see any problem to it," Raine spoke, going back to her book. Presea and Colette blushed.

"For me, it's alright," Emil said.

"I think it's very romantic, myself. I mean, forbidden love between two people of the same sex. Ahhhh," Marta said, almost gushing about it and placing her hands together.

"You just love seeing romantic novels in everything, do you?" Sheena teased with a smile. Marta blushed and made a pouty face of protest.

"I'm okay either. Besides, I find the idea of two girls going at it very hot. Don't you think so, Bud?" Zelos spoke, grinning to Lloyd.

The dual swordsman, despite knowing better, looked at Raine and Sheena (as she glared and fumed at Zelos) and the image of the two women in only swimsuits came to his mind as they… Lloyd made a brusque movement to the side, causing pain to himself, so it would stop the mental image from developing any further. The only price he had to pay was gritting his teeth and feeling like he would snap in half at any moment.

While Sheena glared at Zelos, which made him sweat in nervousness and incline away from her a little, Colette looked at Martel and Yuan with a nervous expression.

"Um… grandma? Grandpa?"

The group stopped and looked from Colette to Martel. All of them muttering the same question:

"Grandma?"

Seeing their confused faces, Yuan told them what they told Colette, giving out the evidences while Martel answered Colette's unspoken question:

"Yuan and I don't see any problem with that. As long as you are happy then we don't mind."

˜Plus, there are things more worrying than someone's sexual orientation. For example…" Yuan spoke, his gaze becoming serious at the end as he looked pointedly at the group, who understood what the blue haired half-elf meant.

"The case of Tornitrus' disappearance," Raine completed for the Renegade leader.

"Correct. From what you said, either Origin or Maxwell have him, or he could have passed to somebody else's hand altogether. Either way, I'll put all of our informants and agents on maximum alert."

"I doubt that will work," Ratatosk said, taking control of Emil. "From what we gathered, Tornitrus was gone a long time ago and I would have felt his presence when I passed near the other cities, he was never one to hide his power."

"But we can be sure he isn't in the hands of the demons, right?" Lloyd asked.

"Of course not. The only thing I can say for certain is that he wasn't destroyed, but, indeed, the demons wouldn't waste this chance if they got their hands on him, so going by logic…"

The group thought about that. They decided that it wouldn't do them any good worry about it at the moment. Marta was about to call Ratatosk, but the Lord of Monsters gave the control back to Emil when she was about to call him. The brunette frowned at not being able to talk to him yet again.

_Is he avoiding me on purpose? This is getting ridiculous already. _

Yuan sighed at hearing that and decided to change to subject, asking them about what they would do next. Zelos got up and dusted himself as he said:

"There is still me and the Centurion of ice, right? So, we probably should go to Flanoir. Now that Raine recovered her powers, she might be able to keep any aquatic demons away."

"I still don't have complete control over that… but I can try," Raine said with a shudder. She wasn't that eager to test out her powers near the sea, although her curiosity still edged her on.

"And Sir Lloyd still hasn't healed completely yet. He requires medical attention," Martel said.

"Call me Lloyd. I'm not noble or anything," Lloyd said giving a boyish smile. "And I feel pretty much better."

"I don't think so. If you leave and get hurt again, Kratos will have our heads and I, for one, don't wish to be on the receiving end of your father's wrath. I know I said we wouldn't demand anything from you, but this time, it is better you stay here," Yuan said in an adamant tone.

Lloyd was about to protest, but felt Raine and Sheena both glaring at him. He looked at them and saw they supported Yuan's opinion. Grumbling, Lloyd acquiesced to the Renegade Leader's order. Sheena then spoke to the rest of the party:

"I better stay behind and make sure he won't do anything stupid, like go after you all."

"Oh, I see…" Zelos said, with a smile. He then leaned close to Lloyd's ear and whispered. "That's your chance, Bud. Make most of it and tell me later how it was."

Lloyd glared at Zelos while his cheeks colored a red tone. Sheena, if she heard, ignored the red head.

"I have more than enough medical training to help, him, so you don't need to worry about anything," Martel said, offering a smile that was almost a carbon copy of Colette's.

"We know, grandma," the blonde offered.

"By the way, you all said you knew what that giant agitation of magical energy was."

"Oh, yeah. That was the leader of Cruxis."

"Leader?!" this time, Yuan stood up, looking very surprised and a little disturbed. "Are you saying you saw the leader of Cruxis?!"

"Who do you think did this to Lloyd?" Sheena said in an angry tone, pointing to her boyfriend. "The bastard tricked us, playing our friend just to stab us in the back…"

Yuan and Martel looked between themselves, before the green haired woman asked them to tell what had happened. Presea told them Colette had been taken by Cruxis and she went to rescue her, almost ending up killed in the process. When she mentioned the name Yggdrasil, the Renegade Leaders raised their eyebrows in suspicion.

After Presea had ended her tale, Martel went to Colette and hugged her, apologizing that the blonde had to pass through such a situation. Colette said it wasn't her fault.

˜Presea…" the half-elf woman said. "You have my eternal thanks for bringing my granddaughter back."

"I-It was nothing," Presea said, blushing when Martel and Colette gave her one of their trademark smiles that the pink haired girl considered so beautiful.

"Even so, you all should steer clear from any Cruxis controlled city," Yuan said. "I don't doubt your little stunts in evading capture from three Seraphim will be taken lightly anymore."

It was then the door opened and Botta entered:

"Lord Yuan we have a… oh, hello," Yuan's second in command stopped and greeted the group at seeing them. "I see you're all healthy and in good state."

"Some more than others, Sir Botta," Lloyd said, which made the two chuckle at the joke.

"Anyway, I'm afraid I will have to cut your talk short. Lord Yuan, a currier from the Vanguard arrived. Commander Brute has requested your presence on New Ground."

"Understood," Yuan nodded and made signal for his lieutenant to go ahead.

After Botta left, the group decided they were also very tired from all of the events from the last two days and took their leave to the guest rooms.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Later that night, Ratatosk called Martel and Yuan to one of the unused storage rooms. As Emil was sleeping, Ratatosk took control and separated his thoughts from his other half, so that Emil wouldn't wake up.

"This whole thing with Tornitrus puts us back in schedule," Ratatosk said. "But maybe we can spin it in our favor."

"In your favor, you mean," Yuan pointed out in a piercing tone.

"What, still mad? Oh, cry me a river."

"Ratatosk, what about the rest of your group. We saw Lady Marta Lualdi is getting quite... impatient with the way you're treating her," Martel spoke, although her tone let it clear that angering Marta would have bad consequences.

"Good. If she's angry, then she won't mind..."

"I think you got it wrong. She's angry at you for avoiding her because she's worried about you."

Ratatosk didn't answer.

"You didn't really think any of this through, did you?" Yuan inquired. "I don't even see your Centurions, so I can guess you didn't tell them."

"I'll do so when the time is right! And you two should just concentrate on your parts!" Ratatosk spoke, not leaving any space for discussions as he continued to relay them their instructions.

Martel and Yuan sighed at the stubbornness of the Summon Spirit. Both didn't like where this was going, but… they would see it to the end. For Ratatosk's sake if for nothing else.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Only one day had passed, but Raine had come with news she had already learned how to use a technique that would allow her to confuse the sonar that the aquatic demons utilized to detect their preys. The group was surprised she had learned it in only one day, but knowing Raine and her excitement towards the unknown, they knew she wouldn't even rest until she managed to figure something out.

Lloyd hadn't healed enough to accompany them, so he and Sheena stayed behind (Zelos grinning at his Bud all the while and asking him to tell him later how "it" went). Yuan loaned the group another EC, this time with Botta as the captain, since Yuan's lieutenant didn't have any urgent assignment.

With everything set, the group left the base and went on the direction of the continent of Flanoir.

"In the days of the War, Flanoir used to have a city inside the continent," Emil lectured the group in the command bridge. "It was a very famous touristic attraction and the War didn't affect it much, since there wasn't any strategic advantage in setting a base in the middle of that continent."

"We used to have a base hidden in one of the rock islands around the continent," Botta interrupted. "But we had to abandon it when the demon infestation in the continent started to get too intense. However, I calculate they never found out about the tunnels we dug to arrive at the continent. After all, why would they lose time with that when there were other, active bases?"

"Even so, we have to be careful. It isn't only the matter of how to get at the continent, but also in locating the temple. Snowstorms are frequent in Flanoir and can bring many dangers. Not only you can lose your way easily, but there might also be ice demons that have adapted to the climate and cause these storms when hunting."

Regal turned to the controls and opened a communication channel to the top of the ship, where Raine was:

"Miss Raine, is everything alright on your end?"

"It's fine, but can you not ask that every ten minutes? It's quite hard to concentrate with you all nagging at me," Raine answered in the radio with a grumpy tone.

"We apologize. We were just worried, considering your condition and…"

"Relax, Regal," Zelos interrupted, approaching the communications console and speaking on it. "Just do your best my cool, mature hunny. I know you can do it," the red head said in a suave tone that made Marta and Emil groan.

"If that is your way to encourage me, let me say: you need to work on your technique," after that, the transmission as cut out.

"Yep. She'll do just fine," Zelos announced with a smile. The group sweatdropped at this.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

The abandoned Renegade Base was located on a treacherous route between the rock islands around the main coast of the Flanoir Continent. It was clear that anyone who didn't know the region well risked running their boat right into one of the many rocks and jagged, iceberg points jutting out of the frozen sea.

When they got near the small pier that gave entrance to the base, they could also gaze at the frozen parts of the sea around Flanoir. According to Botta, the situation had been like that when they abandoned the continent; the sea around Flanoir was freezing, as the temperature seemed to be dropping a little more with the time.

"There are special armor and equipment inside the base that we used to withstand the temperature. Until you wake up your Summon Spirit powers, I suggest you all use it so you don't get frozen out there just by standing in the snow," Botta said, referring to Zelos.

The group nodded and entered the base, the Renegade Lieutenant serving as their guide. The base's lights were mostly out, but once Botta inserted a password on a keyboard pad, the emergency lights came on. According to him, the base had its own hydro generator on the lower levels, where even the cold couldn't reach.

Exploring the base, they found the armory, where Botta instructed them on which of the equipment were the cold-resistant ones he mentioned. After gearing up, they followed him to another section of the complex.

"We're going to take the railway carts to reach the island. They link to the entrance of a cave that is directly east to the Ice Temple. From there, it is a five kilometer walk to the temple."

"Five kilometers?! On this cold?!" Raine exclaimed.

"I suggest you walk closely together and at a leisurely pace, the air pressure and low temperatures won't be gentle in case you overtire yourself," Botta answered without even minding her expression.

"You heard that Raine," Zelos said, his smile turning into a lecherous one. "That means we have to walk _really _close. You know, to share body heat."

"This has got to be a nightmare..." Raine mumbled.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Flanoir was once known as the "continent at the edge of the world". But now it was just a desolate, cold wasteland without any signs of life in it, except demonic. The only town in the continent was completely razed by the constant demonic attacks and not even the Renegades could save it, only evacuate what number of citizens they managed and getting them out of the continent to another one.

So, it stood to reason that a group of seven people walking amidst the snowy winds was an uncommon sight, if there were any observer to point it out. They all wore furred and thick coats with hoods up and gloves of the same material on their hands, combined with snow boots.

The party thankfully didn't meet any demons on their way to the temple, the only place where the winds didn't seem to reach. The temperature in the premises of the local was a refreshing one,compared to the freezing one outside of the temple's premise.

As they got there Zelos stopped, not to let the rest of the group catch up to him, but to look around, like he was searching for something. Out of all the members in the group, he seemed to be the one less bothered by the cold. In fact, they noticed that it seemed the closer they were to Zelos the less cold it felt around them.

_Maybe it's because of his aura and its relation to the ice. _Raine and Emil thought.

"I... remember this place. Wait. No, that's not right. I've never been to..."

"It's probably memories and impressions of your past life," Regal spoke as they caught up to Zelos. "I also got a strange sensation of déjà vu when I got inside the Temple of Lightning."

"Do you think the Centurion is still here?" Colette asked Emil.

"Well, I can sense something inside the temple, so I guess she is," Emil answered.

"Indeed," Ventus and the other Centurions appeared as the eagle-like Centurion spoke. "I can also sense her presence. It seems that whoever took Tornitrus didn't come here."

The group entered the temple through a small entrance and saw themselves inside what appeared to be a giant, frozen cave. There was even a lake and an ice bridge in the middle of it.

"Wow. This place is so pretty," Colette said in amazement, looking at the ice formations around the place.

"It seems the temperature here was preserved thanks to Celsius' barrier," Raine mused.

The group had to face brief battles with ice monsters that were quickly dispatched by Regal and Presea's powerful blows, which allowed Emil to perform more pacts to bind the servants of Ratatosk to him once more.

After traversing the ice bridge, they arrived at the edge of the lake. Zelos used his own powers to freeze a path to the other side in the water, which quickly melted as they passed. On the other side, they found the remnants of what looked like four ice totems and a door with a slate on its right side.

The red head walked up to the slate and touched it with his hand. The symbol on it shone briefly and the door slid to the side, revealing a narrow passage to what looked like the altar chamber. Inside it, they could see several ice formations at the back of the bare room.

The temperature seemed to drop considerably as Zelos walked ahead of them, looking like he was in trance. When he arrived near the altar, there was a white flash and a sphere of snow-white, swirling energy manifested. From this sphere came a feminine voice:

_You who carries my soul, I'm Celsius, Summon Spirit of ice. _her tone sounded high and mighty, and a little arrogant to the group. Raine, Presea and Marta looked briefly at Emil. They suddenly could see why Celsius and Ratatosk made a match.

"I'm Zelos Wilder. I've come here to get your power," Zelos answered in that rare, serious tone.

_Oh, so you judge yourself ready? That's what I'm going to decide... I cannot allow someone with a weak will or a _doubtful_ heart to possibly wield my powers, for they could surely solidify the barriers you put around yourself and forever encase your soul in cold… _

Zelos seemed unsure and worried when he heard the tone she used on the word "doubtful".

_Does she know… ?_

Not receiving any more answer or warning, the white sphere shot out another flash and when the group could see again they raised their eyebrows in confusion at the form the guardian took.

Zelos, however, blanched.

"S… S… Seles?!"

Standing there, in the middle of the platform was what looked like an ice clone of a young woman using baggy clothes. Her eyes shone a blue tone very much like Zelos' own. However, nobody but the ex-Representative knew what figure that one was.

"Seles? Isn't that the name of Zelos' sister?" Emil asked aloud, not linking the points yet.

The figure looked slightly older, but the red head could see traces of his sister and even _feel _it coming from that guardian.

The fake Seles looked up to Zelos with cold, dead eyes, like she was wordlessly accusing him of some crime. A crime Zelos knew very well.

_You let me die…_ it wasn't spoken by anyone, but, somehow, Zelos knew it was coming from that ice figure. An ice blade formed in its hand. _Now you die…_

The ice doppelganger lunged forward and Zelos stood paralyzed on the spot, not being able to react. The group saw that and yelled at him to move. He did, but his reaction time was too slow and he got a large gash on his left shoulder.

Zelos felt the wound burn like it was on fire, an effect of frostbite. And yet, all he could do was to gape at the Seles-clone.

_Why is it that you survived? _she advanced again. Zelos could only dodge. A part of the red head wanted to counter, but the feeling was just so _familiar_... just like the real Seles. His rational mind was overpowered by his guilt and emotions. _Why should you survive? Just look at you now..._

"Zelos, what are you doing?!" Marta yelled.

"Could it be because that ice doll looks like someone he knows?" Colette wondered aloud.

It was then Emil realized; he knew the name Seles because that was the name of Zelos' late, younger sister. As he realized that, he called out the Centurions and asked them what kind of monster was that.

"I would say it is a Niurma, also known as Celsius' Nightmare by Flanoir's urban legends," Tenebrae said. "It is a ghost monster which uses ice as a medium to materialize itself and can assume any form it wants."

"The reason it has taken this form is because it is a monster that can sense what your worst fears are and mimic them, copying it down to the aura signature," Ventus said. "In Zelos' case, it seems he still holds some guilt over the death of his sister."

The group could only look back as Zelos was trying to avoid the Niurma's attacks, still not being able to attack due to the aura of that creature giving him such a familiar feeling to Seles. Another cut on his right side made him kneel as he felt it burning. The Seles doppelganger then set its sword close to Zelos' neck. He could even feel the chilly aura from the weapon.

The reincarnated Celsius could only look at the blue eyes of the icy ghost as they coldly regarded him.

_Now die. As you should have that day..._

At the words "that day" Zelos felt a memory coming to him, even though his mind was frozen at the moment...

- / - / - / - / - / -

_"Big Brother!" a little, red haired girl called to him, making he look up from his chess game with Sebastian (which he was losing horribly at)._

_"Oh, hi sis!" a young Zelos said, abandoning the game and giving attention to his sister as he saw she was carrying a toy sword in her hand._

_"Could you teach me swordplay?" little Seles asked with a smile._

_It was true Zelos had started taking lessons on fencing and swordplay, as it was required of the future Cruxis Representative to be able to defend himself, but for Seles to want it too..._

_"Sister, you do know you're too frail for that, right? You get sick easily."_

_"But... I wanna defend big brother from the demons," Seles said, her eyes tearing up, before she had a coughing fit._

_Zelos immediately rushed to her side and supported her._

_"See? I told you, you're too frail for that."_

_"B-*cough*- but brother..."_

_Seles crying face and insistent tone was too much for Zelos. She always had a way to make him do things for her even if it involved him modeling for her in one of her dresses._

_"Tell you what..." Zelos said, smiling to Seles. "When you get older, I'll teach you everything I know, then you can defend me if I face a guy tougher than me."_

_"Really?!" the little child asked with a bright smile on her face. Zelos nodded. "Yay! You just wait, big brother. I'll be saving you from monsters in no time..."_

- / - / - / - / - / -

When he opened his eyes again, Zelos saw the icy blade had stopped centimeters away from his face, being held back by... a small, light sphere on his hand. Zelos didn't even know how that happened, because he didn't remember moving his arm.

_Big brother, get up... _Seles' voice sounded again, but instead of the cold, dead tone from the Niurma, it was the same warm, child voice he knew for the best part of his childhood.

"What?" like a switch had been flipped, Zelos jumped back as the blade finally came down, missing him completely. "Where did that... ?"

_Brother. _Zelos then looked at the sphere on his hand. The voice seemed to be coming from it. Was that Seles'... ? _Go on... you have to live on, because you're my big brother... let me help you, like I promised._

The sphere suddenly released a flash and entered inside Zelos' hand. He felt his chest get warm and when the reincarnated Celsius looked up he saw the Niurma had completely changed its form, now resembling a hulking, muscular creature with several spikes sprouting from its shoulder, head and even tail.

"A Blood Spike?" Aqua wondered aloud, seeing the creature had changed its form.

"Why did it suddenly became that right after that flash?" Colette wondered.

Presea looked at Zelos and could _see _someone floating behind him; a child with red hair and blue eyes much like Zelos' own. Having heard the story about the ex-Representative's past, Presea had little doubt about who that spirit was.

The reincarnated Celsius could only look at the guardian that had taken the form of... _that_. He then understood just what was happening here, his mind finally becoming functional once more:

"So, this is a test of my fears and doubts. Kinda corny, but I have to admit it is effective," he gave a smile as he materialized his ice sword and shield. "Besides, I've been wanting to kick this thing's ass for a long, long time. Pity it's not the real thing."

The battle finally seemed to start as Zelos charged at the Niurma, which swung its clawed arm at the red head. Zelos expertly dodged and retaliated with a sword strike on the Niurma's hand using all of his strength. It was repelled, but left cracks on the creature's icy limb.

The Niurma-Blood Spike swung its arm again, forcing Zelos to put his shield up to defend against the numerous spikes on the creature's arm, which resulted in him being shoved back and his shield scratched. The doppelganger lowered its head and shot several spikes from its head at Zelos, who avoided them and closed in for the attack again, this time aiming for the monster's leg.

"What is he doing?" Marta asked, surprised that Zelos was going against that monster using an ice-made weapon. "He surely knows that won't affect the Niurma, right?"

"Look closely," Presea was the one to answer.

Marta did and as Zelos narrowly avoided a blow that would have beheaded him, he attacked the same leg he had before. It was then the brunette saw cracks spreading around the limb.

"What?"

"In this temperature, ice is harder than even steel," Regal spoke. "So, as long as Zelos doesn't use any kind of magic on his sword, it would be the same as attacking that monster using a common weapon, but much harder."

Marta thought about it and had to admit that it made sense.

Zelos avoided another spike thrown at him, which cut his cheek, making him feel the effect of frostbite again, but this time much reduced as his adrenaline was finally running, lessening the pain. He jumped and defended from another blow, being thrown back once more. The cold was finally getting to him as his wounds seemed to seep some of his strength.

_Ok, now I'm pissed. _Zelos then threw his sword at the Niurma-Blood Spike and watched with satisfaction as it put its arm up to block.

The reincarnated Celsius produced a throw lance made of ice and hurled it at the guardian, aiming for its right side. As he predicted, the Niurma put up its right arm to defend, not noticing it was damaged. The lance sunk into the limb by the cracks, almost exiting on the other side, but it was enough so the Niurma was distracted and Zelos attacked the creature's leg once more.

This time, Zelos' blade sunk as it cut through the monster's icy member. Putting more strength on his weapon, Zelos managed to sever off the limb, making the hulking frame of the shape-shifting monster fall. Smiling Zelos dismissed his shield and summoned another sword, ready to pierce the monster's head with it.

Then suddenly, it wasn't a copy of that hateful Blood Spike kneeling near him, but that of his sister. Zelos stopped short, gasping at seeing Seles' figure again. He felt that same warm sensation again, like two arms were hugging him from behind to give him comfort and reassurance. The reincarnated Celsius could finally see through the deception of that creature and past the fake aura.

"Never..." he thrust his swords forward, right on the creature's cold, dead eyes, piercing the Niurma's skull. "Use my sister's image against me again!" Zelos then swung the blades outwards, severing half of the monster's head off.

As the ice creature finally fell and dissolved away in vapor that joined together at the altar, Zelos dismissed his ice blades and sighed in relief at seeing it was over. The rest of the party also came closer, Presea keeping an eye on the spirit hovering near Zelos the entire time, although she knew it wasn't a menace.

_You cheated… _Celsius' voice came, arrogant and cool as always, but with a tone of reprieve to it.

"What?!" Zelos let out, taking a step back.

_Don't play dumb, you know very well what happened back there. To have the spirit of your deceased blood relative helping you is the same as employing outside aid. So, in a few words, you failed… _Celsius tone was final and got the group shocked.

"I've… failed?"

The red head felt crushed, something he never did before. The only time he felt like that was when his sister was killed, because he thought it had been his fault. Now, it really was his fault that he had failed in that test. Zelos hung his head down until he saw Emil move to the front and speak:

"Wait a minute. You can't just reprimand him for…"

_And who exactly are you? _Celsius countered.

It was then Ratatosk assumed the control as everybody felt a pulse in Emil's aura:

"What, don't you recognize me, Celsius? I'm heartbroken," Ratatosk said in a mocking tone.

_Oh, Rata. I didn't recognize you in this form. But you surely understand that… _Celsius began.

"What? That his dead sister helped him? Oh please. We have much more pressing concerns than that," Ratatosk said, making a flippant gesture with his hand.

_But those were the rules. I was to test his resolve and heart and he didn't pass. The fact that he needed help proves his resolve is lacking. We can't have that coming from a Summon Spirit._

Zelos hung his head down lower, his hair obscuring his face. He then heard his sister's voice call him out, but he didn't look up. It was then Presea saw Seles turning more solid as she turned to Celsius' other half and spoke up:

"Hey you! You don't have to be so mean! What so if my brother got my help?"

_Don't get involved in this. This matter is beyond a mere spirit's comprehension. _Celsius spoke.

"But…"

_If you wanted him to pass then you should just have stayed back instead of interfering like you did and…_

"Now wait just a minute?!" Zelos said, finally looking up. "If you want to reprimand me, fine, I deserve it, but don't you dare talk down my sister for helping me," the group only looked at Zelos and Seles mouthed a "big brother". "I promised her she could help me one day and that's what she did. She was only keeping a promise we made to each other. And about your power, if you don't want to give it to me, then fine! I'll just have to find another way to help Emil and the others."

Silence followed Zelos' declaration. Even Celsius was silent, seeming to not be able to come back with a retort. It was then they heard Ratatosk chuckle as he looked at the sphere of swirling, white energy that was Celsius' soul half:

"It seems he really took after you. You heard that? He's willingly to try another route to get his powers back."

_I've noticed… _Celsius said. She then seemed to regard Zelos. _You certainly have guts to mouth off a Summon Spirit like that for sake of your loved ones. While I admire that trace that still does not erase the fact your heart is full of doubts and in conflict. So, I propose… a probation test._

Before any of them could ask anything, there was a flash of white, forcing the group to cover their eyes. When they were able to see again they saw a ring with a sapphire stone where before was Celsius' soul half. The ring floated down to Zelos and Celsius' voice came from it:

_While your heart keeps strong ties and your soul shows promise, as long as you are plagued by doubt and uncertainty you will never be able to reach your full potential... so, until the time comes that you are able to dedicate yourself wholesomely, this ring will give you access to a moderate amount of my powers. When you finally make up your mind, the ring will shatter and only then will you be complete…_

Zelos took the ring and put it on his ring finger in his right hand. His body started to glow white.

_I'll be watching your resolve… Knight of the Frigid Glory…_

Rings of white light passed by Zelos' limbs, replacing his pink coat and white shirt by a white copy of his sleeveless coat. His skin turned a little paler and dark blue markings resembling ice flocks symbols appeared underneath his eyes and around his forearms. Zelos' shoes gained blue details and wing-like ornaments on the back.

The ex-Representative's pants became midnight-blue shorts with golden lining on the edges. Dark blue tattoos also appeared on his legs. from his back sprouted a pair of pale blue, spectral wings, much like the others of the group.

When the transformation ended and the group could see again, Zelos gave a look over himself and smiled a broad smile.

"Well, check me out! Am I just too hot to melt or what?!" the red head said.

"'Too hot to melt'… seriously?" Ratatosk spoke with a sweat drop on his forehead.

"Whatever. Bet you wanted to look this good."

"You know what, forget it."

With that, Ratatosk gave the control back to Emil while Zelos continued to flash smiles and poses on an ice mirror he made instantly. Raine decided to return to the matter at hand and reminded the group they still had to find the core.

Zelos dismissed the mirror and said he had a memory of where it was. The group followed the red head to the back of the room. The reincarnated Celsius then touched a wall and it slid down, revealing a passage. As the group entered it, Colette asked:

"Don't you feel cold just on this outfit Zelos?"

"Actually, no," he answered. "Guess it comes with being Summon Spirit of the ice."

"What about your sister? Is she really with you?"

Zelos looked behind him and, indeed, Seles was still with him, although she didn't seem to approve of his change of wardrobe by the frown she was showing on her face.

"Big brother, put some clothes on! I won't have those hags coming after you because of this!"

_I forgot how overprotective she tended to be… _Zelos sighed.

Raine and Regal stood quiet, only observing. Raine, like Presea, could see and listen Seles while the others could only feel her presence. She had some doubts about the convenience of the spirit of Zelos' sister showing up now, but even Celsius didn't feel anything wrong with her.

_I wonder… _Raine decided to leave her inquiries for later.

The group arrived at an ornate door, which Zelos opened, leading them to the altar of the Centurion. There they saw Glacius' core above the flower-shaped bowl. They sighed in relief at seeing they wouldn't have worry about another missing Centurion.

Emil walked to the altar and picked up the core, murmuring the words of the ritual as he raised it. The temperature seemed to drop some degrees and ice shards appeared out of thin air, surrounding the core. The ice shards then converged to the core and an explosion of white light blinded the party.

"My, my, that's quite the bunch," a velvety, smooth voice rang out as the group looked and saw Glacius' form.

The Centurion of ice looked like a woman with golden eyes, ears, tail and paws of a wolf and white fur covering her round, full breasts and tights like a sash and a thong. She then looked at her Lord and bowed while floating in the air.

"My Lord."

"Glacius. It's good to have you back," Ratatosk said, taking the control.

"Actually, this reunion wouldn't be necessary, if not for that bastard," Glacius then looked at the group of reincarnated Summon Spirits. "And who are these? They seem… familiar."

"Well, hello there, my wild hunny," Zelos said, appearing almost instantaneously near Glacius, flashing her one of his handsome smiles. His sister started to rant on the background, but he didn't pay her any mind at the moment.

"Cel… sius?"

"Not really, but close enough."

Glacius stayed silent for sometime, seeming to look Zelos from bottom to top. She shrugged and said:

"Works for me. So, since you're in this form and coming on to me in what I can see is clearly what the humans call 'flirting', do you want me to perform sexual services for you?"

That made the group's eyes (save for Ratatosk) widen. Zelos seemed so shocked when Glacius asked that he even stuttered:

"W-what?!"

"Isn't that what males do? You and my Lord liked to pleasure each other, but he doesn't seem interested at the moment. Will me suffice then?"

Dismissing that little fact about his past self and Ratatosk, Zelos felt he had hit the jackpot. He was about to open his mouth, when he felt a brute headache. He knew that should be Seles, using whatever she could to make him not take on Glacius' offer.

"Wait a minute. What the hell is happening here?!" Marta exclaimed, scandalized that one of Ratatosk's servant would say a thing like that.

"Who is the ironing board?" Glacius asked.

Marta stopped immediately and turned to the Centurion, muttering "Ironing board?!". Ventus and the others materialized and explained to their brethren who Marta was, including her relationship with their Lord.

Glacius floated near the Whirlwind Rider, who gave her an ugly look as the Centurion looked her over. Glacius then spoke with her smooth, velvet voice, like giving a verdict:

"That won't do. How did Lord Ratatosk find anything appealing in such a plain girl? Unless his tastes changed radically since the end of the Second Invasion."

Marta was two steps away from going into Spirit Form and brutally murdering the Centurion in front of her, but instead decided to march up to Ratatosk and growl at his face while the Lord of the Monsters cowered:

"Explain...NOW!"

Ratatosk gulped and the other Centurions tried to keep their brethren from getting into anymore trouble by giving her an explanation of everything that happened.

"Um… you know how I shaped Ignis to be a present for Luna, right?" Ratatosk spoke. Marta angrily nodded, seeming to foam at the mouth now. _Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that in this situation. _"Well, before I created Glacius, me and Celsius made a bet, but I lost in the end, so, as per our terms, she told me how she wanted the Centurion that would work besides her to be. I never guessed she would ask to model Glacius after her."

"You mean you made one of your Centurions a mouthy pervert because of a bet?!"

Ratatosk never realized how stupid that made him look until Marta pointed it out. Sure, he could undo Glacius and remake her, but by doing that, all the experiences she accumulated would be erased and that would be counter-productive at the present time.

He was about to speak something in his defense, but suddenly several flashes started to come to his mind at blinking speed. The Summon Spirit clutched his head as more voices and flashes came, all jumbled up in a disconnex pattern that made him fell like he was going through some short of mental breakdown.

Marta's anger immediately dissolved as she saw Ratatosk shaking, mumbling in pain and grabbing at his hair's ends like he was in extreme pain, his eyes bulging almost out of his skull as he tried to hold the images and sounds back.

"Ratatosk, are you okay?! RATATOSK!"

He couldn't hear her amidst the confusion of voices and images that assaulted his mind. The world was spinning fast and he felt like his head would split into two at any moment. He couldn't even hear the others as they got close. Among some of the several flashes he got he could hear some louder than others:

_Didn't think it through... _

_Never wanted to have it this..._

_Ratatosk... please..._

_What would you think of..._

_This world... shall burn..._

Ratatosk shot his head up and let out a bloodcurdling scream. The last thing he registered before his consciousness shut down was Marta's desperate look as she looked helplessly at him…

* * *

And to complete it: a skit!

This one is between Lloyd, Zelos, Colette, Sheena and Raine and occurs a littel after Colette and Presea's confession of their relationship

Love and Hate

Lloyd: So Colette and Presea… I wonder when they became this close.

Zelos: What? Don't you remember? They practically couldn't stay away from each other after we rescued Presea.

Lloyd: Um… now that I think about it, you're right.

Zelos: Of course I am. I wouldn't be the Last Romantic if I didn't catch on to these things.

Lloyd: *sigh* Thought you would say something like it…

Zelos: Besides, all girls have a lesbian side to them.

Lloyd: Huh?

Zelos: It's true. Why do you think they share more of their feelings with their best friends than we men tend to do with ours? Some even share other things like their first kiss and… in some cases… heheh… their first time.

Lloyd: A-Are you serious?!

Zelos: *smiling* What? Didn't you know? Oh, how I pity you. Anyway, if I were you, I would be wary, because Sheena might get tired of your indecisiveness and look for some fun in… the other side of the camp

Lloyd *confused*: Other side… of the camp?

Zelos *sighing*: Really, sometimes I worry about you Bud… I'm talking about her and Raine's feelings for each other.

Lloyd: W-WHAT?! B-But they don't even like each other that way! And they're always fighting.

Zelos: So? Love and hate are two sides of the same coin.

Colette: Hey. What are you guys talking about?

Zelos: Oh, hello little Colette. I'm just explaining Lloyd here how it starts.

Colette *confused*: How what starts?

Lloyd: Zelos, I don't think you should be talking about these things with Colette.

Zelos: Relax, besides, who better than her to confirm what I am saying. Colette, tell me, did you started liking girls because of your best friend?

Colette: Yeah, that's right! How did you know?

Zelos: Just intuition.

Lloyd: Y-You're kidding, right?!

Zelos: Did you and her fight?

Colette: Not really. Although we did discuss about her habit of groping me and invading my personal space, but I wouldn't say that was so bad. We were friends after all. *smiling*

Zelos: See? Now If I were you, I would…

Sheena: Honestly, I'll have to show you how it is properly done.

Raine: Oh, do you I'm that inexperienced? I would have you know that Richter said it was very good.

Zelos: Too late…

Lloyd: C'mon. I'm sure it's nothing like…

Sheena *stifling a laugh*: Pfft. Bet he didn't have any taste if he said it was good, or maybe he just wanted you not to feel bad.

Raine: Well, if you have so much time to complain, how about helping me then?

Sheena: Alright, alright. Here, let me teach you how my mother taught me and- Oh, hi Lloyd.

Lloyd * sweating*: Um… h-hi S-Sheena.

Sheena: Do you wanna join me and help Raine?

Lloyd: You mean… me and you… with her?!

Sheena: Yeah. Poor woman, she simply can't get it right and you can do it quite well, so I thought that… AH! Lloyd! Lloyd! Are you okay?!

Raine: What happened?

Sheena: I don't know! He suddenly fainted.

Raine *sighing*: It seems we'll have to postpone my cooking lessons then.

Zelos: Cooking?

Sheena: Yeah. Raine really needs some help at it. What? What did you think we were doing?

Zelos: Oh, nothing…


	45. Ratatosk

Finally, act finished!

With this we wrought up this part of the story.

* * *

**Chapter 41**

**Ratatosk**

_The Centurions had merged back into him as he commanded. Now all that was left was to wait for the extermination of human race._

_However, things took an unexpected turn when a familiar face showed up:_

"_What are you doing back in this world?"_

"_Can't you tell, Ratatosk?" Neran replied, although he looked vastly different than he did before. _

_The Professor's once neatly combed hair was now in wild strands and his glasses were abandoned (although as a spirit he wouldn't have sight problems anymore). His attire was also quite peculiar; an armor with Niflheim's runes all over it._

"_I am the one leading this invasion. I am now known to the world as Nebilim," Nebilim spoke._

"_So the 'Chaos Bender' becomes a true servant of demons. How ironic…"_

"_I could say the same about you," Nebilim turned and walked a little forward as he spoke. "Once the protector of the gate to Niflheim, you became the trigger of a new demonic invasion. How have the mighty fallen…"_

"_Spare me your word games, you lowly servant. Why is it that you're here?" he wasn't in the mood for this. Why was Nebilim here when he should be in the surface? Could the Grand Demon Lord have… "Did Apocalypse decided to go back on his word?"_

_Nebilim half-turned, his smile a malicious one as he spoke:_

"_You would know that better than me. After all, didn't you fight him in the past?"_

_He had. He knew this was a possibility. Apocalypse was the most vindictive and prideful out of all the Grand Lords. It would be just like him to turn back on his word just so he could spit on Ratatosk's face._

"_So… it seems we have a problem then," he spoke calmly. _

"_I wouldn't call it a problem. More like an impasse," Nebilim put his hands on the back his head in a relaxed pose, like nothing that was being spoken concerned him in any way. "Well then… we can solve it two ways. One, you give yourself up, or two, I beat the shit out of you, as they say."_

"You_? You think you can actually beat _me_?"_

"_Let's face reality here. You signed yourself off the moment you entered Niflheim to make this deal with Apocalypse," Nebilim let his arms fall to the side of his body as he closed his eyes. He then opened them wide and looked at Ratatosk with his blood-colored orbs. "You Traitor of the World."_

"_What did you CALL ME?!"_

_How did that insect dare to accuse him like that?! Didn't he have any notion of danger at all?!_

"_That's what you are," Nebilim said, turning fully to him. Gone was his smile and previous mannerisms and now all that was left was a harsh, accusatory expression. "Giving in to your hatred, letting your anger rule your emotions… you don't care about anything anymore ever since your brethren left. All that you want is to watch this world, which was built by the humans, burn!"_

"_DIE!"_

_He charged at the mouthful, daring wraith, ready to make him swallow his words and choke to death on them…_

- / - / - / - / - / -

Emil suddenly sat up, his eyes opening wide at the fresh memory. He then looked around and saw everybody looking at him with worried expressions. The most worried one was definitely Marta.

"Emil! Are you alright?!" the brunette asked.

"I… think I am…" he took a moment to look at everybody around.

He felt fine. In fact, he felt better than ever, which was strange as he could swear he had seen Ratatosk clutching his head and screaming not a moment ago. He didn't understand very well what happened, so Emil tried to reach Ratatosk… only he couldn't find any trace of the Summon Spirit in his soul.

Emil tried again, but he couldn't find it. He couldn't contact Ratatosk's consciousness.

"Something wrong my Lord?" Tenebrae asked.

"Ratatosk… I can't find him," Emil answered.

"What?!" Zelos let out in a loud voice.

"I can't feel any trace of him or hear him. It's like… he's not here anymore."

The group looked between themselves in concern and Marta had her eyes wide at hearing that. Raine stood on thought about it, but couldn't come to a conclusion as to why this was happening to Emil. She turned to the Centurions and asked:

"Another effect of the merging?"

"Possibly," Ventus said. "Though I didn't expect it to occur in such a manner."

"Maybe our Lord is just slumbering," Solum suggested.

"Either way, we should leave. This isn't the best place to discuss this."

The group nodded and got up to depart. Marta helped Emil up and the blonde asked her if she was feeling alright.

"Why are you asking me that? You were the one that clutched your head and screamed like you were being tortured," Marta spoke.

"I was?" he tilted his head to the side in inquiry as he and Marta joined the group and left for the exit of the temple.

"What? You don't rememb… oh right. It was Ratatosk at the time. Sorry, sometimes I forget you two are…"

"But, I should remember something like that. Ratatosk and I have been sharing impressions when one of us is in the control. Although… lately he's been keeping things from me."

Emil looked down as he thought on that. The behavior of his other half was quite strange lately. Although he seemed to act colder than before, Emil felt something in him, something he was trying to hide desperately.

"You too? He's been avoiding me lately."

"Yeah, I saw that. I wonder why. Even though I questioned him, he wouldn't tell me," Emil said.

"You think… it was because… of our kiss?" Marta asked, blushing at the thought.

"Huh? Oh! No, I'm sure it wasn't that!" Emil said, also blushing at the memory and shaking his arms. "He liked it… a lot… actually we both did. We were united when you kissed us, so… yeah."

"What? You two were at control at the same time again?!" Marta gasped, blushing a crimson tone now. She had been quite guilty over the attention she had been giving Ratatosk ever since their kiss, but considering what had happened and the strange behavior of the Summon Spirit, the guilt faded.

The truth was, Marta was conflicted about which of the two she liked the most. But, the idea that her first kiss had essentially occurred with both Ratatosk _and _Emil made her get butterflies all over her stomach and feel very happy.

_Maybe they can merge whenever I want to kiss them. It would be like having two in one. _Marta caught herself thinking. She then sighed and chastised herself. _Great… now I want to have them both. Man, I feel like a slut._

"Um… Marta, are you ok?" Emil asked as he saw she shaking her head.

"Huh? Oh. I'm… fine. It's just… Um… Emil… did you like it?" the blonde looked at her with a confused look."I mean, I never got the chance to ask with everything that's happened, but… you know… did you like the kiss?"

She put her hands behind her back and waved her hips to the sides like she did when she was feeling shy. Emil thought that made she look adorable until his brain caught on with what his self-proclaimed girlfriend just asked. He got red-beet as he tried to answer:

"Well… I… um… I mean, of course!" he didn't intend it to come out like that, but he couldn't help it.

"Really?" Marta asked. "Was it… good?" she looked even more embarrassed as she looked to the side.

"Well… it-it was… I…"

"Hey, you two," they heard Zelos calling as he approached "Look, I don't mean to interrupt your love life, or your sweet talks, but we've gotta hurry and get out of here. Leave the smooth talking for later, 'kay?" he asked that with a knowing smile that got the couple blushing.

"Ah, nothing like young love," Regal commented aloud, which just made Emil and Marta blush even redder as they picked up the pace.

They finally got to the lake, which Zelos froze completely and this time the ice didn't melt or thaw. However, as they were walking, the group suddenly felt something below them. Emil was the first to identify it as a spell.

"Everybody, spread!" he yelled just in time as something burst out in the middle of the frozen lake, breaking the ice and almost getting the group.

They sat down and turned to see what looked like a giant, sea-blue serpent dragon above them with two, white-bluish wings with yellow feathers extending on the sides of its head. The creature looked at them with its yellow, slit eyes and roared.

"Wait, isn't that… ?!" Colette let out, but was interrupted as they heard something falling nearby. Looking to the side they saw what looked like some kind of human-sized, living armor, but this one was vastly different from the armors most of the group knew. It had a horned helmet with the lower borders extending outwards and the metal skirt at the end of the chest plate was longer than most in other armors. "That's… !"

Before Colette could complete her thought, the armor drew a glowing, blue sword and charged at her. Darkness suddenly burst in front of Colette and Presea materialized in her adult-Spirit form. The rest of the group also transformed as they were attacked by the dragon, which let out a lightning breath on them.

Regal stood still and received the attack head on, absorbing it and pointing his hand back to the dragon, returning the electrical attack to the monster. However, the lightning seemed to only "slid" on the serpent-dragon's body.

_So, it's lightning resistant. _Regal thought.

Marta was about to fly after the beast, when she suddenly felt something behind her. She turned and saw what looked like a giant, flaming blade coming at her head. Emil tackled the brunette down, preventing the decapitation as the heated, fire blade swung above them. They looked on and saw a familiar face as the blade shrunk back to its normal size.

"Rahishi!" Emil and Marta spoke out loud.

Zelos turned and saw that, indeed, it was Genis' red haired aide. He then looked around and soon spotted the teenage-looking general on the ice bridge, his other aide besides him.

"You!" Zelos let out, making most of the combatants look at him and then at where his eyes were focused on. Raine exclaimed the name of her brother.

"Well, well. Looks like I arrived just in time," Genis said with that malicious smile coming to his face as he regarded the group. "But I don't see that Lloyd sap or his busty girlfriend here. Where are they?"

"They're not here, that's all you need to know," Emil said. _C'mon Ratatosk. Where are you? _He thought as he tried, in vain, search for Ratatosk in his soul once more.

"Really? Pity. I expected to be done with all of you today. Oh well…" Genis sighed.

"Done with us? Please, you couldn't kill us the last two times we've met," Zelos said, his expression set on a frown. "What makes you think it'll be different this time?"

"Because I already got everything I've wanted from you. You're knowledge of magic is too limited to be of any further use for me," Genis said, his malicious smile never leaving his face as the serpent dragon floated in circles above him. "Given enough time, you could show me something different. But I was given an assignment and I really hate to leave an assignment unfinished. So, sorry, but we all knew it was doomed to end like this.

"Reriki, Rahishi, unleash your true forms and eliminate them. It's time to wrap up this little game," he ordered the two.

"Yes, Master Genis/My General!" the two replied in unison.

Before any of the reincarnated Summon Spirits could do something, there was a violent pulse of chaos energy being unleashed from the two aides, their auras swirling like white and red vortexes around them. Raine and the others had to protect their eyes as the two aides revealed the true extension of their powers. When the chaos energy stopped its agitation the group could finally see the form the demonesses had taken.

Rahishi now looked like a picture out of elven books of old describing demons; a naked, red-skinned, feminine form with part of her body surrounded by fire with curved, straw-brown horns, blue pupiless eyes, claw-like nails at her fingers and feet and wilding her wicked-looking, fire blade. If it wasn't for the aura of chaos and sheer intimidation that radiate form her, Zelos would have felt blood rushing to a certain part of his anatomy while being entranced by the beauty of the curvaceous form of that demon.

Reriki's kimono and hair changed to a plain white without any decorations or ornaments of any kind and her face was now only a blank space. More worrying was that no one in the party could detect any trace of Reriki's aura. It was like after that explosion of power it had completely vanished. She now truly looked like her namesake; a mask of pure white, without any defining features. Only her body proportions remained the same.

_This is not good. _Raine realized. She did not know what Reriki was exactly, besides a spiritual demon. But Rahishi was clearly a demon of the "high" species. _These demons are regarded as the most powerful of all three demon species, easily identified by their human-like features. _

As the group was left gaping at the true form of the two demonesses, Rahishi suddenly charged, fire swirling around her as she rushed at incredible speed to Regal. The air around her seemed to ignite and its temperature raise to scorching levels. When the Thunder's Apprentice defended against the blow with his metal bracelets, he saw the enchanted metal slowly melting at contact with the demoness' blade.

He was saved by Raine, who conjured a water stream out of the frozen lake and hitting the demoness with a high-pressure, water jet that pushed her away while raising much steam as the water evaporated in contact with Rahishi.

Regal was about to thank her when he saw the floating, serpent-dragon coming and preparing to blast Raine. He warned her and she turned just in time to see the beast unleashing an electrical blast. Raine quickly summoned another water stream that received the entire attack and conducted it to the lake, dissipating the energy.

Ratatosk and Marta took it upon themselves to engage Rahishi in combat, but whenever they got close enough to attack they felt it difficult to breath as the heated air literally suffocated them. The demoness attacked and Marta put herself between Emil and the enemy.

"Don't try to defend with your sword!" Marta warned. "You saw what it did to Regal's bracelets!"

Emil nodded. If Rahishi's weapon had gotten strong enough to melt through enchanted weapons, then his normal sword would be just as good as a wooden one against that high demon of fire. While that was going on, Presea tried to destroy the samurai armor, just to find it was as fast as she was and see it draw a second sword.

Colette was about to help Presea when Reriki suddenly appeared in front of her. Looking at the blank mask that was Reriki's face Colette remembered about something she once read in a book in Mizuho. She knew she had seen those monsters somewhere.

"You've summoned them, didn't you?" Colette asked the demoness.

"Why, yes. After all, that's what I am; a demon summoner," Reriki answered.

"You're one of them, aren't you? One of the demons of the Mizuho folklore."

"Oh, you're from Mizuho? Those guys always sounded like our fans, although, they got some things wrong about us. Anyway…" she passed her sleeved hand over her face and suddenly her features and hair changed to that of Sheena's, startling Colette. Even the aura was identical to the ninja's, more than the Niurma could have ever mimicked. "You probably already know what I am, right?" Reriki said in Sheena's voice.

Colette only nodded, producing the chakras on her hands. She had read about what kind of demon Reriki was, so she knew she had to watch out or else the demoness could take a form that would confuse her and leave her guard open for an attack.

She threw her weapons at the demoness, who only batted them away, but that gave Colette enough time to produce two more and make them float near her hands, spinning at great speed as she threw them at Reriki. The demoness avoided the chakras and threw seal cards on the Keeper of Terra's Oath, Colette jumped, but in that moment the seals suddenly changed directions in mid-flight and adhered to her body.

The blonde looked back at Reriki and saw her features were back to their blank state. But when the demoness was about to cast a spell the two spinning chakras Colette had thrown before came back and started slicing at her back, breaking her concentration enough so Colette could peel the seals off and destroy them with a quick charge of her power.

Reriki suddenly seemed to shift on her place, like she was an image in a monitor suffering interference, which allowed the chakras to pass through her and fly back to Colette, who caught them effortlessly. However, Reriki suddenly teleported and reappeared near Colette, thrusting out her sleeved hand. A tire of seals came out as Colette narrowly dodged, being cut by the tire as Reriki manipulated it as if it was a whip. The reincarnated Gnome put her arms up in defense against the blows.

Meanwhile, Presea, Zelos, Raine and Regal were trying to fight Reriki's summons off, but were interrupted form time to time by Genis' spells, which they narrowly dodged. The dragon showed a great resistance to magic even when Regal redirected its attacks back. Raine tried to get the water to reach the dragon, but she still didn't have enough control over her magic, so it simply dodged in the air.

Presea was occupied by the armor as it seemed immune to any of her dark waves. She then turned to look at Colette and saw the girl being blow back by Reriki. At that, the pink haired woman abandoned her fight and zeroed on Reriki. Nobody would dare to hurt Colette in front of Presea and get away with it.

The reincarnated Shadow jumped and delivered a powerful kick at the demoness, but it was caught in the last instant by the sleeved arm of the blank mask demon. Presea then used the arm as leverage to jump in the air and threw her ax, this time managing to hit Reriki's arm and embedding the weapon on it.

The demoness backed away, but Presea followed and attacked, leaving trails of darkness with the intent to suck the energies of that spiritual demon dry. However, she stopped when Reriki's face suddenly became that of Alicia. Presea widened her eyes and was about to ask what her sister was doing here when she was attacked from behind by the samurai armor, which left a cut made of light on the back of the Warrior of the Deep Abyss.

Turning, Presea saw the armor was about to behead her, but a spinning chakra took the living armor's helmet off first. Although it still lived, it couldn't see where its target was anymore, giving Presea the chance to sidestep the attack. Another chakra flew and pierced through the armor followed by a cry of "Shrapnel". The chakra inside the armor exploded in several small, metal kunai with the strength of a cannon shot, piercing the summon inside out. The armor disintegrated before even falling to the floor.

Presea was about to thank Colette for the help, but Reriki attacked her while she was distracted, using a variant of Sheena's Demon Seal. A Spread spell was also casted and the Warrior of the Dark Abyss was thrown in the air. Colette tried to go and help her, but Reriki quickly made hand sings and suddenly a glowing character appeared under Colette's feet releasing chaos energy on her and a pulse wave that threw the Keeper of Terra's Oath away.

Meanwhile, Zelos was avoiding Rahishi's attacks, heated sword beams that she launched at him, but the red head soon found out he was quite good at flying. However, his ice magic was proving to be useless, as the ice he summoned was sublimated in contact with the air around the demoness.

_As long as she can't reach me, I'll be good to… _Zelos though, until Rahishi crouched, putting a hand in the ground, and the air around her ignited.

"Flare Shot!" the demoness then jumped, turning her whole body into a flaming projectile, her sword aiming for Zelos.

_Oh, c'mon! You've gotta be kidding me! _

Zelos tried to dodge, but suddenly Rahishi's speed increased to that of an arrow, reaching Zelos and slashing at him. The air around the Knight of the Frigid Glory also burned his body, making him scream out in pain. Rahishi then dropped to the floor and that was when Zelos saw a chance to attack:

"Absolute!" when Rahishi landed, she was immediately encased in an iceberg, but even that soon started melting. The demoness broke out of the ice formation by igniting the air around her again. "No effect huh?" Zelos then summoned an ice lance and hurled it at the demoness, The lance glowed with the reincarnated Celsius' power, but Rahishi dissolved it into vapor with one of her Heat Blades.

Zelos was about to attack again, but sensed something coming at him from his left and quickly flew back, just in time to avoid an Air Blade spell. He turned and saw Genis there, his wind orb held by his right hand as he smiled.

Deciding to take out the Desian General first, Zelos flew to him, only to have his path blocked by Reriki, who made several hand signals and murmured something in demonic that the Knight of Frigid Glory didn't understand. It was then he suddenly reverted back to human form.

"What th… WHOA!" Zelos let out seconds before gravity took control and he dropped to the frozen lake. He was saved from being smashed onto the ice by Regal, who saw the whole thing and jumped, grabbing Zelos in the air as he fell. "Thanks pal."

"Don't mention it," Regal said putting the reincarnated Celsius on the ground. "Why did you turn off your Spirit form?"

"I would like to know that too."

It hadn't been Zelos' intention and he felt like his powers weren't sealed as in the first time they battled against Genis' aides, this was something different. He could also feel the agitation from Seles, although his sister tried to stay quiet for him to concentrate on the battle.

Meanwhile, Marta used Typhoon Saw on the dragon, but the cuts didn't seem to make much of an effect, except by angering the summon. Emil tried to launch Dark Fangs at it, but the attacks were also ineffective. Genis also threw spells at the two, showing that he wouldn't let things go as easily as before.

_Summoning any monsters won't do us any good. Genis already showed he can pretty much destroy anything we throw at him in one spell. _Emil thought. _ And with Ratatosk suddenly missing…_

Genis then snapped his fingers and his two aides immediately abandoned their fights to jump/teleport to his side. The Desian General looked down on the party as the serpent-dragon Reriki summoned floated behind him. With a quick wave of his hand, the fire orb came forth and he grabbed it as it glowed a ruby-red.

"Explosion!" the group looked up and at seeing the great fireball of concentrated power, they dispersed, leaving it to hit the ice. However, that was what the young-looking Desian wanted. "Tidal Wave!" the water orb shone as Genis brought it forth, his open palm inches away from it.

A torrential flood came from the ice bridge below, catching Colette, Zelos and even Raine, who couldn't counter the spell in time off guard. Marta put her hands out and produced two strong gales that managed to hold back the magical tsunami. Even so, the strain to stand up against Genis' spell was taking everything she had. Emil summoned two frog monsters that dived into the wave and took the three that had been caught by it out. They cough as they tried to take huge breaths of air.

Presea used her transformation technique and made dark wings grow on her back again, going after Genis. Rahihsi tried to stop her, extending the reach of her fire blade and swinging the weapon at her. The reincarnated Shadow avoided it and threw her ax at the Desian General, who jumped to the dragon's head as it let out a lightning blast, but the weapon cut through it.

Suddenly, the Warrior of the Deep Abyss flew in high-speed at them, taking her ax back and slashing at the dragon's jaw, cutting the left side of its mouth off. The summon roared in pain and rage and Reriki had to teleport Genis out of there as the beast went berserk, blinded by the pain.

Regal took that chance to call the summon's attention by throwing lightning spheres at it. It didn't hurt it, but, as he predicted, the monster turned to him and flew at the Thunder's Apprentice. Pulling his fist back, Regal calculated his timing and threw a punch right when the dragon was upon him, hitting the summon's head and making the skull cave in. The reincarnated Volt didn't even need to charge his fist due to his natural strength being enhanced in Spirit form. The dragon hit the floor and skidded on the ice while dissolving into light.

Meanwhile, Zelos and Raine combined their magic to raise a water column from the lake and drop it on Rahishi, who was busy with Marta and defending from Colette's long-ranged attacks. The demoness looked up in time to see the water column being solidified and land with a "CRASH" on her. Presea charged her hand axes with darkness and approached the ice column as it was cracking and evaporating under Rahishi's infernal aura.

"Beast's Maw!" Presea unleashed her attack right when Rahishi freed herself, the air around her axes being coated with darkness that took the shape of two monstrous rows of teeth that closed on the demoness.

Colette followed up, throwing her Spinning Wheel on the demoness, but the metal soon melted away under the incredible heat that emanated from Rahishi's aura. Even so, she didn't let that stop her from throwing a Triple Ray Satellite on Rahishi with all her strength, hitting the aide on the stomach, head and right leg, making her kneel.

Suddenly, Colette, Marta and Raine felt as if they were being suspended from the floor. Looking down they saw strange characters under them. Another then appeared floating over the middle of the lake, where the ice had being broken before. The three then felt something pulling them to it with incredible strength. They could hear Reriki speaking the name of a spell:

"Gravity Mark!" when the three collided with each other on the mark, they were immediately pulled downwards, like gravity on them had increased a thousand fold, making them dive into the freezing waters.

Presea saw that and ran, jumping in the water to save the three, not seeming even bothered by the freezing temperatures, while the rest of the group turned to Genis and Reriki. The silver haired Desian only smiled as he spoke:

"Reriki, Unison Spell 3!"

"Yes, Master Genis!" the mask demoness complied.

Regal and the others tried to shoot elemental blasts against Genis, but he simply brought his dark orb up and several of Reriki's seal cards surrounded it. The symbols shone with a purple light and dark energy seemed to expand from the orb and reach the cards flying around it. That happened in a matter of seconds as the blasts were absorbed by the dark mass that shot to the air and the group suddenly felt themselves being pulled to it, even the ice shards, the air itself and light seemed to be sucked by the sphere of darkness.

"Dark Vortex!" Genis and Reriki empowered it more and the reincarnated Summon Spirits on the ground were pulled to the dark hole. Thankfully, their powers negated any fatal effects from the spell, but it still attacked them with powerful charges of darkness. R

ahishi, which like her General and Reriki, wasn't affected by the spell, passed her fingers on her blade, extending it with fire and jumped, grabbing the hilt of her sword with both hands as its blade was now long enough to reach the group without her touching the dark mass.

"Flare Edge!" Rahishi swung her blade and it passed through the dark mass as if it were made of water. Once it made contact with the reincarnated Summon Spirits, all the accumulated energy quickly gathered at the point where the edge entered in contact with their bodies and released a great, flaring explosion right when the Dark Vortex was dispelled. Rahishi landed on one knee and with one hand on the ground as Emil and the others crashed on the ice with a heavy "THUD".

Water then exploded upwards as Presea was back, shadows carrying the other girls to the edge of the frozen surface as the Warrior of the Dark Abyss "dived" on the ground, going for Genis.

"Oh no. I won't fall for that!" the Desian General timed it and brought his light orb forth, grabbing it with his right hand. He then thrust his arm into the black hole, adjusting his aura to allow his body access to it in a blink of an eye. "Shimmering Lights!" several flashes of light emanated from the black hole as explosions could be heard.

Colette looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Genis taking his hand out of the black hole and signal Reriki, who threw her card-whip into it and fished Presea out. The woman seemed stunned as she was thrown on the ground and Reriki teleported near her. The blank-faced demoness hit Presea's body several times with her sleeved hands in blinking speeds. When she was done, she turned and raised her hand:

"Demon King's Cry!" several symbols appeared over Presea's body where Reriki`s hits connected, an impact wave emanating from each and everyone of them, Presea feeling like she had been hit by Yggdrasil in several different parts of her body at the same time. She didn't even had the time to scream before she was rocketed backwards and slammed on the rock wall of the temple, leaving an impact crater on it and raising dust.

"PRESEA!" Colette got up and tried to run to her crush, but her path was blocked by Rahishi. Colette tried to punch her out of the way with all her strength, but the demoness caught her fist, not even budging an inch.

Rahishi then kicked Colette upwards, sending her airborne. The demoness then inverted the grip on her sword and charged it with her infernal flames:

"Salamander's Roulette!" she jumped and swung her blade, letting it go when Colette was falling. The blade became a wheel of flames and it rammed on Colette, pushing her back as it ate away her defenses. The wheel ended up exploding and throwing the blonde back, reverting to her human form as Rahishi reformed her sword.

Lighting and ice hit the demoness' back. She turned to see Regal and Zelos had got up, though they were panting in exhaustion. That was when a Cyclone spell hit them both, followed by being frozen in two Absolute spells in mid air.

"Reriki! Rahishi!" at his call, the demonesses ran to Genis' side again. "Attack formation _Incinera_, now!"

Both demonesses nodded at their General's command and Rahishi jumped back while Reriki made several hand sings and seal cards came out of her back, forming the card halo she had on her normal form, the characters glowing with soft colors. Rahishi then ran forward, the air around her igniting as her blade became involved in a crimson light.

Reriki then pointed her palm forward to Rahishi. The seal cards shot out from around her and joined around the fire demoness. The paper seals were incinerated, but their glowing symbols remained, seeming to ignite in the presence of the fire demon.

"Fire King's Charge!" both demonesses proclaimed as replicas of Rahishi's flame blade came out of the symbols, when she held her blade with her two hands and pointed it forward. Her target was Marta, who could only look in horror as Genis and his aides systematically defeated all of her friends and now came to finish her off.

She tried summoning a fierce gale and sent her wind spinners on Rahishi, but even those seemed to burn up before reaching the demoness. Her aura simply burned everything that stood in the way of her charge.

"NO!" Emil finally managed to stand and tried to run to brunette, desiring above everything to be there to defend Marta.

He felt time slowing around him as the space seemed to constrict and spit him back right in front of Marta. He didn't care if he got killed. He would use all of his power to save her. Unnoticed to the blonde, his sword ignited in bright, multicolored flames as he brought it up. Marta yelled his name, trying to get him out of there, but Emil had already decided.

"DESTROYER'S SONG!" he brought his blade down right when he could feel the heat intensifying. The blade of multicolored flames met with the crimson ones that had all extended, their tips joining in an arrow formation as they pointed right at the blonde, ready to pierce him.

To everybody's surprise, Emil's blade stopped Rahishi's charge, releasing a show of multicolored sparks and wind as the two powers tried to overcome one another. Rahishi's fiery aura tried to devour Emil, but his own aura was pushing it back. The members of the party that had reverted back to their human form got up and looked at Emil they could see some kind of colorful light emanating from his body.

When the clash between the two attacks finally reached its peak, a giant explosion took place. Rahishi came out of the flames with a great backflip that made her land near Genis and Reriki. The fighting had completely stopped as all combatants only looked at the smoke cloud resultant of the violent reaction between the two powers.

Then, when the smoke cleared, they all gasped at seeing Emil standing there, completely unscathed. However, his body was surrounded by a multicolored hue. The blonde panted as he glared at Genis.

The expression of the young-looking Desian then morphed from shock to one of fascination and comprehension as he chuckled, his malicious smile coming back in place. Genis mumbled:

"I see…"

Suddenly, Emil disappeared again and, in a second, Genis shouted for Reriki and Rahishi to get back as he ran in front of them, bringing one of his orbs up and stopped Emil's blade as it came down when the reincarnated Lord of the Monsters appeared out of thin air near the trio.

The entire party gasped at seeing that. Genis grunted, but soon a grin came to his face and his eyes gleamed in wonderment as he looked at Emil:

"I knew it!" a second later, the other orbs arranged themselves in a circle, with the one defending Genis on the center. "Elementum Cannon!" the beam of high-powered, elemental power roared, engulfing Emil's figure as it shot across the temple and hit the opposite wall, exploding and shaking the entire cave.

"EMIL!" Marta cried as she and the others turned to where the beam had hit. She had tears in her eyes as she couldn't see a trace of him.

"Look!" Presea spoke.

The entire group turned to her and looked at the direction she was pointing. They turned and saw Emil in the middle of the lake, still with that multicolored aura involving his entire body. Marta didn't know if she should be shocked or relieved.

Genis laughed at that development. Even his aides looked at him in confusion, for the two were sure the Lord of Monsters had been undone by that attack. The silver haired Desian only said:

"That clever bastard… teleported right when I shot. And this! There is only one explanation for this!" Genis' tone was disturbing most of the group, even Raine was starting to get uneasy with the way her brother spoke.

Emil positioned himself in a familiar stance; a stance that his other self used. His aura slowly started to converge to his sword as it seemed to gather power, wind picking up around Emil.

"That's…" Raine let out.

"But, wasn't it Ratatosk's… ?" Colette let out.

"It's… stronger… stronger than before…" was all Marta could say as she felt the power Emil was gathering.

"This power is…" Rahishi let out, her mouth hanging open. She had heard the stories, but she never thought she would get the chance to witness it first-hand.

"That's right," Genis said, his grin and eyes as wide as they could be. "_This_ is the true power of the legendary Arte that is said to be capable to destroy entire legions of demons. This is it!" Genis' tone was one of utter joy, like this was the single most expected moment in his life.

"Ain… Soph… AUR!" Emil swung his sword and what it unleashed was unlike the lesser versions of the Mystic Arte. A wide wave of multicolored flames came out, devouring everything on its path. Even the ice and the water seemed to be consumed by it as they simply disappeared.

Genis, however, wasn't intimidated by it in the least as he simply put up his orbs and they stopped the attack. However, the sheer pressure of the wave of all-encompassing, spiritual energy made wind blow at his face and push him back. His aides felt fear for their General as the orbs seemed to start to cry in protest as they tried to hold back the giant wave of destructive energy that easily blocked the view of the trio from the group on the other side.

Even though he had to struggle to keep it back, his mind worked in overload. Genis couldn't help, but laugh. Because his theories had been confirmed.

"There isn't two beings with such similar auras, it's completely impossible!" he said in a joyful tone while his mind quickly worked on gathering all of his power and his orbs shined like eight, tiny suns. He never had to channel so much power through them, but if he was expected to come out alive from this, it had to be done. "The answer is only one!"

Emil and the others could hear the magic fanatic and they found his words disturbing in how convinced he sounded. Genis then spoke:

"There was never an Emil! You are… and always were… Ratatosk! ETERNAL RECURRENCE!"

To everybody's shock, good part of the wave of multicolored flames had the eight orbs sliding around it as it reverted direction and colors. The rest, however, hit Genis full on, his clothes were burned from the flames and his power completely drained. The Desian General still had a wide grin on his face even as he fell backwards and his aides rushed to stop him from hitting the floor.

Emil could only look in shock as the giant wave of spiritual energy approached, but his mind was elsewhere, digesting what Genis had just told him.

"EMIIIILLLL!" Marta called, trying to get to him, but she wouldn't reach him in time.

Then, time stopped for the reincarnated Ratatosk…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

_He couldn't believe it._

_How could he have lost?_

"_Urgh! How?! Even with mana in this state… my powers should…"_

_He looked around as he was lying on the ground. When defeated, his Centurions were forced out of his body. They appeared to be unconscious for the moment. He then looked up to the being responsible for that and saw the reproachful expression on Nebilim's face as he pointed his fire blade at his face._

"_You forfeited your powers and any right you had to your control over mana the moment you entered in this deal with Apocalypse," the crimson haired, former elf said in a tone of finality. He then sighed as he brought his free hand to his face and closed his eyes, turning his head. "But I suppose that's only natural. So, who am I to lecture you?" Nebilim then opened his eyes and looked at him with a smile. "After all… spirits, humans, elves… what's the difference? In the end, we all are slaves to our feelings… my dear Traitor to the World."_

_With that he plunged his sword on Ratatosk's head._

"_AAAAGGGHHHH! AAUGH!" _

_The Lord of the Monsters fell and could feel his powers leaving him, his body reverting back to its primal form, its essence; his core._

_The crimson core with a butterfly-like emblem floating in the middle fell to the ground near Nebilim's feet in the exact moment the other Centurions woke up. They turned and could only look in shock at their Lord's core as Nebilim picked it up after dismissing his fire weapon. _

"_Lord… Ratatosk…" Ignis said in horror. _

"_No! Boss!" Lumen cried out while Nebilim seemed to examine the core with interest, as if he was deciding what to do with it. _

"_Get your filthy hands off our Lord!" Tornitrus said, seeming to dismiss his weak state and lack of powers and rammed into Nebilim when the Head of the Demonic Invasion Forces looked up and got a surprised look on his face at seeing the Centurion attacking him barehanded._

_Nebilim let the core drop on his surprise and that was all it took for all of the Centurions to enter in action and quickly chant a spell. Their respective emblems appeared on their bodies as they stood and circles of light expanded from under them and Ratatosk's core. _

_Then came a blinding, white flash that forced Nebilim to protect his eyes. When it faded away and the former elf could look again, there was no sign of the Centurions or Ratatosk's core…_

_- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -_

_He appeared in the air and dropped to the grassy ground, staying there. _

_He knew he was in his core state, however his consciousness was slipping away from time to time, so he couldn't get an accurate guess as to what time it was, or how many days had it been. He couldn't even contact his Centurions or feel their presences anymore. _

_No doubt they had returned to their altars, reverting to their core states._

_And it was all because of him…_

_He forced them on this. He made the pact with the Grand Demon Lord, very aware that treason was a possibility. He made them suffer…_

_He… betrayed them…_

_His servants… his Centurions… _

_His family…_

_He didn't know how long he stayed like that, only with those thoughts and feelings to keep him company. However, one day it all changed:_

"_Hey Lana, look. I found something."_

_Hands carefully picked him up from the ground…_

_- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -_

_He was brought to the House of Salvation by the couple (Lana and Reyson he had learned through their travels). _

_They were good people. Good simple people, who didn't have any great aspirations or desires. Simply a couple trying to get by in a world that suddenly became plagued by death and chaos. _

_They made he remember Martel, Mithos and Yuan._

_Did the three survive?_

_He could at least still feel them, since he never dropped their contract with him. Knowing they were alive make him feel… relieved._

_But as much as he wanted to simply stay there and spend the rest of his existence wallowing on his guilt, he couldn't. There was still something he should do. A last thing that maybe could set all of this right…_

_He felt a commotion._

_Apparently, Lana was waiting and bearing a child and today was its birth._

_However, he heard when people shook their heads as they brought the infant in the room and felt the heavy feelings on their souls. The child was born dead, even though it had a completely formed body. It simply wasn't breathing…_

_The doctor and nurses left the room to give the news to the couple._

_Maybe he could change that…_

_It might be a little cruel, but… what else could he do? This was the perfect chance and besides… _

_He united all of what was left of his powers and made a connection with the soulless shell. He started floating and approaching it as he could feel all the bounds necessary being formed. This body would become a nice vessel._

"_I will take this body as my own… but to protect myself I cannot be Ratatosk... and the world still needs a protector, a guardian for the Ginnungagap… so, from now on, I shall be someone else… I shall become… human…_

"_Maybe… he can become a better person… than I ever was…"_

_He then felt himself merging with the body. His consciousness, memories, experiences, everything was escaping him, only to come back once he was ready…_

_A baby's cry echoed in the room and in a matter of seconds, the medical crew was back, with Reyson right behind them._

_They found a baby crying in the room. A baby with a butterfly-like mark on his chest…_

_- / - / - / - / - / - / -_

Emil fell to his knees, his eyes wide.

He remembered…he remembered _everything_…

"I… then I was never…" Emil mumbled. Suddenly there was a heartbeat-like pulse and Ratatosk's voice came from him. "All of this because I…" another pulse of power and Emil spoke. "I just… wanted to…"

The group could only look astonished as Marta finally reached Emil, but the young-man had collapse from the sheer shock of his last, lost memories. Genis, meanwhile, was lying on Reriki's lap, observing. He couldn't move due to the extreme pain and the burns in multiple parts of his body, but he could see everything.

"Brilliant…" Genis said, his voice struggling a bit with the pain. Reriki and Rahishi looked at him. "He used his own aura as a shield to cancel the spell… even when I inverted the wavelength of the magic, he still cancelled it."

Raine finally got over her stupor and healed them, but that wasn't enough to wake Emil up or give them back their forces. Even so they ran to their unconscious friend.

"My General, what should we do?" Rahishi asked, looking at Genis.

He cough, but soon smiled as he looked at her:

"We still have our orders… don't we?

The reincarnated Summon Spirits seemed to hear that for they looked up in time to see the demoness known as the Sun's Blade nod and raise her sword. They would all be killed if she attacked.

It was then that the entire cave started to shake, startling all of them. Rahishi looked around and Genis wondered why that earthquake seemed strangely… he looked and saw Colette standing, her body seeming to glow with a yellow aura.

In the other side of the lake, the party tried to get a footing as the entire temple was shaking. Marta looked at Colette when she realized the blonde was the one doing that.

"Colette?" Marta let out.

"Quick! Get out of here! I don't know how long I can keep this up!" she said as she was touching one of the rocks jutting out of the lake.

The group decided to simply comply and ran, but Presea stayed behind, decided to stay with Colette. Regal saw that and told the others to continue on, going back for the two girls. In that moment, Colette sent out all of her power into the earth and made the earthquake intensify, so much that Rahishi fell, not being accustomed to fight with such an environmental disadvantage.

"You did enough. Let's go!" Regal said while grabbed the two girl's hands and using his remaining powers to make a high jump to the exit of the cave. The three then left running.

Still with Genis on her lap, Reriki quickly made a chant as the ceiling collapsed and came down on them…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Outside of the temple, large clouds of dust rose as an entire section of the mountains near the Temple of Ice seemed to collapse.

Then a great rumble sounded and earth and dirt exploded upwards as a giant, eight-headed dragon came out from the debris. It stopped, hovering in the skies, on its back was Genis and his two aides. The Desian General was being carried in Reriki's back, looking like he would collapse at any minute.

"Where are they?!" Rahishi practically roared. She would make those Summon Spirits pay for hurting her General like that.

"I can't see them on this storm," Reriki said. "But why?"

The snow storm seemed to have reached the temple and even amplified. You could barely see your own hand amidst the winds and the whiteness in the air. Genis mumbled in pain and spoke:

"It's… magical in nature… they are covering… their tracks…"

"My General," Rahishi said, looking at him, but taking care not to touch him. In this form, the air around her was still hot even with this snow storm raging around them and her touch could easily give any mortal serious burns.

"Let's go back…" he said, although his command sounded weak. "At least… we now know… why Ratatosk… took that disguise…"

Reriki and Rahishi could only wonder what their general meant by that…

_End of Act IV_


	46. Interlude: Findings of a Demon

_Interlude:_

_Findings of a Demon_

Merahwdir was considered many things by his brethren, most common being "soft" and "pathetic" and this tended to bring him some quite frustrating assignments when he was put under the command of superiors who didn't understand his admiration for the ideals of chivalry. Even so, he fulfilled his duty, no matter how degrading or frustrating it was, because that was who he was: a loyal servant of the Great Ones.

"My General…" Imasix called him, making Merahwdir look up from his meditating position. "I've came with the report on the status of the mission," the lion demon nodded, giving permission for him to go ahead. "The diggers haven't found any traces that might indicate the presence of Exspheres on the area. We're waiting your orders to proceed or cease operation."

The demon general sighed, already expecting that. Soul Gem collecting, or Exsphere mining as the Desians and mortals called it in this world, was a very tedious job, which required a great amount of patience. The diggers did most of the job, leaving the General to do nothing, but sit and wait.

The place where they were excavating was a boxed valley in the mountains north of the Ossa Pass. Merahwdir couldn't remember, for the existence of him, why his superiors thought there would be Soul Gems here. The place was almost completely devoid of life, except by a single, lone tree standing in the exact middle of the valley.

According to Imasix, that tree was a rare species that became in danger of extinction during the Kharlan War: the Linkite Tree. This particular tree had powerful magical properties in all of its parts, from the roots to the fruits. Some of most powerful staffs were made out of its wood, according to the former elf. However, it now looked withered and about to die.

"A pity…" Merahwdir heard his aide say as he set his eyes on the tree for the first time and explained him what exactly it was. "This tree was a race breed and cultivated by the first elves. It's like seeing a part of our legacy dying…"

That was the first time the demon heard his subordinate speak in that sad tone, but there was nothing he could do about it.

_This whole world has greatly changed since the elves passed away. How must it feel to come back and see that all they remembered, the things and beings they once were familiar with have disappeared, gone in the flow of time? _the demon general thought.

Of course, demons never felt like that. Like all other spiritual realms, Niflheim hardly changed at all. Ever since the demons took it as their realm it remained mostly the same. Merahwdir could sympathize with his aide, but he knew he would never be able to completely understand those feelings.

After all, demons didn't possess a heart to form genuine attachments to memories or things.

"I knew this would be a wild goose chase…" Merahwdir said as he got up.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Ismasix asked in his military demeanor.

"Go on."

"If you knew it, then why did we came here and wasted our time? We could be doing something more productive for…"

"Tell me, did you use to question your superiors' orders, even when they didn't make any sense to you or sounded like a waste of time?" Merahwdir asked the former elf, interrupting him.

"No. But…"

"It is the same with us demons. We exist to serve. That's all there is to us."

He could see the curiosity behind Imasix's eyes and asked for the elf to speak what he was thinking, making it sound like an order.

Since all of the elves had been converted to demons, they now had the same bounds as the original demons to their superiors, making it impossible for them to deny an order from a higher-ranking one.

"You never… thought that maybe… there is something more than just following orders?" Imasix asked, knowing he couldn't resist the bound of command.

"That is not in the nature of a demon such as myself. Those of the Lord hierarchy are the ones who formulate these questions, but even they don't dare to voice them when the Great Ones command something. Well, they and some more… eccentric demons… like the ones in the Merchant Clan. I don't know, I never understood them."

Imasix didn't ask anything after that, understanding there were things that simply couldn't be argued with, since it was hardwired in the very nature of things.

"Anyway, tell them to prepare to move out and…"

"General!" a raspy voice called them in demonic, making the two turn and look at an spiritual demon wearing a long, dark cloak. If one were to look, he would see nothing inside. "We found something."

That made Merahwdir rise his eyebrows. He was sure he was sent here just out of spite from his superiors. He asked the demon to lead the way and the three walked, passing the trenches and holes the diggers had made in the soil. There was a bigger hole at the base of the Linkite Tree, where they concentrated their search.

"We thought at first it was nothing, but one the Collapsers took a closer look and found it was… different from the surroundings," the demon said as they approached the tree.

"Different how?" Merahwdir asked as they finally got near the hole excavated on the base of the Linkite Tree. Inside, there was a group of Collapsers looking at some roots of the plant.

"It's best if you see for yourself, sir."

"I'll verify," Imasix said, jumping into the hole and falling near where the Collapsers were looking.

He had to squint his eyes to see what they were looking at, since the light diminished and there were so many roots, but he saw something, a smooth surface in the wall of earth that made it very different from the rest of the soil around it.

"I found it," Imasix announced. "It look likes… some kind of tablet?" even he was confused at seeing something like this out in the middle of nowhere and buried under the Linkite Tree.

"A tablet?" Merahwdir inquired, his curiosity now peaked. "Is there something written on it?" he asked form outside the hole.

Imasix looked closer and, sure enough, he could see characters imprinted on the otherwise smooth surface, but… they weren't elven or even the letters of the common language spoken by the humans.

"It's… written on the Heavenly Language," the blue haired elf caught himself speaking out loud. When Merahwdir repeated the term in confusion, Imasix explained. "It is the language used by the Summon Spirits whenever they left messages or written enchantments. But what is it doing here? It looks like it's been here before this Linkite Tree was planted."

"Can you read it?" the fire demon asked.

"I only understand a few words. A scholar would know better than me," but it was not like they could request one and Imasix was sure none of the demons would know how to decipher the characters either. "It says something like 'Watcher of the Heart… seal… protection… slumber… undo corruption…'. The rest is too complicated for me to understand," he said, shaking his head.

"What should we do, sir?" the spiritual demon besides Merahwdir asked.

The demon general stood in thought, wondering what all of that could mean. If he understood what Imasix just said, it appeared the tablet was a seal of something called "Watcher of the Heart", but he never heard of a being or demon with that title. Plus, why would the Spirits put a seal in the middle of nowhere instead of sending it to Gladsheim, the Prison of the Abyss?

Or maybe it was nothing of what he was thinking. Imasix said he couldn't read it well anyway. Shaking his head and making his mane flutter to the sides, the demon general decided:

"Let's contact Lord Nebilim. Maybe he might know what this is."

While the other demons scurried away to carry out Merahwdir's orders, Imasix looked back and noticed something interesting: there was a small crack on the side of tablet. However, this crack seemed to be emanating an yellow color…


	47. Regretful Spirit

As you were all expecting (or not) I've taken this time for I prepared a double update for the launching of the new Act.

Now, I've been asked by many people how many acts this fic will have. Considering we're on Act V, it'll take... *mumbles to himself*... add this one...

About 8 to 9 acts plus the final one. Why did I say plus? Because I only know for sure there will be an individual act dedicated entirely to the conclusion of EH. Yes, you guessed it. The final act is the final "boss" battle and the epilogue!

Now, I hope I didn't intimidate you all with these numbers, but I did say this would be an epic and epics tend to be BIG!

This act is actually named because of a character that will have huge importance here. From the interlude and the title, I'm sure you can guess who I'm talking about.

Anyway, no skit this time. Enjoy the reading!

* * *

_Act V_

_Corrupted Heart_

**Chapter 42**

**Regretful Spirit**

_Where… wh-what happened? _was the first thought that came to Emil.

He felt like he was drifting away in some kind of dream. He could open his eyes, but there was nothing for him to see. He then started thinking on his own question.

He remembered the Ice Temple and… Genis telling he was truly Ratatosk.

_Oh yeah… that… _

Memories started to come back to him. He remembered the first time Ratatosk manifested; it hadn't felt like he had lost control of his own body to an alien presence, but rather that he was letting something come out of himself.

Then there were the times when he fought and found his style oddly akin to that of his other personality, but with slight differences.

And in the end…

"Huh… heh heh heh…" Emil chuckled to himself and then thought aloud. "What a joke… I was trying to run away from who, _what_ I was in the beginning."

He couldn't deny it now. He saw the memories. He knew "Emil" was supposed to have been born dead. Or… maybe he was in a way "Emil". Hadn't he reincarnated after all?

Suddenly a flash of light blinded him. He didn't even notice he had his eyes open since he couldn't see anything. When he opened them he was standing in what felt like a grassy field.

Looking around, Emil could only see a thick, white fog surrounding the area, but right in front of him was a giant, barren tree without leaves. The blonde was awed at the sheer size of the plant until he realized what it was:

"The Giant Kharlan Tree… my tree… but how is that possible? Isn't it…"

"Dead?" a familiar voice said, making Emil look to the exposed roots and notice a person sitting in one of them. "Yes, it is. But here, we can visit it. After all, this _is _our mind."

Emil steeled himself as he approached the figure of his alter-ego, his twin image, Ratatosk. Or would it be a split personality of himself, just like Zelos always teased him about? Anyway, it was time to find out.

"Ratatosk?" he asked his crimson-eyed twin, who gave a weak chuckle and a mild smirk, although his pose, his sword's point stuck in the root and his right hand gripping it, made he look… tired.

"That's the big question, isn't it? But, you remember now. You saw the memory. _We _are Ratatosk."

"If that is true and I am really a reincarnation of you then why is it that you are still around? Shouldn't a person's old self, no matter what kind of spirit he is, be erased when he reincarnates?"

That was the big doubt here. If Ratatosk had disappeared after all of that, Emil would be sad, but if he was supposed to, why didn't he do so when they were reborn? All of this was so confusing.

Ratatosk sighed and spoke, his voice devoid of its usual brashness and assertiveness:

"Unlike Origin and the others who started clean, I knew there wouldn't be enough time to wait for you to learn everything on your own. So, I left behind an impression of my previous self hidden inside of your mind. That would allow us to use our powers much earlier and for _us _to be ready."

"Is it really possible to do that?" Emil asked.

"Look at results and answer me that yourself."

Emil got what he meant and stayed silent.

Now that he thought about that, it all made sense. The way the Centurions automatically recognized him as their Lord. The demons insisting he was Ratatosk and his other personality telling Nebilim he was Emil. He looked at him and asked if he knew it the entire time, but his twin denied it:

"I might have had a hunch, but I never paid it much attention, being more worried about getting the Centurions so I could do what I should do."

"Get your revenge on humanity?" Emil asked.

"I honestly thought so at first," he admitted. "But when I… _we _started remembering, I realized that was not what I wanted to do when I decided to reincarnate."

"What is it that you want then? Redemption?" it had to be that. His old self sounded so sad. Now he understood why he was always touchy about the past. It was because he instinctively remembered what he did.

"Closure."

That single word was said with such finality to it that Emil involuntarily stepped back. He muttered an "What?!", but his other personality went on:

"You… you are everything I thought I should come back as… in my remorse, I thought that… maybe if I were another person none of that would have happened. The result was you. But I still existed as a fragment of my older self. I now know why I did so.

"For the damage I did in this world there is no forgiveness for me. A simple 'cleaning the slate' won't do. It… it would feel like taking the coward's way out," he lowered and shook his head before bringing it up again. "So, I made sure there was a part of me left. The part of me that started all of this."

Emil didn't know what to say. He never pegged Ratatosk for a fatalist, not even with all of the memories he was getting. Did his old self regret so much what he did that… ? His eyes lit up in understanding. His alter-ego seemed to have noticed that, for he said:

"Emil… no… my new self. I am the old you and as such I must give out so you can become what you are meant to be. But I… I will tell you now why I have been acting the way I have been lately and what I truly plan to do from now on."

He heard his crimson-eyed self speak and the more he did it, the more his eyes widened. He couldn't allow it, he simply couldn't.

"Are you serious?!" he took a step forward. "Think about it, for a minute! Think about what it will do to the others! And do you think I would want you to simply go on with this?!"

"Then should I have simply disappeared form the beginning?" his old self asked. "Would you be happier had that been the outcome?"

_This is all wrong. It was not supposed to go this way! _was all Emil could think as he looked down.

He didn't care about the technicalities behind it or what plans were made before he came to be. Ratatosk, the old Ratatosk, had always been like a brother to him; somebody that he knew would always be there for him, even with all the attitude and smartass comments. To literally show him how it should be done and urge him to go on when he felt he couldn't.

Sure, he didn't always agreed with him and the way he did some things tended to get both of them in trouble, but wasn't that the same with friends?

"So you consider me a brother, a friend?" Emil looked up to see that sad smile on his crimson-eyed twin's face.

"You can…"

"We're the same, remember? Two sides of the same coin. A single entity composed of two halves."

"Then why? Why does it have to end like that?" Emil practically begged for him to reconsider.

"Because these are the consequences. This is the price to be paid. Only one of us can live on to see a new tomorrow."

_No. You're wrong. Both of us should live to see that tomorrow. _"I can stop you, you know?! Now that I know the true nature of our link, I can simply take control and reveal everything."

"Would you really do it, knowing what that would make me feel like?"

Emil stopped and didn't retort to that.

He knew how his old self would feel. In his understanding, Ratatosk owed this to his brothers and sisters. He owed it to the world. If he tried to stop him, he would live tormented by guilt for the rest of eternity.

"This isn't how things should be…" was all Emil said, shaking his head and closing his eyes and knuckles in a tight grip.

"This is how I _choose _things to be," the two then felt the scenery dissolving around them. They were waking up. "I leave the rest in your hands…"

They then woke up…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Ratatosk opened his eyes and saw he was in what appeared to be a room. However he could feel some slight shaking.

_The EC quarters. _he realized.

He then felt someone holding his hand and looked to his right. The crimson-eyed alter ego saw Marta kneeling and sleeping with her head on his bed while holding his hand. Ratatosk blushed a bit when thinking about how long she must had been there.

Shaking his head, the Lord of Monsters decided to wake Marta up:

"Marta," he nudged her and got a mumble as response:

"A bit more to the right… Emil…"

Ratatosk didn't know why, but that irritated him quite a bit. He called her again and this time the brunette woke up, looking around and blinking her eyes. She then focused on the blonde, exclaiming him in surprise:

"Ratatosk! You're alright."

"Where are we?" he asked, going right to the point.

"We're back on the EC. Look, I have something to ask you."

He stayed quiet, knowing this was coming. He had been avoiding to talk with her for a good while, but now, with the latest revelations, he wouldn't be able to do so.

"Are you… ?" Marta started, but he interrupted.

"I'm an impression of my old personality while the Emil you know is the reincarnation. That's what you were going to ask, right?"

"Part of… but what I really want to know is why you have been avoiding me lately."

"Is this something you need to know in order to live?" Ratatosk asked, taking a page out of Richter's book. The red head had answered him the same way when he asked him a personal question in his typical, brash, demanding tone.

"What?!" Marta exclaimed, shocked that he would answer her like that.

"You shouldn't worry about me. I don't need anybody worrying about me."

His tone had been cold and even reproachful, but that only seemed to push Marta's buttons as she scrunched up her face and glared at the crimson-eyed entity.

"Ok, now what's going on?! You act like a jerk some times, but you were never a dick to me."

"Really? Because I don't recall you being so worried about me while you had Emil to contend with. Or is it that you want both of us?" that made Marta recoil as if she had been hit.

"I…" she lowered her head.

"Honestly, how greedy of… ENOUGH!" Emil's voice suddenly sounded as he threw his head back, wrestling the control out of Ratatosk and keeping him at bay.

Marta looked up at hearing Emil's voice tone and saw his green eyes as he looked at her.

"Marta don't listen to him! Ratatosk is just saying this because he…" he suddenly stopped speaking, his mouth hanging open as if he wanted to say something, but wasn't able to.

In truth, Emil had subconsciously stopped himself from revealing Ratatosk's plan.

_This is how I choose things to be. _that phrase came back to the blonde. It would be so easy… all he had to do was tell Marta everything and the entire "plan" would be down the drain.

But what then?

He could stop the reflection of his previous self from going on, but that would do nothing to solve the main problem. On the contrary, Ratatosk would still be tormented by the memory of his mistakes, constantly haunted by the feeling that he would never be able to atone for what he had done.

Emil didn't want Marta and the others to suffer, but neither did he want to torment his alter-ego, no matter if he is just a reflection of who he was or something else. Living unable to cope with the guilt would be like condemning him to hell.

He then noticed his self-proclaimed girlfriend looking at him with confusion and curiosity as he took his time to ponder everything. He then shook his head and said:

"It's nothing…"

"Oh c'mon. It sure didn't look like it was nothing if you took the control off Ratatosk like that," Marta insisted.

"Believe in me, Marta. Ratatosk… knows what he's doing," the pause on his phrase didn't go unnoticed by her. "Please, just… trust me, ok?"

The pleading tone which Emil used and the sad look in his eyes were enough for any protests the brunette had to die in her throat as she just nodded.

"Anyway, we should tell the others you're awake," Marta said changing the subject, for which Emil was grateful.

As they left the room, Emil could swear he heard a faint "thank you" inside his head…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

On the command bridge, Botta was talking with a holographic projection of Yuan on his office. The feature had just been installed and it seemed to be working well.

"I see," Yuan said as Botta relayed to him what the reincarnated Summon Spirits told him. "Anything else?" he asked, as he looked at Raine and Regal, standing behind Botta.

"There is an important subject to discuss, but we would rather do that personally," Regal said, to which Raine nodded.

"That important, huh? "

The door then opened and Emil and Marta entered. The adults looked behind to see the young couple. Raine immediately let out a breath of relief at seeing Emil up and about. The blonde looked around and asked where were Colette, Presea and Zelos.

"They are resting right now," Raine informed him. "The temple left all of us drained. I can only hope we reach earth soon," she shivered a bit at remembering they were on a _boat _on _sea_.

"Oh, ok. By the way, Ratatosk is fine," Emil said. "Centurions?" he asked, turning as Ra… _my servants. _he reminded himself, appeared.

"Yes, my Lord?" Solumn asked.

"Can we have a chat out there?"

They could already tell Emil was going to interrogate the Centurions about all that happened and how much they knew. The adults let the blonde leave, Marta then spoke as soon as she was sure Emil was out of hearing range:

"He's been strange since he woke up. Both of them."

"How so?" Raine asked.

"Well, for starters, Ratatosk was acting like an idiot."

"Forgive me, but isn't that his standard behavior?" Regal spoke.

"I don't mean his usual jerk behavior, I mean he was acting like a dicky jerk."

"Marta, mind your language in the presence of other people," Raine chastised, meaning Regal and Yuan with her head. Marta realized what the Professor meant and apologized to them.

"It's ok, I don't mind," Yuan said. "I myself sometimes feel like cursing someone."

"Yuan!" Raine chastised the Leader of Renegades. "Good manners should be something to be observed. I'm sure Martel would agree with me," the threat was quite clear to Yuan and, truly, Martel was quite a sticker for good manners.

"Alright, alright. Anyway, why is it so strange?"

"Emil assumed control, but he didn't explain to me why Ratatosk spoke like that. Actually, it looked he wanted to, but couldn't."

The group stood in thought about that, but they didn't have the slightest idea about what it could be. It was already hard to guess someone's thoughts, but considering Emil's mind was essentially divided between two personalities things became night impossible to figure out without a starting point.

As they thought, however, the EC suddenly shook violently, almost throwing everybody who wasn't sitting on the ground. Botta reached for a button near a microphone and spoke with the engine house, demanding to know what happened.

"Demons, sir! They destroyed the engines!" someone spoke through the radio.

"WHAT?!" Botta let out.

Then, to everybody's further worry, Yuan's image started to flick in and out as he tried to speak with Botta and ask what was going on, his voice coming out cut between his words. Botta tried to adjust the frequency, but Yuan's image disappeared.

"Com. Officer, what's going on?!" Botta urged the man as Regal, Marta and Raine could only observe in increasing worry as the EC's systems seemed to be malfunctioning.

"We're being jammed, sir!" the Renegade Communications Office answered.

"By who?"

Suddenly, the holographic image was back, however, the person it showed wasn't Yuan anymore, but a man in a large cloak with several gaps around it, using baggy clothes and glasses.

"I'm worried you won't be able to contact anyone today, Lord Botta of the Renegades. Huhahahaha!"

"You!" Botta, exclaimed, gritting his teeth at the man's image.

"Who is that?" Marta asked.

"One of the Five Desian Cardinals," Botta spoke his tone angry and reproachful. "Rodyle, Hell's Researcher."

"I personally prefer Hellish Genius, if you don't mind," the Desian Cardinal answered with a smile.

"You are the one attacking us?" Raine asked.

"Correct. Imagine my surprise when I picked up a very strong power signature coming from the Flanoir region while I was nearby and then found out your little vessel."

In that moment, Colette and the others entered the bridge and saw the entire crew looking at the bluish projection of a man they didn't know. When Presea asked what was happening, Raine quickly filled her in the situation.

"Oh, how fortunate of me to get more than half the Summon Spirits all in one place. Do you all mind stepping outside, so we could talk face-to-face?" Rodyle asked as his humor was very pleasant at seeing he corner the reincarnated Summon Spirits.

Before anyone could reply, the transmission ended…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Before that happened, Emil and the Centurions had stepped out of the EC's interior and reached the roof. He stopped and leaned against the railings as he regarded his servants.

"You knew it, didn't you?" he started asking, his tone with its usual softness.

"Could you please define 'it', my Lord?" Solum asked.

"The fact that I'm not even human. That this entire time I was a fabrication," he sounded a little sad at saying that.

"No. You are not a fabrication of any kind," Tenebrae said, shaking his head.

"But…"

"Do you remember that Lumen always called you 'boss'?" Aqua spoke up. Emil looked at her. "Remember, he only called Lord Ratatosk that. Lumen might be a bumbling idiot, but even he knows how to recognize the one that created him. If you were a mere disguise, he wouldn't call you that."

Emil stopped and thought about all the times Lumen spoke to him and a memory of something the Centurion of Light once said:

_But boss is boss… _he always had the impression Lumen was specifically referring to him, to Emil.

"You are our reincarnated Lord. You are the new Lord of Monsters, Guardian of Ginnungagap," Ventus said in his ever-wise tone and looking with his sharp, eagle eyes at Emil. "Never doubt that."

"But… even so… what about Ratatosk?"

The Centurions knew he was referring to his alter-ego. They looked between themselves, seeming to exchange their thoughts with a look as they always did. Glacius was the one to speak:

"We can't really claim to know what Lord Ratatosk thinks or plans, but we can have our guesses."

"What do you mean?" Emil asked.

"Considering all the information gathered, I came up with a theory," Ventus said. "Let's for one moment, think that our Lord knew that there wouldn't be enough time for you to completely mature in this world and start the journey to awaken us. So, Lord Ratatosk devised a counter measure. A contingency plan for in case something should happen.

"Now, how can I explain this? The body you now utilize is merely a vessel, but it was completely functional at the time Lord Ratatosk took it as his own. So, he inserted some key knowledge in your physical brain. Knowledge about himself. However, your young brain couldn't possibly process it yet, so the information was stashed away at your subconscious until such a time it could be interpreted."

That made Emil remember: Ratatosk never manifested himself until he was fourteen.

"Even so, why wasn't it just assimilated by my mind then?" Emil asked.

"Because that would mean you believed in that and assumed that was who you were," Tenebrae said. "However, that would directly contrast with everything you thought you knew about yourself, leading to an identity crisis, or any other mental illness humans have. In order to prevent that, your mind fabricated another personality based off such knowledge as a means for you to believe you were merely housing another spirit, instead of you yourself being that one."

It all matched perfectly with what Ratatosk told him, although from a more scientific viewpoint. When the blonde thought of that, he had to chuckle. The Centurions looked at him in curiosity, but Emil simply replied:

"And here I was, thinking Zelos was just joking when he said I had personality issues."

"Lord Ratatosk…" Aqua spoke, her tone a little sad.

"Do me a favor, stop calling me that. I'm not him, ok?" _But I'll soon be. _Emil thought as he recalled what his alter-ego told him.

He then remembered; Ratatosk didn't tell the Centurions what he was planning. Maybe Emil should do it and they could convince his other half to stop. However how would he explain that? To them, he was a single entity, personality issue aside. Even if he told them, they wouldn't go against him, because Ratatosk and him were both the same Summon Spirit.

_It's a wonder I haven't gone crazy with this entire "me", "him", "us" thing. _Emil idly thought, sighing. He knew if somebody tried to tell him he would end up like that, he would think they were insane.

Then he was almost thrown to the sea when the EC shook under him, only managing to stay relatively standing by holding on the railing. The Centurions immediately went alert at that, even if they weren't affected by the shaking.

"What in the… ?" Emil thought, but before he could voice his thoughts the sea in front of him started to agitate and then something _massive _came out of it.

Emil could only gape in fear as what looked like a Krisher-sized submarine rose form the sea waters and suddenly amphibian demons jumped in the EC's deck. However, as Emil looked at the large, underwater transport rising, he realized it was bigger than a Krisher. It was at least the size of a city.

_How can something that big move underwater and remain undetected?! _Emil thought.

It was then he heard the door to the EC's interior opening and the others rushing to his position with Botta. All of them drew their weapons at seeing the green-blueish demons with fins, tails and other fish appendages on their bodies on deck and the Centurions disappeared to give space for Emil's combat, but were stopped by an amplified voice:

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. That is, unless you want to sink into the sea!"

The rest of the party turned and it was then that they noticed with horror, the giant submarine. Then, a giant holographic image of Rodyle appeared on top of it, the Grand Cardinal with his arms crossed and a victorious smile on his face.

"Behold my masterpiece! My very own ranch: the Submarine Ranch!"

"You mean that thing is a Desian Ranch?!" Marta exclaimed.

"Damn! To think something this big was traversing the waters without any of us noticing," Botta cursed. "No wonder there had been so many disappearances in high seas that couldn't be explained by aquatic demons alone."

"Now, you have two choices!" Rodyle's giant projection spoke. "Surrender yourselves or taste the might of my cannons! And let me say, if there is anything left of your puny little vessel, I will make sure to feed it to my aquatic pets!"

The group looked at Botta and could see his frown and angry expression.

Rodyle had them all cornered…

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"Uh… I swear… I already feel better," Lloyd said, backing up against the wall as a smiling Martel, approached him.

"Now, now, Mister Lloyd. I have to make sure you are completely healed," Martel said.

"Yeah, but… it doesn't even hurt when I move. See?" he said, turning his body, only to scrunch his face as he tried not to mumble in pain.

"Yes… I can see it," Marta said her expression turning a little bit sarcastic. "Lloyd, you wouldn't happen to have fear of medics, do you?"

"What?! Of course not!" he said, but it sounded quite forced and rushed.

Martel could tell he was lying. She then thought and remembered Kratos saying something about Lloyd once visiting a doctor about a fever he had when he was a child and the man recommended him a medicine that Lloyd swore "tasted like tomatoes". If there was one thing she learned, it was that the Aurions feared tomatoes above all else.

It was childish, really, but since Lloyd never saw a doctor again and magic could cure most of his wounds in battle, he probably didn't like the old-fashioned, hands-on approach.

"I swear I won't make you drink any medicine," Martel said, giving her warm, encouraging smile. However, it seemed she chose the wrong words.

"Medicine? Who said anything about medicine?! I don't need medicine. Do you think I need medicine?!" Lloyd frantically spoke.

Martel sighed and decided to just get on with it, approaching the young man.

Lloyd tried to make a run for it, but as soon as he turned and inclined his body a little to sprint (ignoring the shoots of pain it sent throughout his midsection), his face hit something soft. Instinctively he brought his hands up and felt it… wait. That felt familiar.

Looking up, he saw his girlfriend's face. The dual swordsman got beet red, as Sheena only seemed to smile at him.

"So, do they feel nice?" she asked in a playful manner.

"S-S-S-Sheena?!" Lloyd let out, jumping, but that shot pain through his still healing midsection.

"Nurse Sheena, please restrain the patient," Martel said, her tone becoming mischievous.

"You got it, doctor!" Sheena said, grabbing Lloyd's face and pulling it into her well-developed breasts.

That proved to be really efficient as Lloyd got so red he was sure steam was coming out of his ears. That was when he felt Martel grabbing him from behind with Sheena restraining his arms. Lloyd screamed something about "Tomato medicine!"

"Lloyd?! What are… you…" Kratos said, appearing five minutes later as he heard his son screaming in fear, ready to save Lloyd from any red-vegetable related threat. However, he didn't expect to be met with such a scene:

"Oh, hi there Father-in-law," Sheena said in a nurse uniform Asuka had sent her through the Renegades, which she obviously let the top two buttons open to show her ample cleavage.

"Hello Kratos," Martel said, in a white, typical medical attire.

On the bed in front of them was a restrained and gagged Lloyd who was shaking and mumbling. He looked at Kratos and mumbled something that sounded like "help!"

"Ummm…what's happening?"

It was worth to say it wasn't very often Kratos saw a scene that defied his ability to analyze and form a conclusion on it.

"We're just trying to make sure Lloyd is completely healed, but he was a little… reluctant to let me analyze him when I said I was a certified doctor. So, I had to ask Sheena here to help me," Martel said, her warm smile never leaving her face.

Kratos used to hear Yuan go on about Martel and how she was such a gentle, caring and devoted woman. To surmise, the blue haired leader of the Renegades thought of his wife as a perfect woman, a saint. That might have been the case during the Kharlan War, but Kratos was quite sure something between the end of it and the formation of the Renegades led the woman to develop a, for the lack of a better word, evil side.

Of course, Martel still had one of the purest hearts Kratos had ever seen, but she knew how to give retribution when she wanted. If there was one thing the auburn haired man had learned with Anna about the other gender was that you should never, ever get on their bad side.

Considering the family story, Kratos shuddered to think how Colette would turn out to be if she learned that, sometimes, you just had to cause somebody a little bit of pain for them to learn.

"I… think I'll leave you two to treat him," he said. Lloyd's helpless eyes almost tore his heart out, but he knew this was a lost battle.

"You do that," Sheena said.

Kratos left the infirmary, sighing as he went for Yuan's office to communicate his latest arrangement with the Vanguard. When he arrived, it was to find a distraught Yuan talking on a communications device on his desk:

"What do you mean you can't reach them?! Try again!"

"Something wrong?" Kratos asked as he approached.

Yuan looked up, ready to berate at who entered in his office without permission until he saw it was Kratos. He seemed to relax a bit, but looked worried nonetheless.

"More than wrong," he said, falling back on his chair. "We've lost contact with Botta's vessel."

"The one where Emil and the others were traveling?" Kratos asked, already on guard. Yuan just nodded.

"Worse yet, we can't locate them on any frequency. It's like they just disappeared form the face of Aselia."

That made Kratos worried. There had been reports lately about mysterious disappearances on the sea. According to those, not even the wreckage of the ships was found. They simply were never seen again. Obviously, people blamed the demons and said they were dragging the sailors to Niflheim, but Kratos knew better. Subtly just wasn't the forte when it came to sea demons.

So, that only led to one conclusion:

"You think it might be something with the Desians?" Kratos asked.

"Yes, but to mount an operation like this one would take the sanction of a Cardinal. The question is: which one of them?"

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

After being hailed by the Desians, the Renegades were forced to navigate the EC to inside the Submarine Ranch, which soon submerged after they were in, effectively trapping the group there.

The docking bay of the Submarine Ranch was the size of Palmacosta's docks and they could see many other vessels, mainly fishing ones, anchored there.

A bridge was set when they reached the docks, with a group of Desians waiting for them to disembark, all with their weapons at hand. To further intimidate them, the half-demons brought in some prisoners in rags that ranged from teenagers to adults, all of them with their feet and hands cuffed and collars on their necks.

Raine, Regal and Zelos knew the Desians had brought those people there as a threat, so they complied when the Desians said for them to throw their weapons away. Botta also knew that and instructed the crew to not do anything reckless

However, that warning proved useless when they disembarked and two Desians approached, one bearing a whip and the other a crossbow:

"So, these are the famed Summon Spirits? They don't look anything more than a bunch of humans and children," the one with the whip said.

"Not so hot now, are you?" the one with the crossbow decided to add salt to the injury by kicking the nearest to him on the back of his legs. In this case, Presea was the unfortunate victim that fell to the floor.

Suddenly, the Desian had his leg pierced by a metal spike that came from the floor, he screamed in pain. The party shot a brief look at Colette, having felt the agitation in her aura right before the Desian was hurt.

Without even taking a moment to think on the subconscious action, Colette ran to Presea and knelt near her, asking if she was alright. The other Desian recovered from the shock and looked at the blonde with an accusing glare:

"You wench! How dare you… ?" he raised his whip as Colette hugged Presea protectively, waiting for the blow.

"Let's stop there," a calm, haughty voice sounded.

The Desian stopped as he, together with all the others in the room, turned to regard the blue haired man that entered:

"Lord Rodyle, sir!" they all saluted as the master of the Submarine Ranch entered.

Rodyle wasn't very tall or intimidating as one would expect from a Grand Cardinal. Standing at least at Raine's height, the Hell's Researcher seemed to make up for his lack of physical prowess with the creepy glare and the aura of mad scientist that he seemed to emanate.

The Cardinal stopped near the group as Colette got Presea up and stood protectively near her crush. Rodyle looked at them, his smile a malicious one as he reached below his cloak and seemed to press something there.

A nearby prisoner that the Desians brought immediately gasped and fell to the floor, starting to convulse. The group gasped at that and Raine, in an impulse, tried to get to the man, but was barred by two, female lancers. The Bowmen also aimed their weapons at them, in a clear signal they would shoot should they move.

Meanwhile, the prisoner had started to gurgle as foam came out of his mouth and his eyes became bloodshot. Then he suddenly laid still and stopped moving, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Raine didn't need to check for a pulse to know the man was dead.

"Now…" Rodyle said, bringing the reincarnated Spirit's attention back to him. "If you, inferior beings are done with your tantrums, you'll realize that for every 'brilliant' idea you might have about escaping, one of them will die. And don't worry, I have so many test subjects these days that I hardly know what to do with all of them. Huhahahaha!"

Raine and the others were surrendered and didn't do anything as the Desians put collars on their necks. Looking at the corpse, Raine noticed with worry that is was the same the man had used. Actually, it was the same collar all prisoners used.

"This particular apparatus is one of my creations," Rodyle started, like an ambitious student presenting his thesis. "If you try to remove it, it'll inject demon poison directly into your blood stream. It also detects spikes in your auras, so try to transform and you'll be poisoned. As you just saw from my little demonstration, the poison is fast-acting."

_He calls that "demonstration"?! _Marta thought in anger.

"And Lord Botta, you needn't worry, for I have great plans for you and all of your men. I haven't had the opportunity to test my other projects that require elven blood in quite a while," he then turned to the party. "We will do a many great things together. I'm sure you'll be excellent test subjects for my main project. Oh hohoho! I can't wait to see the look on the face of that upstart Kvar when he hears that I captured the Summon Spirits!"

Rodyle went on to discourse with himself about his fellow Cardinal. Botta and the others changed looks with raised eyebrows. The blue haired Desian then turned to them and ordered his guards:

"Take them all to the cells, except this one," he pointed to Emil. "I've been dying to experiment on Ratatosk's power for while."

"NO!" Marta spoke up and struggled when one of the Whipmasters held her shoulders. "Take me, but don't take Emil, please!" she spoke.

Marta had heard enough about the human experimentation that was made on prisoners in Human Ranches to know why the Desians were always searching for host bodies. She blanch at the mere thought that Emil might go through it.

The brunette was rewarded for her efforts with a backhanded slap to the face from Rodyle.

"Silence, human wench!" the Desian Grand Cardinal commanded, his tone becoming harsh. "Take them away!" he ordered again.

Marta started being dragged away and tried to resist, until Zelos said:

"I wouldn't give him a motive to poison Emil if I were you."

She stopped and looked at the Ex-Representative, who kept his eyes focused ahead of him and then to Emil, who only nodded to her, signaling he would be fine.

Marta stopped struggling, understanding that it would only make things worse, and let herself be dragged together with the others to the holding cells, leaving Emil with the Desians for company.

"So…" Rodyle's voice called the Lord of Monster's attention back to the situation at hand. "I wonder what your powers are like. Oh, the possibilities..."

As Rodyle went on and on with himself Emil noticed one thing peculiar on his speech; he talked with all the enthusiasm Raine had when in face of a new ruin and Genis when he was observing his powers for the first time. That led Emil to a conclusion: Rodyle didn't have any idea about the true extend of his powers, or how they evolved.

_It seems the Desians aren't truly united if Genis didn't pass him the information he collected on my powers. Maybe I can use that to free myself and the others…_


	48. Researching Hell

My internet is kinda bad right now so, sorry for the more-than-late update.

On other news, here we have an action-packed chapter and something I'm sure most of you have been waiting: a Desian Grand Cardinal fight!

* * *

**Chapter 43**

**Researching Hell**

Emil could only wonder how big the Submarine Ranch actually was for him to take at least three different elevators and walk good distances just to reach the local where Rodyle said they were going to do a "little testing". All the while, nobody thought on blindfolding him or anything.

_They must be pretty confident I won't be able to escape. And considering I am inside a giant submarine that belief would be plausible. _Emil thought.

"_Can't wait to see their faces when we actually do escape," _Ratatosk snickered.

_Yes, but we should wait until the others free themselves. _

"_Shouldn't we save them? What makes you think they can actually get out of that situation?"_

_I believe in them. _

Emil could feel Ratatosk roll his eyes in what he probably considered a really corny and cliche line, but didn't mentally communicate with Emil any further than that.

They finally arrived at a large room with several control consoles strewed around, a large cylinder-like table and another table with tubes, beakers and many other scientific tools and apparatus. There was a staircase leading to an upper platform that had a large window covering the entire wall and from which Emil could see another room. All in all, the room looked like a mix between a control room and a small laboratory.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Rodyle said with his smug tone evident in his voice.

"What are you going to do to me?" Emil asked, his tone assuming a serious connotation. He really hoped Rodyle wasn't planning to dissect or torture him, because then he would have to act immediately.

"Oh, don't worry. I only need your help in a little test."

Emil raised his eyebrows at that, but the Desians shoved him through a door below the platform in the room. He was ushered through a hatch to the chamber he saw on the other side of the window.

The place had metal walls, ceiling and floor and was at least the size of the rooms with the Centurion altars, specifically Solum and Lumen. The only distinguishing features were the hatch that closed behind Emil, the window that covered most of the wall behind him and two openings with bars on them on the opposite wall to the window.

Emil turned and saw Rodyle looking at him from the window. The scientist smiled and pressed something under his cloak again. The blonde's collar suddenly opened and fell to the ground.

"What do you want, Rodyle?" Emil asked.

"You'll help me test my latest creations and for that I need your full powers," Rodyle said, his voice sounding through a radio system. "Oh and before you have any _bright_ ideas, this glass is thick enough to withstand any high-level spell in existence and possess a barrier that I installed myself."

"_Any existing spell, you say?" _Ratatosk chuckled. "I'm not your guinea pig!" Emil said.

Rodyle didn't reply to that. Instead he simply pressed something inside his cloak once more. The bars behind Emil rose with a rumble as he turned. When they opened completely, several silver and black forms shot out of the entrances, circling around Emil in the air.

_What are they?! _Emil thought as he looked around, worried as he saw the numbers quickly increasing. He lost count after thirty.

The demons looked like overgrown crows, but their beaks were serrated, making it looked like they had fangs. The creatures were mostly silver, their wings shinning and looking like they were made out of metal knives, indicating getting close to those feathers would not be a good idea. The creatures had red, shinning eyes and emitted sounds that seemed a mix between a "caw" and a roar.

Then, some of the crow-like demons flew at Emil, who drew his sword and tried to bat it away, but the aerial demon rammed into him with such strength he almost lost grip on his sword. He also noticed his weapon getting nicks and some cracks when he tried to hit two crows attacking him in quick succession.

_Their bodies don't look like metal. They _are _made of metal! _Emil thought as he enveloped his sword with his spiritual energy, a multi-colored hue appearing around the blade.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Rodyle said as he paced around on the other side of the glass, merely observing Emil's struggle to repel the bird demons. "Tell me; what happens when you breed Garlenos by feeding them pieces of Dullahan satured with chaos energy?"

"_This madman actually fed Black Talons with pieces of my servants?!" _Ratatosk said in outrage. However, he had to recognize the brilliance in it.

Black Talons were demonic crows very famous on old stories that mothers told their children, so they would behave. These demons ate anything as long as it either had flesh in it or chaos energy. They initially aren't that strong, being regarded as some of weaker races in the beast species.

That is, if they weren't allowed to eat enough.

The more a Garlenos ate, the more their bodies became resistant to harm. Some could grow to the size of houses and others could even gain properties of what they ate, as Rodyle just demonstrated.

"It is actually quite the painstaking process," the Hell's Researcher said as he paced around the platform, checking some consoles on the data feed he was getting. "But, as you can see, the results more than make up for the cost. As soon as I prove their effectiveness, I will present Lord Nebilim my Bladed Wings and expose Kvar as the farce he is. Quite clever don't you think?" Rodyle then cackled in that disturbing laugh of his.

Emil jumped, dodged and attacked, but the demons were quite fast and though. He hated to admit it, but Rodyle had done a good work breeding these crows. If he ever unleashed it upon the Renegades or the Vanguard, massacres would issue.

"Not if I have something to say about it…" Emil muttered as he stood still, eying the Grand Cardinal...

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Marta and the others were shoved in one of the cells of a pillar-shaped structure inside the Submarine Ranch. With them were several other humans, all dressed in rags and sporting the poisonous collars.

The atmosphere was exactly what they would expect from a Desian prison: gloomy, depressing and with a sense of hopelessness lingering in the air. The prisoners didn't even seem to notice new people were added to their cell.

Zelos looked around and walked to the bars, talking to the guard:

"Excuse me, I was under the impression we were kinda special to your boss. Don't we get some kind of VIP treatment?"

"Oh, you want VIP treatment? How about I break your legs to begin with?" the guard said with a sneer.

"You know, just because of that I'm not leaving you a tip. Honestly, one would think you Desians don't know how to treat honor guests."

"What the hell are you talking about, inferior being?" the guard asked in a confused tone, seeing that Zelos wasn't intimidated by his threat and simply spoke like he was staying in a hotel in Altamira instead of a prison cell.

The others just observed as Zelos pissed the guard off. They wondered what he was trying to do, until the Desian cursed him and left, mumbling something about having a headache from discussing with "stupid humans". The ex-Representative looked around and turned to the group.

"Alright, coast clear. Man, that was easier than I thought."

"For one moment there, I thought you actually wanted him to hit you," one of the Renegades said.

"Wait, you did that just so the guard wouldn't keep his tabs on us?" Marta asked, surprised.

"Of course. If we're going to plan our escape, we can't do that with somebody that could get our beautiful selves poisoned watching our backs," Zelos said.

The group exchanged glances. Zelos saw they were surprised that he had come up with that plan and sighed. The red head then turned to his ghost sister, who had floated near him the entire time. She seemed very afraid ever since they entered the ranch, mumbling something about this being an "evil place". Zelos couldn't think of a more spot-on analysis than that.

"Seles, can you pass through the bars?"

"I can big brother," the girl said.

"Ok then, this is important: I need you to keep watch and make sure no other guards come here. If we are to get out of this alive, we can't have them finding out what we will do."

Seles' face assumed a serious and determined expression as she nodded. She also seemed a bit anxious. Zelos could tell his baby sister wanted to prove she could help him. As the soul floated and passed the bars, Zelos turned to see Presea and Colette was near the extremity of the cell, calling for Botta:

"Mister Botta, are you there?" Colette asked.

"I am, Lady Colette. Luckily, they only injured my pride," the scar-faced Renegade said from the other cell, chuckling at his own joke.

Colette sighed in relief and turned to the group. Raine was looking at Marta's collar, being careful not to touch it. She then straightened herself and put one hand under her chin in her typical thinking pose. Marta started to get nervous, but before she could ask something, Raine turned to Regal and asked his opinion.

"I'm not sure. Electronics were never my forte," the blue haired President said. "But from what we witnessed in the docks, I wouldn't be willing to test the speed which these collar reacts to outside stimuli."

"I thought so…" Raine sighed.

"Excuse me," Marta said, attracting the group's attention. "But when are we going to escape?! Emil could be in danger right now!"

"I would be more worried with that Rodyle creep," Glacius said as the Centurions materialized. That made some of the prisoners jump up in alarm, finally noticing how highly unusual their new cellmates were. "Our Lord can take care of himself."

"I would agree with our graceful Glacius here," Solumn said in his flattering tone, although Glacius seemed to completely ignore it. "From what I could surmise from that man, he wouldn't sacrifice such an 'interesting specimen' so soon. He's like a child with a new toy."

Raine, Regal and Zelos nodded in agreement. The silver haired Professor then reached for something inside her pants, making most of the group raise their eyebrows and Zelos smile a bit as he realized where her hand was.

"Professor Sage?" Presea asked, seeming mostly unaffected while Colette and Marta blushed a deep crimson and turned around, yelling the woman's name. The reincarnated Shadow didn't remember yet what a sense of modesty was and didn't seem that worried in remembering.

"Here!" Raine said, taking out a small vial in her hand and showing it to the group. It contained a green liquid that resembled poison.

"Did you really hide it where I think you hid it?" Aqua asked.

"I had to keep it somewhere nobody would think searching in the case we found ourselves in a situation like this."

"Really? But isn't it hard to walk around with it in your…" Zelos started...

"Big brother, a guard is coming!" only to be interrupted by Seles.

Faster than anyone could see, Raine slip the vial back on its hiding spot as a guard came and checked on the cell. He stood there staring at them.

"Hum… what are you all up and about?" he asked, finding strange that most of the previously apathetic prisoners now seemed quite alert. The group stayed quiet. If they spoke the wrong thing, it could be disastrous.

Seles seemed to panic as she saw how grave the situation was and, in desperation, exclaimed to the guard:

"Leave them alone!"

"You know what? I don't care," the guard then turned.

The timing was too convenient to be just a coincidence. Seles noticed that and an idea formed in her mind. She approached the guard and spoke close to his ear:

"Um… mister guard… how about you… just leave? It must be pretty boring to have to watch over big brother and the others."

The guard yawned right after Seles finished speaking, surprising the young spirit as he simply left his post, not even seeming to care. The ones that could see her were surprised. Zelos soon recovered and praised the young girl's spirit:

"Way to go, Seles! That's my little sister."

The red headed girl was positively brimming with pride at being complimented by her big brother and floated back to him, hugging and thanking him. Zelos could actually feel warm coming from the spirit of his deceased sister.

"Interesting…" Raine mumbled aloud.

"What is?" Presea asked, looking at Raine.

"What Seles just did is classified as an 'skill' of spirits known as 'Suggestion'. But I didn't think it would work on a Desian."

"What is this Suggestion?" Marta asked.

"Basically speaking, it allows a spirit to plant a small suggestion right into the minds of people. However, you can resist it and choose not to do what they tell you, hence the name. When you know what is actually happening, you can even rebuff it completely. For a Desian, who was previously a half-elf and sensitive to spiritual phenomena, to let himself be convinced like that means they lost much of their spiritual resistance."

"So, you mean I could convince them to do anything I want?" Seles asked, as she floated near the group.

"I wouldn't risk it. Maybe it is because of the demon species whose blood that Desian received, or because of the assimilation process. There could be a number of reasons as why this happened."

"Maybe we should simply consider ourselves lucky that it worked," Tenebrae commented, to which the group nodded.

Seeing that discussing that further would lead them nowhere, Raine reached inside her pants for the vial again, making Colette and Marta blush beet red and Zelos grin once more. The brunette protested once more:

"Can you stop doing that? There are other people watching, you know?" she said, pointing to the prisoners, who seemed to try and do their best to blend in with the scenario.

"And how exactly do you suggest I get this antidote vial?" the silver haired woman asked, even as Marta could only pout.

"Antidote?" Aqua asked.

"When we were in the Renegade Base, I asked Martel for one. Although there are several demons races, their poison is mostly the same, I theorize it's due to the process of materialization in our…"

"Excuse me, but can you just explain what you will do and we can proceed to plan our escape?" Tenebrae spoke up. "While our Lord is capable of taking care of himself, we can't guarantee what will happen if we take too long."

Raine sighed and decided to just cut to the chase:

"Does anybody here know where the armory is?" Raine asked.

"I do," one of the prisoners said. "They once had me go over there to polish their weapons. I still remember the path."

"I see," Botta said from his cell. "You will simulate a prison break to take control of the Ranch."

"That would be our only option," Regal spoke. "Considering we're underwater, there is no means for us to escape other than take control of the vessel."

"But won't that be dangerous for them. I mean, how many of these people are actually warriors?" Zelos asked, meaning the prisoners.

At that one of the men stepped up and spoke to Zelos in a rugged and harsh voice:

"No, but many of us are sailors, sonny. We might not have all your military trainin' an' stuff, but give us a sword and we'll cut these fuckers head off."

"Mister Botta, what do you think?" Colette asked.

There was silence from the other cell, as the Renegade Leader seemed to think. The scarred half-elf then spoke:

"It's not like we have much of a choice. Besides, because they are not soldiers the Desians won't expect them to achieve much of anything. And that is where we might have an advantage against them."

"Then it's decided," Raine said, opening the vial and drinking the antidote. She wiped her mouth and guarded the vial in one of her pockets. "Now, our best bet would be to go to the control room. Anybody knows where it is?" she regarded the prisoners.

"No. Anybody that went there never returned. We heard that Rodyle uses them in his experiments and feed them to his monsters when he's done," one elderly man said.

"Well, that's encouraging…" Zelos commented.

"Oh, please," Glacius spoke. "It's simple. Simply go up to the highest room in the highest level."

Everybody looked at her when she said that. The lupine Centurion spoke in such a sure tone that some of them wondered how she could know that. Tenebrae voiced that doubt and Glacius looked at him, her tone one of "it's so ridiculously obvious":

"Ever heard of 'pattern', Tenebrae?"

"Touché," The Centurion of darkness agreed.

The group tilted their heads in confusion, but decided to dismiss that. Raine then asked Presea to break her collar. The pink haired woodcutter looked at it in uncertainty, knowing Raine would be injected with poison. The half-elven teacher then tranquilized her:

"Don't worry. This particular antidote is made so I will not die from poisoning. I might feel some little side effects, but nothing far too grave."

Seeing Raine was sure of herself, Presea sighed and nodded, grabbing the collar. Before she broke it apart, she could hear a "beep" followed by Raine wincing and grunting. When the collar was broke in half, the silver haired woman brought her hand to her neck.

"Are you alright Raine?" Marta asked, worried.

"I'm… fine. Can't say having poison injected right into your blood is a pleasant experience," she seemed a little out of breath and the group could even see some sweat through her silver bangs. Noticing their eyes, Raine gave a tranquilizing smile. "I'm fine… just a little… dizzy and light-headed. Give me some time."

Seeing she at least wasn't foaming and convulsing on them like the other prisoners injected with the venom, the other captives started to get hopeful glints in their eyes. Maybe, with these people, they would have a chance of escaping this infernal place.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

_Can't we just kill them already?! _Ratatosk mentally asked for what seemed like the hundredth time as he grabbed the tail of a Bladed Wing and threw it into another two. The sharp feathers proved to be quite efficient in piercing the creatures' own armors and resulted in them going to the floor, their bodies full of slices.

"Not yet!" Emil said as he took control and jumped over one Bladed Wing that tried to hammer into him while swinging his sword and bisecting another one that came right after.

They had been fighting the never-ending onslaught of demonic birds for quite sometime and were starting to get tired. Even now that more of their power was unlocked, they still weren't near the level they once were on the War for the Young Aselia.

_Probably never will be as long as the world is in this state. _Emil thought as he avoided metal feathers thrown by one of the mutated Black Talons.

Meanwhile, Rodyle was grinning as he read all of the data collected on Ratatosk's performance. His aura was unlike anything he had ever seen and those elemental Artes had such a unique power signature to them.

"Yes, that's right! Keep giving me your secrets. I want to see more of this splendid power!" the mad scientist hollered as he laughed like a madman enjoying the sight of his experiment.

Emil and Ratatosk changed again and this time grabbed the tails of two Bladed Wings that decided to attack them at the same time smashing them against each other as the birds "caw"ed in pain and shards of metal flew with the force of their collision.

_What the hell are we waiting for, anyway?! _Ratatosk berated his other half. He never dealt well with fatigue.

"_A signal." _Emil simply answered.

_What signal? _

As if right on cue, an alarm sounded inside of Rodyle's room, who forgot to deactivate the microphone as he looked around in confusion.

"What the hell is happening?" the scientist asked.

"_This one?"_ Emil replied. Ratatosk could_ hear _the mental smile on the soft blonde's voice.

"Smartass…" the Summon Spirit muttered.

He then stopped and concentrated on gathering his power around his body, which glowed with a multicolored hue. Rodyle, who had been in the process to communicate with the lower levels, looked up at hearing another alarm sound, this one indicating a sudden, magical activity inside of the Test Chamber, making the monitor that showed the readings flash red.

The Hell's Researcher ignored the previous alarm in favor of this one to look at the readings of Ratatosk… and widen his eyes.

"What the hell?! His aura's power level more than doubled just now?!" he looked into the chamber and saw his "pets" going for the crimson-eyed entity again, but he just stood his ground, not moving, except for opening his crimson eyes and proclaiming:

"Aether's Pulse!" suddenly the hue around his body released three strong pulses in sequence with enough force to knock all of the Bladed Wings into the walls and force the shields on the window that separated the chamber from Rodyle's control room to activate. The effect of the pulses had been so strong that part of the bodies of the Bladed Wings was smashed, effectively crippling all of them.

Emil than took his alter-ego's place and looked at Rodyle, who backed away one step instinctively, until he realized what he was doing.

"Wait, why am I worried? This inferior being can't possibly reach me here, no matter how powerful he is," the Grand Cardinal whispered to himself, smirking with confidence.

However, his smirk would soon turn into an expression of horror as Emil assumed a pose that came just as natural to him as it did to his other half. The multicolored aura around his body started to transfer to his sword as it seemed to ignite in multicolored flames. As more power was gathered, the air inside of the chamber seemed to converge in a wind around the Lord of Monster's blade and Rodyle's alarms went off again.

The blue haired Desian looked at the monitor again and his eyes widened as he gasped.

"Th-Th-THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" the readings on his equipment were absurdly high. There was no way any being could be that powerful.

Emil's sword was now enveloped in a thick, multicolored aura and the blonde could hear it cracking. He would only have one shot at this.

"Ain… Soph… AÜR!" he swung the sword as hard as he could. Rodyle's vision became covered by a multicolored storm of power that impacted with the glass, pushing all the protections he installed beyond its limits.

Then the glass shattered in thousands of fragments as a giant explosion threw the Desian Grand Cardinal across his room and into one of the control panels. As he looked up he saw Emil walking up on the upper platform, his broken sword pointing to him as the blonde said:

"Write _this _down on your research notes!"

"_Seriously? That was the best you could come up with?" _Ratatosk said, Emil could feel a mental sweatdrop falling off his head.

_Hey, give me a break. It's hard to come up with one-liners. _Emil protested, although his cheeks became a little pink.

"_For crying out loud…"_

Rodyle slowly stood up, looking at Emi with a wary look… until his smug smile returned as he pressed a button on the console.

Two hatches opened on the sides of the platform Emil was standing on, revealing two large, metal spikes with rings around their points. Before the blonde could do anything, electricity shot out of the devices and electrocuted him. Emil screamed, feeling like his whole body was burning up as he felt his forces leaving him.

Rodyle dusted his cloak and walked up to the Summon Spirit who went on his knees and hands, his smug and superior tone back:

"I never thought I would actually need to use it, but it seems you far surpass my expectations, Ratatosk. These are devices that propagate energy from a demonic jewel. What makes this lightning different from the one in our world is that it has the particular property of immobilizing any being by using a discharge that reverses the power of their aura, leading to an effect know as 'soul burn'."

Emil couldn't speak amongst the white-hot pain, gritting his teeth together so strongly he thought they would crack. Ratatosk took control, but couldn't speak too, the pain too great for him to articulate anything. Emil took control again, but the situation remained the same as they suddenly started emerging back and forth too fast for anyone to pick on. That lightning was harming both personalities.

"Normally, I would simply shrug your attempts at escaping as another pathetic attempt of you inferior beings on being rebellious. However, the fact is, you are quite dangerous. So, unfortunately…" Rodyle then stopped near the Lord of Monsters, just far enough so the lightning wouldn't spread to him. A sword materialized out of the ground, hilt-first as Rodyle took it. "I'll have to dispose of you. But don't worry; I'll make sure to use your brethren.

"After all, science can't be stopped by such little… setbacks. Huahahahahahahaha!"

Rodyle then raised his blade, ready to decapitate Emil, only for it to be cut off the next second by a wind spinner. The pain came one second later.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Rodyle yelled, grabbing his bleeding stump as two more wind spinners impacted with the spikes, piercing them and stopping the electric flow, making both apparatus explode.

Before Rodyle could even register what was happening, he was hit in the face by a double kick in high speed from Marta strong enough to be sent flying in the opposite direction, making he smash through one of the several control panels.

Marta landed gracefully next to Emil as she shot a fierce glare on the Desian scientist.

"Nobody hurts my Emil like that!" she proclaimed.

Emil would have blushed at the possessive tone of the brunette were he not feeling so exhausted after having most of his power burned up.

Raine, Regal and Zelos soon arrived. The silver haired woman entered in Spirit form and casted a Rejuvenate spell on Emil that gave him back part of his strength and healed his wounds. The blonde managed to get up and thanked his friends.

"It was nothing. Now stay back," Raine said, noticing the young man's lack of weapon. Emil nodded and did so without protest.

Rodyle slowly got up, his face scrunched up in pain at losing his right hand, until he saw the Summon Spirits reunited there and it morphed into anger.

"How the hell are you all here?! Where are the guards?!" Rodyle roared.

"Probably occupied with the rest of your 'test subjects'," Zelos said with a grin. "I must say, for a bunch of _'inferior beings'_ they fight pretty bravely."

Rodyle gritted his teeth in rage. He didn't care much for his test subjects, but more for the fact the group in front of him just made he lose his hand. The Desian Grand Cardinal never felt this angry even when Kvar had made a fool out of him.

"You… you… IMBECILES!"

"It's over Rodyle," Raine said. "So why don't you simply give up? You can't win against all of us."

As if to drive her point further, Regal and Zelos entered in Spirit form. Rodyle, didn't seem to listen to her as he berated:

"You think you can actually win against me?! I am a Grand Cardinal! I'll show you my POWER!"

Rodyle's body then started to glow an unhealthy brown color, his entire body being hidden by it as his silhouette seemed to grow and widen, his arms growing in length and his torso expanding. In a flash of poison green that made the group close their eyes briefly, Rodyle had transformed in what could only be described as a grotesque demon.

It had green, phosphorescent skin, no lips, two rows of yellow teeth and a patch of thin skin on the sides that made it look like it was permanently grinning. Orange, pupil less eyes, a bald head with no chin, clawed hands and a teal armor covering its torso and groin, with gauntlets of the same color. Attached to its left arm was a large blade the same length as the half-demon's arm. Its right hand was a stump that ended in a flat mass of retracted skin in the center, making it look twice the size of Rodyle's hand.

The group was more surprised at the thing's appearance than at the weapons it might be concealing in its body. Zelos was the one to voice their thoughts:

"And here I was, thinking you probably had a bad life with an appearance like yours, but damn! Did you ever looked for the word 'grotesque' in the dictionary?! Because I'm pretty sure your photo must be there."

"Keep laughing and making small talk, inferior beings," Rodyle's twisted voice came from the creature, which didn't move its teeth to speak. "Because these are your last moments on this world!"

Rodyle raised and brought his arm blade down, the group jumping to the sides as the blade impacted heavily with the floor, causing a minor tremor. Marta launched her wind disks on the Desian Cardinal, but they all seemed to bounce harmlessly on Rodyle's body.

Raine charged a water spell to attack the transformed Cardinal, but he noticed it and casted one of his own:

"Gravity Well!" Rodyle didn't even need time to charge, trapping the silver haired woman in a dome of distorted gravity, which pressed against her body, making she feel like a giant beast was stomping on her repeatedly.

Zelos shot ice on Rodyle, but again the attacks bounced off his body as he turned and swung the long blade at Zelos, who had to duck and then jump aside as Rodyle brought it down once more.

"Give up, inferior beings! Ground Dasher!" a fissure opened beneath Zelos' feet, but he was already in the air by the time the rocks were launched in the air.

Rodyle pointed his stumped arm at Zelos and suddenly the point of weapon came out from the flat flesh on the end of his severed limb, releasing an energy shot at the ex-Representative, who was caught off guard and was shot down from the air.

"Roulette Dance!" Marta used the time Rodyle was distracted with Zelos to approach him and slash at the half-demon with her wind spinners spinning at high velocity, resulting in several slices each time she swung them up, down, diagonally and finishing by thrusting them at Rodyle's belly and spreading her arms out.

Unfortunately, the attack didn't do much damage and left Marta open for Rodyle to hit her with his stump arm with enough force to throw her up, followed by a blade slice that brought her down, making her body impact with the floor, the attached weapon pressing on her like a hammer.

Rodyle was about to bring it down again, but a high kick to the face made him stagger back. Regal followed the attack with a series of palm thrusts, punches and kicks, each one electrified. However, the Desian's elemental affinity blocked the stunning effects of the Thunder's Apprentice's attacks, allowing him to grab Regal's leg when he tried to apply another roundhouse quick and hurl the martial artist over head, only for Regal to land on his feet… before being blasted away by another shot from Rodyle's hidden gun.

Zelos dashed in, slashing at the transformed half-demons' side, creating an ice formations that limited his movement. The Knight of Frigid Glory then jumped, turning and hurling his sword at the Desian's back.

"Frigid Pierce!" the sword formed a spiked iceberg upon contact with Rodyle, but was unable to pierce through his armor.

The Hell's Researcher was hit by a Spread spell from Raine, which didn't raise him from the ground, but gave Zelos the chance to manipulate the ice on Rodyle and freeze the entire geyser. However, the Desian Grand Cardinal easily broke it and turned to the red head, whipping his stumped arm as a tentacle came from the end of the stump. Zelos was grabbed by it as Marta used a Slicing Typhoon, which again was blocked by Rodyle's armor, even though it left several scratches on it this time.

The Desian researcher turned and hurled Zelos at Marta, making the two tumble to the ground. The Knight of Frigid Glory got up first as he looked at himself, part of his clothes covered by some kind of slime the tentacle had produced when it hold him.

"Ok, seriously, this is beyond disgusting! Why the hell does this guy had to have a frigging', slimy_ tentacle_?!" the ex-Representative practically screamed, his tone one of pure disgust.

"Eww! I thought this guy was a slimy jerk, but I didn't think it was literal," Marta said, also in an utterly disgusted fashion.

"Interesting…" Rodyle's wrapped voice said. "Normally, my acid gel would have burned your skin off by now. Seems your defenses are higher than expected. I will make sure to dissect and study your remains thoroughly."

"We need to break his defense somehow," Raine called. "Zelos immobilize him again."

"Uh-huh. No way I'm getting close to this _tentacled_ freak again!"

"Forget about that and just do it!" Raine berated at the reincarnated Celsius.

Zelos sighed and summoned another sword, the sole of his shoes turned into ice again which he used to practically slide to the Cardinal. Rodyle tried to cut Zelos' head off, but the Knight of Frigid Glory skillfully avoided the blade, ducking and quickly "skating" out of the way while attacking and leaving trails of ice formation on Rodyle's body again.

Before Zelos could attack again, the Cardinal showed he wouldn't fall to the same trick twice as his breastplate opened, showing some of kind of glowing core inside, which quickly gathered energy and released it right as Zelos was in front of the Desian:

"Insane Force!" an explosion of light and energy was released, sending the swordsman flying back, breaking all of the ice on Rodyle' body at the same time.

Marta took the chance and used a Cyclone spell, but again the winds only scratched at the half-demon armor. Raine charged and unleashed a Brilliant Shackles spell, but Rodyle pressed a button on his collar and suddenly the spell disappeared, only to reappear right on Marta, attacking her instead.

"Give it up already! All your attacks are useless against my demon form. I altered and fit it myself. Anything that you throw at me, I can counter. Your efforts are futile in the face of my inventions!" the Desian Grand Cardinal bragged.

His only answer was a Sacred Drops spell exploding around him, which soaked the half-demon and left him open to one of Regal's Arte's:

"Heaven's Wrath!" Regal charged at Rodyle after punching the ground and lightning bolts falling on the Desian's head, now stunning him, as the Thunder's Apprentice quickly reached him and punched the monstrosity in the belly, followed by a spinning, high kick and a palm thrust that pushed him back as he was again struck by lightning.

"You pest!" Rodyle brought his stump up and revealed his weapon, shooting at Regal, only for the President to stay calm as he saw the blast coming.

Regal grabbed the energy shot with his hand as if he were grabbing a ball thrown at him. He then threw the blast above Rodyle and shot a lightning charge on it.

"Punishing Rain!" the blast exploded in several electrical spheres, which rained on Rodyle and seemed to adhere to his body, shocking the Hell's Researcher repeatedly. The energy cursed on his body and concentrated on his weapon and the buttons around his collar, making the circuit shortcut and explode.

"My… my weapon! My Reversor!" Rodyle said as he looked at another one of his masterpieces being destroyed right before his eyes, he didn't even seem bothered by one of them exploding on his neck, although that could be because his skin was resistant enough to withstand even that. "YOU WRETCHED FOOLS! I'LL FLAY YOU ALL ALIVE, DISMEMBER YOU AND FEAST YOUR ENTRAILS TO MY EXPERIMENTS!"

As if to make his point, the group felt a great rush of demonic power on Rodyle's body. The compartment on the breastplate opened once more, the core shinning brightly, but this time it seemed to suck even the air around as it gathered more energy. The transformed Desian then raised his stumped arm and pointed it upwards, shooting a jet of some slimy liquid right over the party's head.

"Obliterate Solution!" Rodyle then shot all of the stored energy on the liquid, which seemed to absorb it and change, becoming less smile-like and dense. A peculiar smell also raised from it and Raine immediately identified it.

"Protective Tears!" she immediately casted, a light rain quickly falling over the group, the droplets adhering to their clothes and skins just as the strange liquid Rodyle shot also rained on the party.

They all screamed in agony as they felt like they were being burned alive. Even the platform under them dissolved and corroded till they all fell one level, the ground around them forming holes were the demonic acid touched. Their defenses quickly overcome, the reincarnated Summon Spirits reverted back to their human forms while the acid was still taking effect.

Though the pain on being burned by the solution was great, they wouldn't pass out from it. The acid left the party with second degree burns and part of their clothes seemed to dissolve and burn, however it was thanks to Raine quickly casting an ailment-protection spell that they still lived. Without that, their defenses would have been overcome quicker and there would be nothing left of them, except for bloody puddles and melted body remains.

"Hmmm... so you all survived," Rodyle said from what was left of the upper platform, his twisted voice sounding more pleased now that he made them taste enough pain for their vision to become a searing white. "Seems your defenses are bigger than I calculated. No matter. Another dose and you're finished," the Hell's Researcher gathered energy again, his breastplate opening for him to execute his Mystic Arte once more.

"NOOOO!" Emil/Ratatosk yelled as they jumped on the platform and quickly charged at Rodyle, knowing if he used that Mystic Arte again his friends would be dead. He brought his arm back without even thinking while gathering all of his spiritual energy on it.

Rodyle turned his head momentarily to him just in time to see a blue and blonde blur impact on his chest. The spiritually charged punch carried enough power to actually shatter the gem on Rodyle's chest.

"NO! My energy regulator!" the energy gathered then went haywire and suddenly the wind reversed, as sparks came out from Rodyle's chest, his energy being drained. "DAMN YOU!" he swung his blade at Emil/Ratatosk, who were too distracted by what they had done to dodge in time.

Marta's pain slowly subsided as Raine's still acting spell purged what was left of the acid over her body. As her pain eased, she looked up... right in time to see Emil being thrown backwards as Rodyle's great, arm blade sliced his torso. Her mind went blank at the sight of so much blood flying out of her beloved's body.

Rodyle pressed another button on his armor's compartment and the chest plate closed, the energy being contained and his powers stabilized. He turned to Emil's still body, ready to jump and skewer him alive, however, he was stopped by Marta suddenly teleporting and appearing in front of him, tears in her eyes and face a mask of anger. However, what made him stuck on his place enough for Marta to thrust her hands on him was the way her aura was pulsating with accumulated power.

"Destructive Light Winds!" all of that power was released on the form of chi energy and wind blades coming out of her hands, forming a giant sphere around Rodyle, slashing and burning his own aura. His defenses finally gave away and his armor started to get scratched and blood drawn from his skin. The sphere then compressed, the pressure in the air almost suffocating to the Desian Cardinal, until it exploded, making he fall back.

While all of that was happening, Regal got up. Although still in pain, his trained body allowed him to recover faster. The blue haired President then felt a huge release of power, the tell tale sign of somebody using a Mystic Arte, followed by the sound of a body falling on the floor and Marta jumping from the platform and running to Emil's prone and bloodied form.

In that few seconds, Regal could already make a guess as to what happened and turned to the nearest console. He quickly limped there and used his left arm, the one with less burns, and punched through the controls. Energy started to flow from the equipment to him as he felt his Spirit Form being restored. It was a good thing that demonic acid only burned their defenses. If it affected their aura and powers, it would take a lot more time and power for him to charge back up.

Rodyle slowly got up and saw the girl that dared attack him tending to Ratatosk. He jumped from the platform, landing on the lower level and walking towards her as she healed him, idly noting that the blonde Summon Spirit hadn't been bisected by his attack.

_Must have used that aura of his as a shield. _the Hell's Researcher analyzed. _No matter. I'll..._

"Stop right there, monster!" Regal's voice attracted the Desian's attention. Rodyle then looked to the Thunder's Apprentice spirit form in time to feel his power gathering.

"What?! How can you have restored that form so quickly?!"

Regal didn't answer, only focusing on his breath and in calming his mind, just like he had been taught by his martial arts instructor long ago. He then opened his eyes and stomped his foot on the ground. An electrical current quickly ran through the metal floor and gathered under Rodyle's feet. Several lighting fell down on the Desian. Then the Thunder's Apprentice was upon the Hell's Researcher in the blink of an eye, rearing his arm back, his metal bracelets seeming to hum as electricity covered his fist.

All of that happened in the span of three seconds.

When Regal punched the Desian scientist, the strength of the punch sent an impact wave through the air. Rodyle could swear he heard his belly armor cracking while he bent, all air leaving his demonic lungs. However, contrary to all expectations, he wasn't sent flying backwards like a rocket. Actually he felt like his feet had been bolted to the floor.

Regal had just magnetically stuck the Hell's Researcher's feet to the ground, turning him into a living punching bag.

Another high-powered punch with the strength of a Krisher's tsunami attack hit Rodyle in the face, causing another impact wave to propagate in the air. Then came a kick to his right leg, making it buckle and the armored boot crack. Then came a fist to the gut, a kick to the left shin, two punches and several kicks to the stomach. All of the blows completely destroyed the Desian's armor and cracked a few of his bones.

Then came a hook to the face and the magnetic clap to the floor was released. Rodyle was sent flying in the air as Regal positioned himself, opening his hands and gathering even more electricity than before on them, together with some of his chi energy. He spread his arms out as he breathed, eyes closed, until he opened them again and glared at Rodyle:

"Final Energy Surge!" Regal then gathered his hands, palms pointed to Rodyle, letting loose a huge column of energy that completely engulfed the Desian. A giant explosion that practically covered the ceiling of the control room followed.

Regal went on his knees again, his Spirit Form fading away as he put his hands on the ground. Raine and Zelos got up in time to see the Thunder's Apprentice deliver the final blow to the Desian scientist. For once, Zelos was too awed to speak anything as he could only approach his friend.

They heard a heavy "thump" and the sound of electric equipment being smashed. Looking ahead, they saw Rodyle's transformed body laying on one of his many control consoles.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding! What do you need to do for this guy to die already?!" Zelos finally spoke.

They gasped when Rodyle raised a hand, almost jumping back. However, when they saw he slowly crawling from his place, bleeding from several cuts, part of his green skin charred and his arm blade broken, they realized the Desian was on his last legs.

"I... I... I won't..." Rodyle said in that twisted, demonic voice as he crawled out of the console, leaving a bloodied trail. "I won't... be beaten... ! ... I'm... a superior... beeeing..."

From her place, Marta healed Emil enough to help him pass an arm around her shoulders and look at the beaten and defeated form of Rodyle. She wanted to get there and spit on his face. She never thought she would find somebody she hated more than Alice, but Rodyle showed he was a good contender to the position.

Raine was the one that walked and stood in Rodyle's path as he tried to reach ahead of him with his hand. He noticed the silver haired woman and looked at her with those orange, unblinking eyes. Before the Desian Grand Cardinal could say anything, Raine already spoke:

"Tell me, why is it that you became a Desian?"

That raised the party's curiosity, making them look at the Professor. If Rodyle had eyebrows, in that moment, he would have arched one at the question. Even so, he simply looked at Raine and sneered in contempt:

"For the sake of developing science, what else?"

"Is that your reason?" Marta asked.

"Oh, I'm sure your _Professor_ here understands. Isn't it right, Raine Sage?" Raine just glared at the Desian as he spoke her name. "Oh, I know about you. I read Lord Nebilim's profile on you. Former student of Lord-General Neran Illirium, a child."

Raine narrowed her eyes and glared at the transformed half-demon, who only went on with his verbal jab:

"You talk like you understand something about the real nature of science and knowledge when you're nothing more than an immature girl. Science evolves past your silly concepts of morality. It must reach territories that it never reached before or else it becomes stale, useless and limited."

"So that justifies you joining up with demons?"

"My inventions, my knowledge must live on! If it means joining with Niflheim, so be it! Just because you don't like the demons that doesn't mean they don't have knowledge that will be useful in future researches. You must use everything at your disposal if science is to reach its full potential. It is power, legacy! It is..." what else Rodyle was going to classify science as they would never know, for in that moment, Raine interrupted him.

"Recun Liand!*" liquid, green-poison lances rose from the ground, impaling Rodyle's, chest, legs, stretched arm and throat. The Desian could only gurgle in pain, no longer able to speak. "People like you, who think of themselves as some short of enlightened being whose discoveries should be made known just so you can bask in glory... you can't be called a scholar, much less a researcher. People like you makes me sick," Raine's tone was judgmental, carrying finality with it.

Rodyle could only release a bloodied gurgle as he felt his insides staring to melt. Those liquid lances were made of the same acid he had thrown at them. But how could Raine have successfully copied it in such little time when he himself had taken months to develop that Mystic Arte?

_No... she can't... can't be better than me! _that was Rodyle's final thought as the ground bellow him started to bubble and a geyser of green-poison water rose, engulfing his entire body. If he could, he would have roared in agonizing pain as his flesh melted.

When the geyser finally lowered all that was left of Rodyle was a puddle of bubbling, green matter...

* * *

_Entry n. 3698:_

_As I've theorized, the demonic blood may limit some of the natural abilities of Aselians. However, additional research has proven that there are ways of solving this problem. As of now, I've successfully synthesized a Mystic Arte using a combination of bioengineering on my own demonic form and the usage of previously document power regulators._

_While these means may decrease the power for which Mystic Artes are known, their tactical usefulness remains._

_*See entries 3654 and 3677 for more information..._

_Entry n. 3867:_

_The results on the tests of those with high assimilation rates are a success. Unlike previous subjects, their powers went beyond the standards set for half-elves. They can easily rival demons of Great to General rank._

_Unfortunately, these same results aren't reproducible on the vast majority of the other Desians. Lord Nebilim pointed out that maybe it is because such subjects are special souls. This requires further study._

_A new test subject arrived and, according to preliminary tests, his blood and soul are quite unique even amongst special souls, or so the demons say._

_I can't wait to see what kind of result the injection ritual will lead to..._

_- From Rodyle "Hell's Researcher" archieves -_

Hey! Thought you would never see these entries again? Well think again!

Anyway, before you all point it out, let me clear it up to you: as you might have noticed, Desian Grand Cardinals are in a league similar to demon generals like Merahwdir, so they can take one or two Mystic Artes to their face and survive it. Also, Rodyle's armor helped him here, so...

*Recun Liand - Cruel Lancer


	49. Storm

I know you all probably want to murder me right now for the lateness... *sees people with blunt weapons in hand* But I have a good reason for that!

This chapter was quite hard to write for it is MAJOR important to the plot of this Act. Also it's big.

Anyway, before we start, a skit for you who waited:

This one is between Zelos, Aqua, Glacius, Tenebrae and Regal:

Zelos' Trauma

Zelos: Urgh, honestly... from all of the Desian Grand Cardinal we had to face, it had to be one with a freagin' _tentacle_?! I swear, I'm taking a long bathe when we arrive_._

Aqua: Seesh, you already said that five times. What is your deal with tentacles anyway? Are you scared of them?

Zelos: What?! N-No way! *smile while posing* Why would I, Zelos, the Last Romantic, be afraid of something as lame as...

Aqua: Behind you!

Zelos: AAAHHHHH! Get it away from me! Get it away... ! Huh?

Aqua: Hah! I knew it.

Zelos *sighing*: That wasn't funny, Aqua hunny.

Aqua: Don't call me that.

Tenebrae: Yes. Only "Master Richter" can call Aqua that.

Aqua: And you shut up, Tenebonehead! Who invited you in the conversation, anyway?

Regal: Still, the Centurions did raise a good point. Did Celsius have some kind of phobia towards tentacles, Glacius?

Glacius: Not that I remember. Although she never really tried it before.

Zelos: Eeewwww! Thanks for the disturbing, mental image.

Tenebrae: Maybe it has something to do with your childhood. Most traumas tend to develop at that age, right?

Zelos *sighing*: Ok, ok... I'll tell you. When I was little, I used to rummage through my grandfather's collection of magazines.

Regal: What kind of maganizes?

Zelos: Oh, there was economy, gossip and even... mature ones.

Tenebrae *chuckling*: My, my, weren't you a precocious one?

Zelos: Anyway... one day I found this one that was from Mizuho.

Glacius: How could you tell?

Zelos: It was written in letters I never saw before and it seemed that you read it from the end to the beginning. The only thing that circulated in Meltokio of that kind were Mizuho publications. I think they were named "manka", or something. Even so, it was kind of like a comic with this well-endowed, beautiful hunny... *heart eyes*

Aqua: Oh boy... here we come...

Zelos: And she wore these really skimpy clothes, more like straps, and there was some awesome fighting scenes. Until... she faced a tentacle monster.

Glacius: I think I have an idea how it might have ended.

Zelos: It was horrible. I never knew what rape meant till I saw it. Those slimy, gross things were wrapping around her entire body like it wanted to squeeze her life out, entering in every cavity there was... it was... just... horrible! I didn't leave my room for a week after and got nightmares from it.

Regal: Well, you should have paid attention to the age rating of this... piece of work before reading. Although I do have to admit, I feel sorry for you.

Zelos *sighing*: Seriously... why did my old man even had something like that on his library?

Tenebrae: Maybe he was a hentai fan.

Aqua and Zelos: Hen-tai?

Regal: Oh yes. I heard that is the category of this kind of publication. Although my father never let me close to any of those that were in Altamira's paper stores.

Tenebrae: Yes. Although, it would go under the sub-category "tentacle hentai".

Glacius: Honestly, I don't understand why some humans think females might find pleasure from it. I mean tentacles tend to writhe around, so they cause more discomfort than anything.

Zelos *narrowing eyes*: Can we, please, stop talking about tentacles? Thank you, very much!

Aqua: I guess even perverts have their standards.

Zelos gained the title "Tentaclephobia"

* * *

**Chapter 44**

**Storm**

It was a known fact that the Sylvaranti Liberation Front was a group that lacked a permanent base of operations. Not for the lack of offers, but Brute Lualdi was a man that didn't like to freeload on anyone, even if they were his allies.

With most of Sylvarant either in ruins or being dominated by Cruxis-loyal communities, it was quite difficult for them to find a place to build a permanent base. The dwarves once offered to dig them a base in one of Sylvarant's several mountain ranges, but a study of the geography of the places quickly shot that idea down.

Finding remote areas devoid of demon presence was a daunting task in the least and the few that existed would be far too costly to turn accessible.

So, the Vanguard was reduced to rotating the location of their key members and leaders from one safe house to another. A tactic that had worked very well until now, since it guarantee that should a member be captured, they wouldn't give away any information on their leaders' location (though that didn't stop the demons from putting a mole in and almost eliminating the heads of the resistance).

However, all of that was about to change as Brute was called back to the main Renegade base near the Mizuho mountains...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

The three rebel leaders had their jaws dropped as Botta finished his report together with those involved in the Submarine Ranch takeover. He had even showed slides and photos taken by the EC systems and the cameras inside of the ranch.

"So... you were captured by Rodyle and taken to his ranch... which is a submarine," Yuan was the first to recover and ask, seemingly trying to assimilate it all.

"Yes," Presea said.

"And you incited a jail break to escape and to take control of the ranch... which is a submarine."

"That was our cool-headed hunny's idea, yes," Zelos said, sitting with his legs crossed in a relaxed pose.

"And you not only took control of the ranch... which is a submarine. But you also killed Grand Cardinal Rodyle in his own laboratory and control room... of his submarine," Martel spoke.

"You said submarine twice, grandma," Colette spoke.

"And now you are all presenting us with the ranch... which is a submarine," Brute completed.

"I think we already established that; yes, it's a submarine," Marta spoke, a sweatdrop on her forehead.

"Sorry Marta, it's just... that's a lot to take in."

"What is there to take in?" Ratatosk said. "We killed the bastard. We don't need a submarine base. You, on the other hand, might make a good use of it. Doesn't the Vanguard need a base? So, there! It's mobile and it's virtually untraceable."

"Plus, I made sure to check the communication and radio logs and it seems Rodyle was very reclusive and protective in regards to his experiments as not even once there had been any kind of communication with ranches," Raine assured.

"So you mean that as far as the Desians are aware, Rodyle is still operating his ranch?" Yuan asked.

"If they even know he had one to begin with."

"That might require further investigation, but, for the time being, I can't deny this is a valuable asset."

Yuan was just putting it lightly, Martel knew. Never in their wildest dreams have the leaders of the Renegades ever thought on taking something like that. They usually settled for pieces of altered magitechnology or Exsphere cargos.

"I also agree with Ratatosk. Brute, you should take it," Yuan spoke to his comrade.

"Are you sure, Yuan?" the man asked out of courtesy.

"I am. As our brash friend pointed out: the Vanguard is in need of a permanent base. Plus, a submarine base of that size would not only will allow you to house all of your troops, but it can also double as living, training quarters and a new refuge."

"Also, some of the rescued sailors are willingly to help. It seems they became quite familiar with the working and maintance of the vessel," Regal informed them.

"Well, if they don't mind," Brute mused as he looked at Yuan and bowed slightly to him. "I thank you for your generosity, my friend. I'll just contact Hawk and Kratos to arrange things and..." Brute was interrupted as the automated door opened and Hawk entered, looking a little out of breath. "Ah, Hawk. We were just talking about you," Brute regarded the lieutenant.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, sir," Hawk said, paying contingence, even though it wasn't necessary. Marta always said he was a little too stiff and serious sometimes. "But we've uncovered an uncommon demonic activity in the Ossa Mountains."

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

The surveillance center of the Renegade Base was a large room with several agents working on desks or in front of large computers. There were separated rooms for briefings and others that housed equipment for more accurate analysis. Although one would see it as mostly a confusion of people from both resistances going in and out with reports in their arms, Yuan saw it as some kind of organized scramble.

The party was now in one of the rooms that one of the Vanguard technicians had lent them. Hawk was showing them maps of the box valley in the center of the Ossa Mountains and images of demonic fliers' activity in there.

"Two days ago, we caught a small activity in the area, but the reading could very well mean a small group of demons passing by, so we decided to ignore it," Hawk was explaining to the assembled Summon Spirits and rebel leaders while a map slide showing the readings of chaos energy in the area was projected against the wall. "However, yesterday, the concentration got higher and now it reached the point where you can identify entire squads of fliers around the region."

An image of flying demons was shown on the projector. Although it was somewhat far, even for the zoom, one could discern the silhouettes of the demons flying around the mountains.

"But what would the region have to attract such a concentration of demons?" Brute asked.

"There isn't anything, sir. That is what we find suspicious," Hawk said. A new image appeared, this one showing a panoramic view of the valley. "From the old documents about studies and researches in the region, the soil doesn't contain traces of Exspheres. The region also doesn't have any strategic value, so to speak, since almost nobody travels through the Ossa Pass anymore.

"In fact, the only thing in that valley is a tree at its exact center," an image of said plant was shown. "An Linkite Tree, which, according to the records, had been there ever since the Kharlan War. Although no botanist had been able to discover how come a tree could grow in the middle of that place, considering the soil is so poor on nutrients."

"Could they be after the tree?" Colette asked.

"No," Yuan said. "Even though the Linkite Tree does have powerful magical properties, it would have withered away with the condition of the world. They were between the first plant species to become extinct at the end of the War."

"Couldn't we just ignore it?" Zelos suggested. "I mean, we know there is nothing there of use to the demons and the Desians, so why bother?"

"It is exactly because there isn't anything of interest to them that we should investigate," Yuan countered. "Believe me, I've seen enough of this kind of thing to know when the demons move like this, it means they are after something and found it."

The group stood quiet at Yuan's declaration. Most could understand his line of thinking, but even so...

"Yuan..." Brute spoke up. "While I agree with you, we must also take into consideration the possibility of this being merely a hoax. They might just be using this to attract our people to their death."

"If that's the case, why don't you just ask us to go?" Lloyd offered, making the three rebel leaders look at him.

"Yeah. It's not like we have anything better to do around here," Sheena said.

"Are you sure? We don't want to impose on you or anything," Martel said.

"Grandma, Sir Brute is right. You shouldn't send your soldiers to what might very well be a trap. We can handle it by ourselves," Colette answered in a determined tone.

"Yeah. What they said," Zelos inputted with a smile as the others glared at him with irratation.

Yuan and Brute thought for a moment until they came to a decision and nodded. Besides, they had a limited number of Rheairds and none of them was suited to fight against even a small flying force.

Deciding this was the best time to talk to his daughter, Brute called Marta to a corner of the room. He had been worried sick and more than a little pissed at the fact his dear daughter had come back sporting second degree burns after fighting a Desian Grand Cardinal. Brute had only calmed down when Marta herself told him they had killed the bastard. Even so, the brunette swore she never heard her father cursing at someone so much and so loudly as her father did.

"Marta, are you sure you should go? I mean, this isn't something that requires all of you to go," Brute asked his daughter.

"Daddy, I already told you: I'm fine. Besides, just because I'm a Summon Spirit that doesn't mean I abandoned the Vanguard. If I remember well, we combined with that I was just taking a 'temporary leave' when I went to travel with Emil," Marta told him with a smile.

"I know, I know. But it's just..." he sighed. "So much happened and so fast. I am still having trouble accepting the fact you're actually a Summon Spirit. To think you will have to face a monster like Nebilim someday."

It was at this point Marta hugged her father, making him stunned for a moment. Brute then relaxed and hugged his daughter back as Marta spoke:

"Don't worry daddy. I won't die. I promise. I now can do something about all of this. And I have friends that will protect me," she said, looking at him with a smile and then looking at the others talking with Yuan and Martel.

"Yes, I know, dear. You are already a grown woman and as such you can make your own decisions. I will try to worry less," Brute then chuckled. "If your mother was here, she would probably scold me for being so worried."

"Heheh. Mom always said you were kind of a worrywart," Marta spoke, taking a step back and smiling at him. Brute smiled and patted her head like he used to do when she was small.

Meanwhile, Emil was still looking at the photo of the Linkite Tree on the boxed valley. If anybody looked closely enough, they would notice his intense gaze.

_"You feel it too, right?" _Ratatosk asked him.

_Yes. There's something... familiar about that tree. When I looked at it, I feel..._

Suddenly, the image of his alter-ego's speech inside their mind came:

_It is how I _choose_ things to be._

_Sadness..._

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"Boooring..." Alice spoke for what seemed to be the tenth time, kicking her legs up and down while she was sitting in one of the dried roots of the old Linkite Tree. Decus was on the other side, checking something on that Iron Maiden he always carried around. _Probably his broadsword. _"Isn't there something better to do?"

Hearing that, Decus poked his head around the trunk and looked at his crush with that devoted and worshipping expression he always wore when speaking to her:

"If you want, my dear Alice, we could always..." for that he got a Collapser on his face, which got scared as it was suddenly summoned and started to scratch Decus as the half-human, half-demon waved his arms and tried to get the creature off his face.

"I wasn't speaking to you, Dumbo Decus!" Alice scowled. When Decus finally got rid of the digger and stomped on it until it burrowed itself away, the blonde, honey-eyed, young woman spoke. "What are you doing behind this tree, anyway?"

Normally, she wouldn't even care. This was Decus, so it was probably something stupid. But she was bored and the only source of entertainment in several kilometers was either her self-proclaimed "knight" (stressing the word), or...

"Can you two quit it?! I can barely hear my own thoughts with you two bickering every five minutes."

Richter, who was send here by Nebilim himself to investigate a mysterious slate buried underneath a tree.

_And of course, he needs an escort to be sure he won't try to run away again. Whoop-de-doo... _Alice thought. _Seriously, couldn't Lord Nebilim send Genis here instead? At least he's cute._

Alas, Genis arrived at the fortress pretty banged up, again, and his aides didn't let anyone get close to him. Alice didn't have anything against the armored, knightly one. She looked more stuck up than Richter, so the chances of she actually making a move on the young looking half-elf were slim to none. But Reritits was another story.

If Alice could, she would rip off those offending, overgrown mounds of fat she called boobs and feed them down the demoness' throat. The fact that she was actually an incorporeal demon who could change her form at will and turn solid enough so one could touch her was even worse.

_Humpf! Perfect whore... that's what she is. _

"Well, maybe I could, if I didn't have to babysit you. Seriously, you're worse than a recruit," Alice spoke in a haughty tone and tilting her chin up in a superior pose.

"Interesting. I was under the impression we were of the same rank," Richter said, coming up from a ladder that lead to the hole on the other side of the tree, opposite to where Decus was standing. "Besides, _Lord _Nebilim is well aware that I have every intention of ditching you all should the chance present itself and hasn't done anything about it," he flipped one of his red bangs to the side. "I wonder if he actually values his subordinates if he doesn't even dignifies himself to inform you of something as basic as that.

"Either that, or he didn't see the need to bother with you."

Truth to be told, Richter felt like he was the one making the babysitting.

_Do these two _ever _stop arguing? One would think they have been married for decades. _he couldn't help, but feel a little bit of sympathy for Decus, who was aiming for that very thing. _Poor, delusional fool... _

Decus had even went as far as acquiring one of those iron maidens they sold in Altamira which, according to popular belief, if you put a photo of your beloved one inside, after a set amount of days (roughly a year by what he remembered), the person will return your feelings. In another words, complete and utter rubbish made to catch unaware tourists, at least in Richter's opinion.

That made Alice pout and turn to Richter. However, Decus was quicker than her and pointed an accusing finger at the red head:

"How dare you speak like that to Alice?! She at least isn't constantly trying to turn on us!"

"Decus..." Alice said in a warning tone.

"No," Richter said. "She only needed one attempt at the Vanguard."

"Decus!" Alice berated at him, but the young man was already marching up at Richter, looking for all intents and purposes, ready to beat the crap out of the red head.

He didn't even reach Richter. Instead, Richter reached him, grabbed his collar, flipped him over his head and threw him on the ground with violence. The blue haired man tried to get up, but stopped at seeing a sword pointed at his nose.

"I thought I taught you better than that, Decus," Richter said, fixing his glasses with his free hand while his sword was inches away from Decus' face, being held by his other hand. "You weren't this quick to lose your temper before."

Decus looked like he wanted to retort, but in that moment an ice spire rose batting Richter's sword away and interposing between the two males. Alice then spoke:

"Both of you, stop! Decus, don't get into fights you can't win. And you!" she looked at Richter while patting her whip-rapier on her hand. "Get back to work. We might be the same rank, but I am in charge here. Lord Nebilim said so."

She liked to think this was a sign that she was out of house arrest since her fiasco with Ratamil and Martmart. She was finally back on field and taking charge of situation, even if it was a really boring and uneventful situation. The last thing she needed was having her subordinates killing one another.

Decus grumbled as Richter sheathed his weapon and went back to the hole near the Linkite Tree's base to resume his work so he could be out of there. As Decus got up and mumbled an "I could have won", Alice berated him:

"No you could not. Honestly, you're worse than a kid sometimes."

Alice always kept a close eye on everybody she worked with, specifically, their powers and abilities. Richter was, as Rodyle had quoted, an "exceptional subject". No matter the fact he didn't want to turn into a demon, his soul had adjusted to the chaos energy and his body had an assimilation rate so big he was given blood from a demon of the high species, the one considered the deadliest and most dangerous of all three demon species.

The honey-eyed girl had only seen Richter exhibit his demon form once and that was enough for her to realize he wasn't somebody she would like to fight against. She suspected he received blood from Genis' knightly aide's race, which only made him all the more dangerous.

The Desian General may be many things, but she certainly wasn't an idiot. You didn't survive in the midst of a bunch of bloodthirsty demons by being stupid. She knew when somebody was too dangerous for her to tackle without some kind of plan or backup.

Meanwhile, Richter was back to examine the "oh-so-mysterious" tablet (as he had taken to call it). Honestly, he understood the fact Nebilim wouldn't let him out without supervision on this one, but did he have to choose Alice and Decus? Their bickering was enough to drive anyone up the wall.

_He's certainly getting more creative with his punishments. _Richter thought. He then looked back at the tablet. _Heh, never thought I would be doing this kind of job again... _Richter smiled sadly.

In Sybak, Richter had been in charge of the Archeological Research Center, a big irony if you considered his previous _position_ on that same department. In that place, he had learned much about ruins, ancient languages and many other archeology-related subjects. Actually, those were probably the reason he met Raine to begin with.

He never told her, but he considered his job a dreadfully boring one. Thinking on it now and seeing as she turned out, it might have been for the best.

The tablet, just like Merahwdir's aide said, was written in the Spirit's Language. Richter happened to be one of the last language specialists alive that had knowledge about this incredibly archaic tongue (although he was sure Nebilim would have been able to decipher it just fine too).

From what he gathered and from what Imasix told him, this was indeed a seal for something called "Watcher of the Heart", and it clearly wasn't a demon. First, because the seal was deceptively intricate. When sealing demons, the seal had to be " shut tight" to prevent any chaos energy from leaking and affecting the environment around. This clearly wasn't the case. It seemed more like it was preventing the environment to have an effect on whatever was imprisoned.

Second, it was common knowledge amongst any researcher of the Spirit lore that powerful demons were sealed by default on Gladsheim, the Prison of the Abyss, a pocket dimension inside the Dark Abyss itself, with an entrance created by Shadow and hidden away from mortal eyes. Anything imprisoned there could never escape to the light again, except if it received help from the outside.

Also, there was the warning in the seal that had taken Richter's attention:

_... _through protection, may its slumber never be disturbed. Until the world's corruption is undone_... "Corruption"? Could it be talking about the state of the world today? _Richter wondered, shaking his head right after._ No, the seal clearly dates back to the last century of the Kharlan War. Hmmm... considering the name of the creature imprisoned here could it maybe be referring to..._

"Decus, what the hell is this?!" Alice's voice sounded, interrupting Richter's line of thought.

"Dear Alice... I-I can explain..." Decus' fearful tone came.

_Maybe it refers to the emotional state of..._

"What?! YOU PERVERT!" the sound of her whip rapier lashing out was heard, repeatedly, accompanied by Decus' cries of pain. "I always knew you were an idiot, but a creep?!"

"But...OW! They were taken...OW!...strictly with the...OW!...preservation of your...Ouch!...modesty in mind! I swear!"

"Then what is this one of me in Altamira changing in a swimsuit?!"

"It's, uhhh... for my... personal collection... ?"

_... anyway... considering the emphasis it gave on the word "heart", it..._

"THAT'S IT! I'm getting rid of this stupid iron maiden!"

"NO! Please don't! It's still not completed... !"

"CAN YOU TWO SHUT THE HELL UP?!" Richter said, finally getting fed up with the couple's arguing and climbing up to ground level again. "I swear to the Spirits, I'm gonna burn your bodies and... !"

He stopped when he saw the two had stopped, Alice holding the iron maiden's handles while Decus was in a pleading pose, with his hands stretched, and looked up. It was then sounds of explosions and the feel of magic came to Richter.

The red head looked up and saw the aerial squads that had been patrolling the mountains to assure nobody would discover their findings where moving much like bees while several dots that seemed to shine with different colors collided with them, frequently sending one plummeting out of the sky as they approached a bit more to the center of the valley. The color on those was that of their auras, visible to the three half-demons down below.

Richter knew those auras.

"Well, well..." Alice said in her sing-song voice and deceptive, sweet smile back as she let go of the iron maiden (which Decus quickly grabbed and hid away from her sight). "Looks like things are about to get interesting."

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

It felt like fighting inside of a hurricane. The demons circled around them relentlessly, charging with talons, spikes, claws and everything else at their disposal.

The plan was for those with flight capabilities to distract the demons while the others approached the center of the valley, which meant Lloyd, Sheena, Presea, Zelos and Raine were downing demons with their magical projectiles or even fire beams, in Lloyd's case.

_Man, am I glad I took some time to master this. _Lloyd thought.

He briefly looked below and saw Marta, carrying Ratatosk towards the middle of the valley. Confident that they would be able to find out what was happening there, Lloyd turned his attention to the aerial combat.

Sheena flew close to Lloyd until they were back-to-back. Looking at one another, they both nodded and Sheena created a blade of light as Lloyd ignited his blue sword. The two grabbed their hands and started to spin in the air, shooting to the demons and destroying anything in their path in a maelstrom of light and fire.

Presea was covering Raine, who gave support with light magic and healing Artes whenever it was needed. Since they were in the air, Raine wouldn't be able to use most of her Summon Spirit powers, tough she could convert the water "bra" on her in a staff whenever a creep got to close. Only problem was, it left her breasts completely exposed.

_What did the female-looking Summon Spirits had with skimpy clothes? _Raine wondered.

Presea threw her ax, which in a flash of purple divided into several dark blades that cut down the demons, letting them plummet to their death. However, when she turned, something rammed into her, almost taking her out of the air. When Presea stabilized, she saw a dark lance coming straight at her. The Warrior of the Deep Abyss managed to move out of the way at the nick of time.

When the reincarnated Shadow looked again, she saw a huge, undead dragon with an armored demon mounted on its back swinging a very long sword at her. Zelos came in right in time and blocked it with an ice shield, shoving the demon knight back.

"So, you're here too," the Knight of Frigid Glory glared at the demon. "Hell Knight."

Lloyd and Sheena stopped and saw their old foe staring down at Zelos and Presea, however they also noticed something: his right arm was back, although it looked different. The limb was a metallic grey with runes on its back instead of the purple on the armor of the Hunter demon.

"Well, well. So the worms show up once again," the demon said in its raspy voice. "Finally, I can pay you all back for the humiliation from that time!" he then threw his right arm out and from it a blade stretched out to Zelos.

The red head dodged it, but the blade moved together with the demon's hand and forced him to bring his shield up. It managed to defend against the attack, but the ice cracked and broke away. Lloyd and Presea took that time to attack the Hell Knight, only to fly back when he raised his right hand and it suddenly shot a blast into the air which divided into several others, issuing a rain of energy projectiles.

During all of that time, Raine analyzed their opponent and saw that the new hand of the demon had changed into some short of weapon. That could only mean one thing:

"So, you replaced your lost arm with a demonic implant," Raine spoke loud enough for the others to hear.

The flying Summon Spirits looked at the Serene Sage and back to the demon, who seemed to chuckle behind his skull helmet.

"So, you've noticed. I should probably thank you. After all, it was you who cut off my hand and gave me this new one," he gazed at his hand as he held the saddles of the dragon with his other one. "It's really useful. Of course, I swore that the first thing I would do would be to bathe it in your blood!" he then raised his substitute hand and the aerial demons charged at the group, letting loose barrages of chaos projectiles.

Raine conjured a barrier on the group as they flew to meet with the vengeful demon...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"Really? The Summon Spirits?" Decus asked as Alice looked up through an ice binocular she just conjured with her powers.

"And it seems they're facing Gary Lish. Oh my, I wonder if he can actually kill them with his new toy," Alice said in a sweet, excited tone.

"If he couldn't take care of them when they were at their weakest, I doubt he would have any more luck now," Richter inputted, having complete confidence on the abilities of the group.

It also helped that Gerash had a terrible temper and was prone to make decisions based on his ego and anger.

_Best Hunter Demon. Yeah... only if self-proclaimed. _Richter thought.

That was when the three of them felt two powerful auras approaching. Two very familiar ones.

Alice dismissed her binoculars and her smile was gone as she looked on the approaching Marta and Emil. She gripped her whip-rapier tighter. On her end, Marta also identified Alice's aura and gritted her teeth. So her most hated rival was here too.

_Well, isn't that just convenient! _both thought as they attacked at the same time, right after Marta warned Emil she would drop him so she could launch one of her wind spinners at Alice, while she launched ice projectiles to counter.

The flying brunette then attempted to ram at the blonde, but Alice used her arms and managed to actually stop Marta`s charge. She attempted to counter, but the Whirlwind Rider quickly flew back and her feet finally touched the ground.

"Well, well, if it isn't Martmart. Still playing the willing bitch to Ratamil?" Alice said, there was no smile or sweet tone, only pure scorn now.

"Alice. Still the same power hungry whore, I see," Marta talked back.

"You know, I was dying to meet you again..." she then stood on a battle stance as she showed a fanged smile. "So I could rip your tongue off and make you eat your own words, you hypocrite."

"Look who's talking, the traitorous, little slut," Marta made her ethereal spinners materialize on the back on her hands.

"What did you say?!" Alice shouted in anger, but Marta continued.

"Oh, sorry, was I not clear enough? I called you a slut. 'Cause I'm pretty that's just what you are. You do have the habit of hanging out with people only to take advantage of them, right? I can only wonder what else you do on your free time."

"At least I'm not some over obsessed fangirl! Really, Martmart, can't you get any more pathetic? There must be something wrong with Ratamil for him to be attracted a flat board like you."

"WHAT?!"

The trade of insults quickly escalated. Alice finally got fed up with that and transformed into her demon form; her skin and clothes becoming pure ice and her honey-colored eyes became golden, shining pools. Her clothes changed to what looked more like a light set of armor and there was also an ice crown on her head.

Her whip-rapier became a sword with an electric-blue blade and a dark hilt. She swung it at Marta and, to the brunette's surprise it extended and bent like it was made of rubber. She flew to avoid the weapon as it hit the place she was moment before, scarring the ground.

Deciding that getting closer would put her at advantage, Marta flew towards Alice, who jumped back, trying to distance herself as Marta threw her wind spinners at her. The ice half-demon made a motion to jump back to the right as Marta was ready to throw a wind disk in that direction. However, that was a feint as Alice suddenly smirked, a now truly fanged smile on her ice face, as she instead jumped forward to meet Marta in mid-flight. The brunette was caught off guard and Alice punched her with all her strength.

The half-demons' cold body caused a light frostbite on Marta's face, even with her Summon Spirit protection, and the force of the blow was enough to send her to the ground. Marta rolled before she was able to regain her balance and stand on her feet.

The Whirlwind Rider looked up just to see an Ice Tornado forming around her and Alice then materializing in the midst of it, grabbing Marta by the chin while the icy coated winds attacked her.

"When I'm done remodeling your pretty face, Martmart, your little friends won't even want to look at…" she was cut off when Marta suddenly raised her left hand, wind spinner already materialized, and it cut through her face.

Alice let out a scream of pain as she let Marta go. The Desian General steadied herself and looked at the brunette with pure hatred on her eyes. She didn't need a mirror to see what that attack had done to her face.

"The only one getting a facial remodeling here is you," Marta said with a smile.

"You… you… BITCH!" abandoning all strategy, Alice threw herself at Marta, insulting her non-stop as the brunette did the same. The fight quickly descended into a brutal cat-fight with the half-demon trying to scratch the Whirlwind Rider's face off and Marta trying to retaliate Alice's body with her spinners.

Observing the two females trading powerful blows, slaps, punches and kicks were Emil and Decus. They stood in their place, not able to look away or interfere. The blue haired man then asked to the blonde:

"So… should we… help them?"

Emil thought about it for a moment, but Ratatosk soon came with the answer:

_"Don't even think about it."_

"If you don't have a death wish, it would be wise of you to never interfere in a fight like this between two women," came the curt and serious tone of Richter.

Emil turned to his long-time friend and put a smile on his face at seeing Richter there. The red head greeted him as Emil asked how he had been:

"Pretty much the same; running errands for Nebilim and his band of demons and inspecting a mysterious stone tablet they found here."

"Wait a minute!" Decus said. "Richter, you're not supposed to tell them that."

"Why not? My orders did not say I couldn't impart this information," Richter crossed his arms.

"Really now? So, are the rumors really true? Have you been leaking information to the resistances?"

Decus' tone became a threatening one, however, Richter didn't draw his weapons, merely staring down the blue haired man. Emil brought his hand to his scabbard, just for precaution. Richter didn't answer him, but his silence told the half-human, half-demon everything he needed to know.

"Ha! So you really are a traitorous snake, huh?"

"I never ever pledged my alliance or support for the Desians' cause, I made that clear since day one. I would rather be dead than in the place I currently am."

"Then allow me to make that a reality!" Decus then charged, broadsword in hand.

There was a "CLANG!" followed by sparks as Emil held Decus' sword in place.

"Don't think I'll let you kill Richter!" the blonde shoved him back.

_"Why not? He himself said he would rather be dead than in this situation. I consider that a win-win,"_ Ratatosk commented. Emil decided to ignore it.

"Emil, get back!" Decus said, his voice assuming an uncharacteristic, angry tone.

The blonde was about to say "No!" when Richter stepped forward, looking for all rights as if he was simply taking a stroll. The new Lord of Monsters called him, but the red head only answered:

"Emil, you don't need to defend me. I can take care of myself. Besides, it seems Decus hasn't taken his medicine today," he asked looking at the man.

Decus gasped and took a step back at that, wondering since when did the half-demon knew about that. Richter could practically read the question on the blue haired swordsman's face and answered:

"I always knew the injection of demon blood would have more severe effects on humans than on half-elves. I've wondered how come your mind and aura hadn't degenerated yet. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were receiving some help," Richter pushed his glasses up, his eyes shining dangerously. "I wonder what your _dear _Alice would think if she knew you were confraternizing with the 'enemy'? At least I am expected to do that, but her loyal slave? Some servant you are."

Richter's tone was a biting one and even Ratatosk had to admit that he approved of Richter's words. Decus took another step back, as if he had been struck. Divided between fear and anger, Decus choose to attack and end Richter before he could expose his secret.

The red head simply raised his sword and stopped the attack effortlessly. The half-human tried to go at it again, swinging his broadswords so fast it almost looked like a blur, but Richter parried every blow without breaking a sweat.

Emil could only look as the two men fought what was quickly revealing to be a one-sided battle…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Down in the hole at the base of the Linkite Tree. The golden crack on the tablet, which had remained inactive during Richter's examination, thus going undetected by him, started to glow …

- / - / - / - / - / -

In the air above the mountains, magical projectiles rained upon all combatants as magical shields and protections broke upon the strain and continuous fire of both parties.

Lloyd, Presea and Sheena couldn't approach to deliver their stronger blows, reduced to send magical blast and their weapons (on Presea's case) against their enemies. Raine was doing her best to cover for them, but even in this form she had her limits. Zelos was blasting ice away, concentrating on freezing their enemies and letting them pummel to the ground below.

However, the Hell Knight kept behind the lines, firing with his demonic implant hand lances, bullets and even throwing axes at the party. Even though they downed a good number of demons more kept showing. The sheer number of demons was quickly pressing away at Lloyd and the others as they were now forced to activate their individual defensive Artes to defend from the hail of fire.

Even though he was anxious, the Hell Knight had learned his lesson and kept his distance. Here, in the air, he held the absolute advantage with his troops as it seemed Sylph was absent. That only gave him a bigger edge as the Summon Spirit of wind would surely make things difficult had she appeared.

"Dammit Raine! We need to do something!" Sheena yelled amidst the hail storm of chaos fire.

"I'm trying to think, but that's quite difficult to do when they are bombarding us and I have to keep these barriers up!"

"Presea?! Can't you do something?!"

The adult-turned girl tried to convert her wings in dark tendrils, but the Hell Knight saw that and ordered the demons to disperse, giving a momentary pause to the fire. Lloyd and the others tried to use the change to approach him, but saw that their enemies had actually surrounded them, forming a ring. Now they were in a worse situation than before.

**"FIRE!"** the Hell Knight order in demonic.

The reincarnated Summon Spirits threw their defenses up. Sheena's shield was the first to break as the Hell Knight aimed his gun on her and unleashed a charged shot. She screamed in pain as chaos fire exploded all around her, her wings flickering out of existence as the demonic energies conflicted with her own.

"SHEENA!" Lloyd dived after her.

"Dammit! Frigid Shield!" Zelos went after his friends, using his defensive Arte to cover Lloyd as he dived after his girlfriend.

Raine wanted to curse too, but she was too occupied. With everybody out of formation like that the demons only had to pick them out one by one.

_Are we… going to die here? After everything we had gone through?! _Raine desperately thought, panic dominating her senses.

- / - / - / - / - / -

Down at the Linkite Tree, the golden crack on the tablet expanded until it covered all half of it…

- / - / - / - / - / -

Presea only looked on as her friends were about to get killed. Her cold analytical mind knew that as soon as their barriers shattered like Sheena's had, the demons would rain fire upon them. Even if the chaos blasts didn't kill them, there was a high probability they would break their defenses and reduce them to human form and a fall that high would be enough to kill any mortal, no matter how powerful.

Quickly weighting her options, Presea saw only one way out of this. For her friends at least…

"Raine, I'm going to attract their attention. When I do, fly to the earth with the others. You all should have better chances to defend yourselves there as you are closer to your element," Presea spoke.

"What? Presea what are you…" it was then it dawned on Raine. "You don't mean to… ?!"

Raine's eyes widened. She was about to stop Presea, but the pink haired Summon Spirit didn't give her the chance as se lowered her shields, flaring her dark aura to attract the attention of the demons and flew up.

It worked as the creatures looked up at her. Raine thought on attacking, but quickly dismissed the notion as she didn't have any wide area spells that would work in this situation and being so far away from water she couldn't use more offensive spells. Her heart ached painfully as she dived right when the Hell Knight called in demonic:

**"KILL HER!" **

All of the demons unleashed a barrage of chaos projectiles as Presea raised in the air higher and higher. Even so, she could feel the attacks colliding with her even as her aura protected her against the brunt of it and she avoided some. But against so many attacks even her defenses were starting to falter as she started to halter on her ascent each time a hit connected.

When the attacks ceased, she felt a stronger presence coming at her. Looking down she saw the Hell Knight flying to her. The demon materialized his long sword with his implanted hand, ready to take a swing at her. Presea stopped and materialized her hand ax, ready to defend and cleave at him.

The Hell Knight passed by her, made a U-turn in the air and dived, swing his sword. Presea swung her ax and, as she predicted, it shattered the purple, ethereal blade. However, she soon realized she should have attacked when the Hell Knight had passed by her.

The demon had jumped from his mount as soon as the blade had connected with Presea's ax, avoiding her swing. When he avoided her attack, the Hell Knight pointed his right hand at her, already having transformed it into a gun. Presea couldn't block it at that distance, as the gun was centimeters away of her face.

There was a loud "CRACK" in the air as the chaos gun went off. The shot hit Presea right in the forehead. The shot destroyed most of her defenses, resulting in her shadow wings to vanish as the damage took a tool on her powers, sending the woman pummeling to the ground. The Hell Knight's mount flew bellow him to steady the demon in the air again as he laughed at his accomplishment.

When Lloyd managed to get to Sheena, he and her looked up to see Presea falling through the air. The couple and Zelos widened their eyes and tried to go rescue her, only to be blocked as a swarm of demonic fliers rammed at them, blocking the reincarnated Summon Spirits even as they tried to cut through them.

Raine called for the Warrior of the Deep Abyss, but the Hell Knight blocked her way and she was forced to flee as the Hunter Demon tried to decapitate the Serene Sage.

As she was falling, Presea could feel her power leaking around her in the form of dark wisps of smoke. That direct hit contained some kind of enchantment that ate away at her weak defenses and the power behind almost knocked her out.

As she fell, she could see her friends still fighting for their lives as the seemingly endless wave of aerial demons flew around them, attacking the party from all sides.

_I've... failed them... Lloyd... Sheena... Colette... I'm... sorry... _she could only think that as she fell through the skies. _Strange... I always thought that when I died, I would finally feel something, but... I feel so... sad now. _

When she thought she wouldn't be able to see Colette again, be with her, or talk to the blonde… when she thought that Colette would cry because she was gone... that had made Presea find the will to go on living, but now... she could only cry at the thought of never seeing the blonde she had fallen for.

- / - / - / - / - / -

The tablet's ethereal cracks now covered its entire surface as they glowed strongly...

- / - / - / - / - / -

Marta and Alice still fought with savagery, not paying attention as demon limbs and corpses rained around them. There was only one thought on their minds: kill the one they hated so much.

Marta tried to saw Alice's head and face off as the icy half-demon tried to grab the Whirlwind Rider's throat, but only managed to scratch it. Alice could teleport by sublimating her body and reforming it anywhere she wanted. It also helped her body was able to reform itself using the humidity in the air.

The two now only wanted to cause each other as much pain as bodily possible.

Nearby, Decus was desperately attacking Richter, his frustration mounting as none of his attacks landed and the red head delivered several glancing blows on him. None were fatal, but that was just because Richter wasn't aiming to kill him.

That only served to incense the blue haired man even more.

- / - / - / - / - / -

A heartbeat-like pulse emanated...

The tablet shattered to pieces...

- / - / - / - / - / -

Suddenly, all those fighting on the ground felt a strong tremor that almost made them lose their balance. Marta and Alice, who had been now fighting on the ground, pulling at each other's hair and clothes, stopped when they felt the earth below quaking.

A pillar of light suddenly shot from the Linkite Tree to the skies. All the combatant's eyes widened at that. Richter quickly realized that probably was linked to the tablet, which could only mean one thing:

_Whatever was sealed there, probably freed itself during this entire commotion._

- / - / - / - / - / -

Presea lost consciousness due to her loss of power, so she never saw the pillar of light reaching her and engulfing her entire body, however, the same couldn't be said about all of the demons and reincarnated Summon Spirits around the area.

All fighting stopped as they turned to look at the strange phenomena.

The pillar then faded away and a silhouette started to become visible. When the light cleared away all those in the air could see the figure of a woman dressed in what looked like ceremonial, crimson and golden robes with green branch-like and blue flower-like patterns on it. She had dark hair, closed eyes, a gentle smile gracing an attractive face, without any marks or blemishes and long, elegant fingers, which were holding Presea on the newcomer's arms.

However, some things stood out on this strange female. For one, she was floating in midair without any apparent effort. Around her neck was some short of red, leather collar with a golden bell on it and coming out of her back were nine golden, fox tails. However, what really caught the attention of the demons around was the woman's aura.

That aura was unlike anything any of the present had ever seen. It was a literal storm of power in which they could practically feel several emotions radiating from the female. Raine couldn't identify any kind of elemental affinity, only raw power.

Suddenly, the power receded, vanishing like it never existed. The woman then looked at her arms, at the unconscious Presea, who almost woke up when the full extend of that entity's aura was unleashed. She looked at the Warrior of the Deep Abyss like a mother would to her child and said:

"So, this is what has become of you all... how sad. Yet..." her voice was soft and melodic, so much one could practically lose himself listening to her talk. "I'm so glad to see you again," she gave a genuine, happy smile.

The woman's eyes never once opened, even though her face was directly facing Presea. Raine idly wondered that maybe she didn't need to see. To speak the truth, she didn't even remotely feel like a mortal or a demon. The feel she got at sensing that subdued aura was more akin to...

_Ratatosk... yet… there's something vastly different on her. What is it?_

The strange entity then looked at the demons with her closed eyes and spoke:

"Oh, how many demons. It's been so long since I saw so many in one place. Say, I don't suppose we could be friends, right?" her happy smile was still there as she asked the question in a very innocent tone.

The Hell Knight didn't seem to think so as he ordered:

**"Attack!"** getting over their confusion, the demon fliers went after the woman.

"I thought so…" she seemed to sigh, letting the demons come at her.

Seeing the woman hadn't made an effort to defend herself or charge a spell and still had Presea in her arms, Lloyd and the others flew to her as they tried to call her.

However, that soon proved to be unnecessary.

"Final Beat."

There it was again; that storm of unique power. This time it was directed at the demons, acting like some sort of pulse that violently threw all of the away, making them collide with each other and even ripping part of their bodies apart, like they had been hit by a giant, blunt weapon. Before he even knew what was happening, the Hell Knight's instincts kicked in and he threw a shield up, right in time defend himself from the attack.

The invisible force pushed against the purple, energy shield of the demon and was so strong he was shoved back. Right when it was about to break, the attack ceased.

Down in the ground, Emil and the others could barely discern what was happening above, even with enhanced vision, though they had felt that incredible, powerful aura. They saw the demons falling and moved to avoid the rain of demonic corpses. When it passed, the only thing they could all think of was:

_What the hell just happened?!_

The woman was still floating in the air with Presea in her arms. Not a single strand of hair was out of place. Gerash'Läh could only look at her, shocked she had brought down an entire legion of demons with a single Arte.

"Now, mister demon," she called him. "I believe you are the one responsible for my dear brothers/sisters' state. Correct?" when that question was uttered, the woman finally opened her eyes. And suddenly the world around the Hell Knight seemed to shrink and converge as he felt himself paralyzed on his place.

Although her eyes were open, no one, but the demon to which she had opened her orbs for, could see it. To anybody else, it looked as though she still had them closed. Her eyes were gleaming pools of gold, with vertical pupils. However, that wasn't what truly scared the demon.

Those eyes… they seemed to instantly pierce Gerash'Läh, looking past all of his defenses and touching directly his essence, his core. They transmitted to him a stream of negative emotions so strong that even he, a demon, felt like he was being crushed by it. He tried to look away, but he couldn't. Her eyes seemed to try and devour him, crush his essence with its power.

That was when his survival instincts finally kicked in and he turned tail and urged his mount to leave. It had become as scared as he did as it recognized a power it couldn't comprehend. And those emotions... demons didn't fear emotions and some could even turn them into power. But there was a limit to it. And the ones the eyes of that entity transmitted... they were _already_ power.

Power she could easily crush him with.

For the first time, the Hunter Demon felt true fear.

Then the woman appeared ahead of him at the blink of an eye. When did she drop Shadow off? He didn't know, but he knew one thing: she was going to kill him. The Hell Knight then commanded his mount to fire as he aimed his right hand at her.

When he was charging his shot, one of her yellow tails extended and shot to his mount in lightning speed, piercing it through its mouth. A wave of power seemed to pass though the tail and suddenly his mount exploded inside out and he was airborne.

Another second passed and he suddenly felt his skull helmet in that entity's grip. If he had eyes they would have widened to the point of looking like they would pop out of their sockets. In a last, desperate effort, the Hell Knight pointed his transformed hand at her and shot at pointblank range. The shots hit, but they _weren't doing anything. _It was like she wasn't even affected by his chaos energy.

"You know..." the woman said, her tone still held its soft, melodic lilt to it, but there was something strange with it. "I don't like it when someone threatens my cherished ones," those golden eyes bore at him, he felt like his power was being squashed away like it was nothing.

The Hunter Demon was thrown in the air and when he started to fall, he saw the woman aligning her fingers on her right hand in a spear motion.

The Hell Knight screamed... and was silenced forever when a hand came up in a spear motion, piercing his head through the face of his helmet. The body stopped its descent... and subsequently exploded as a wave of power traveled the woman's hand.

Although she was covered in a rain of gore that would soon disperse, the woman still smiled that serene smile, golden eyes now closing as the one they were directed at with anger was no more...


	50. Reality Conflict

Hey guys, back with another chapter! For those of you who wanted some drama, hope this satiate your needs.

Now for those of you who haven't guessed yet who our new addition is, her identity will be undisclosed on this chapter. For further explanations on my take on her, read the chapter and read the notes at the end.

* * *

**Chapter 45**

**Reality Conflict**

Alice couldn't believe her eyes.

Moments ago, the demons were winning and now all of them were laying on the ground, dead. Their bodies smashed and crumpled beyond recognition and the one that caused all of that had just taken down the Hell Knight like he was nothing. One blow and he was history!

She dismissed her binoculars. The honey-eyed Desian and the others on the ground had just stood observing everything that happened. Even Decus felt his anger completely abandoning him and being replaced with a primal urge to flee.

_But from what? _he wondered mentally to himself as he watched.

Then the source of all their uneasiness made itself known, as she instantly teleported and appeared near them. The entire group took a step back. They hadn't even felt any agitation in the magical currents.

"Oh, just look at all of you. Why do I feel such fear coming from you?" the woman asked with that musical, soft voice of hers and innocent smile.

Alice and Decus didn't fall for it for a second.

Quickly weighting her options, Alice decided that trying to take down something that could kill a Great demon in seconds without any idea of what she was capable off was, at best, idiocy. She turned, ran a few feet away and started to chant a teleportation spell, Decus saw that and quickly grabbed his iron maiden.

"Wait for me, my darling Alice!" he said, running to the circle and getting to it right on time as it activated and the two were transported away.

"Oh, they left," the entity said in her innocent voice, with a sad pout on her face. "I was about to ask them if they wanted to be friends," she then turned to Ratatosk and the others. "Oh well… at least my sister and brother are here," she seemed to become more cheerful at that.

"V-V-Verius?" came Ratatosk's hesitant reply.

Marta and Richter looked at him and saw his face was pale, like he had seen a ghost.

Which in this case was actually true.

_Is… is it really her? _were Ratatosk's thoughts. He could still remember that day, when he last saw Verius, his sister…

- / - / - / - / - / -

_Right after they left Neran's burning mansion and heard that prophesy, Ratatosk and Celsius arrived at the Twilight Palace. Immediately, they felt the heavy aura around the area. _

_Rushing to Origin's quarters, the two Spirits could sense the aura getting thicker._

_Verius usually didn't spend time with them in the Twilight Palace. Sometimes, it would be years before any of the Spirits saw her again, for she was a unique, special existence. Unlike them, she wasn't created by the Great Lords, but came into existence as a response of the human heart itself near the final days of the War of for the Young Aselia._

_They didn't know why or how it was possible and Verius herself never explained much. Actually, if one was to describe her, they would say she could be quite secretive. And a bit of a trickster on her free time. _

_Verius rarely ever parted her knowledge on the hearts with the others and downright refused to say anything related to her duties, besides the obvious fact she was to watch everything that had a heart (although she did it with a smile and posing with her closed hand near face while saying in a sing-song tone "It's a secret")._

_Some Spirits didn't take her attitude kindly, thinking she was disrespecting Origin and them. The first and last one to call her out on that was the hot headed Ratatosk:_

"_If you think you're so fucking better than us, then how about you show it to me?!" and just like that Ratatosk challenged her to a fight, his tone showing there was no avoiding it._

_Ten seconds latter, the brash Summon Spirit was beaten down in submission as Verius stood over him with a pout on her face, seeming sad and displeased about it, saying she didn't want to fight, but Ratatosk was "being mean" and "pushy" to her, so he left her with no choice._

_That brief display of power immediately shut the other Spirits' complains about her up. Origin himself never had anything against Verius, stating that, if she wanted to keep her duties a secret she had that right. She only would have to deal with the consequences of her attitude later._

_And she seemed to be facing them now._

_When Ratatosk and Celsius arrived, it was to see the fox-tailed Spirit on a bed conjured by Origin and Maxwell to treat her. The Lord of Monsters asked them how she was and Maxwell was the one to answer, his voice, normally quite energetic despite his aged appearance, now seemed to carry all the weight and tiredness of being the oldest of all the Summon Spirits:_

"_I won't lie, she isn't good. Her aura has been passing through violent 'phases' lately, although she seems to be doing her utmost to reel them back."_

"_Phases?" Celsius repeated._

"_What do you mean?" Ratatosk asked._

"_Ratatosk... is that you... ?" came Verius' voice. She sounded really spent of energy, like she had been fighting non-stop against an endless legion of demons. _

"_Yes, it's me," he approached her laying form._

_After their initial mishap, Ratatosk eventually warmed up to Verius (mostly because the fox-like Spirit seemed to insist on making company to him). Out of all the Summon Spirits, he was the one that could safely say who had the most contact with Verius, if only because his Centurions frequently crossed paths with her when she was watching over the hearts of the monsters._

_Ratatosk didn't initially understood Verius' insistence on "being friends" with him. His brothers and sisters would say that was just because he was a sore loser, but he said it was because he couldn't trust her. However, when Ratatosk finally got fed up with Verius standing in the middle of the Ginnungagap just looking at him, he turned and asked:_

"_What's up with you?! Can't you take the hint and go away?!"_

"_I would, but I won't," Verius answered, with that same soft smile and lilt in her voice._

"_And why, pray tell?"_

"_Because, out of everybody, you are the only one that still feel like you don't fit in, just because you weren't originally an entity like us."_

_That made Ratatosk shut up and take a few steps back. Before he could ask, Verius said:_

"_It's all written over you; the doubt, the hesitancy. Why don't you open up more, Ratatosk? Are you afraid we will reject you? You're already family to us. I can tell the others feel the same too without even needing to read their auras," her smile seemed to brighten up._

_He didn't know whether he should be afraid, happy, or worried. _

_No one could read him like Verius. Maybe Shadow could, but the Summon Spirit of darkness rarely spoke unless it was in a meeting or if he was directed a question. However, the fact remained that Verius could read him like a book._

_It was then that Ratatosk started to realize just how powerful the fox-like entity could be to read even the emotions in the aura of her brethren._

_After that event, Ratatosk started to open up a bit more to Verius to the point that their relationship grew to something like that of big sister and little brother, even though he was technically older. Sometimes she even acted like a mother to him and in others a friend._

_But right now, Ratatosk was the one worried about her._

"_Oh my... I didn't recognize you... you're... so worried right now... you're not usually like... this..." her normal lilt was out of her melodic voice and the tiredness in her tone only made his core hurt._

"_Yes... I am worried about you."_

"_Oh, yes... well, I'm sorry for worrying you then..." she offered him a smile._

"_Don't be stupid. You're the one suffering here!"_

_Ratatosk raised his voice and the others could notice a crack on it. Verius did too._

"_Silly... I'm not... suffering... it's just... the hearts of people... they're so negative... so full of hate, discrimination... I'm governed by the heart of the world... and the Heart of the World is connected to the hearts of those living in it..."_

_The others raised their eyebrows at that. This was the first time Verius ever said anything about her existence and her knowledge of the hearts. Although they too felt that the world was affected by the wave of negative thoughts and feelings people had sustained during the war it didn't affected them like it was doing Verius._

_Ratatosk, however, only paid attention to one fact out of that conversation: _

"_You mean... they're doing this to you?!" the anger was evident in his voice._

_Verius turned her head to him, her ever-closed eyes fixating on Ratatosk as she spoke, her voice now more serious and completely devoid of its normal lilt:_

"_Ratatosk, listen to me; don't let anger rule your decisions. It's already... bad enough they are doing what they are doing to themselves... please, don't fall into this too. If you do... the cycle of tragedies... will only... grow..." her voice was becoming wearier._

"_Verius? Verius!" Ratatosk called._

_Origin and Maxwell rushed to her, trying to see what was wrong. The aura of the Watcher of the Heart was vibrating violently, its energies twisting between what felt like negative and positive spectrums._

"_Origin... listen well..." Verius spoke. "Seal me someplace nobody will find... if your plan is to work, I must stay out of the picture until it has taken effect... and the world has been regenerated... other... wise... I don't think I'll be able to hold it back..." she sounded like she was struggling._

"_What?!" Ratatosk asked, but was ignored._

"_Understood," was everything that Origin said._

"_Wait! You can't be serious. Why are you sealing her?" the thought of Verius, one of the Summon Spirits that had grown close to him, being locked away someplace, suspended in a limbo for Lords knew how long, made Ratatosk feel indignant._

"_This is not only for her, but also for the sake of everything else, Ratatosk," Maxwell said. "She asked us to do this herself. If she did so, she must have a motive. You know what she is like."_

_He did. He really did. And that was what worried him all the more._

"_Rata..." Celsius said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He just stood there and let her. Celsius looked at Verius, who seemed to have noticed and only smiled at the Summon Spirit of ice, forming words with her lips:_

Take care of him...

"_Let's leave them... they know what they're doing. There's nothing we can do."_

_Ratatosk followed her listlessly, knowing she was right. Although he showed no emotion on his exterior and kept his aura under control, on his core he was fuming with rage._

How much more will you, wretched humans take from me until you're satisfied?

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Verius looked just the same as the last time he saw her, although her aura now looked quite stable compared to what it was before.

"_Even so... what about that explosion of power before?" _Emil asked him, but Ratatosk wasn't paying attention anymore. The only thing binding his attention was the entity in front of him.

"Oh, silly Rata. It's me. Why do you doubt your own eyes?" Verius said in that musical and soft voice of hers.

That was enough to sate his doubts as Ratatosk approached her even as Marta and Richter stayed on guard. Then he did something that shocked the two; he hugged the fox-tailed woman.

"Verius... it's really you," his voice was so low Marta couldn't almost catch, but the relief and longing in it made her all the more aware that something was going on.

"Poor Rata," Verius said, stroking the blonde's head with all the care and tenderness of a mother treating her child. "You've been feeling lonely haven't you? I can understand... I felt the same, bound behind that seal," she then turned and looked at Marta and Richter. "You're looking different Sylph. And who's your friend?"

Ratatosk didn't notice the light inflection on his sister's tone, but Richter and Marta did. And when the red head felt the Summon Spirit was looking directly at him, he suddenly felt a strong urge to run away as fast as he could.

"Oh, right..." Ratatosk said, letting go of Verius. "Verius, this is Richter, Emi... my friend, I guess..."

"You surely know how to present people to others," Richter couldn't help, but jab at Ratatosk, who ignored him.

"And that's Marta. Sylph reincarnated..."

"And Ratatosk's girlfriend," the girl completed, running and latching her arm on him in a possessive manner.

Verius tilted her head, making an expression of cute confusion. Richter just raised his eyebrow while keeping his distance.

"Weren't you dating Celsius? Oh my, how time has passed," Verius mused.

It was then the rest of the group landed and looked at the fox-tailed woman. Raine was the first to speak, asking her what she did with Presea.

"Presea, Presea... oh, you mean Shadow. She's right there, by that tree."

Raine ran there to check at the girl while Lloyd and the others approached cautiously...

"Well, hello there, my exotic, foxy hunny."

Until Zelos appeared, almost instantly near Verius. Sheena and her boyfriend sighed as the red head strike conversation with the _female _Spirit. In Richter's point of view, it was almost comical, as Verius was taller than any of them and seemed confused as she looked at him.

"Celsius? Did you dump Rata and is now onto me?" the sincerity on the question disarmed and confused Zelos. "I mean, I do know of your tastes, but I thought you would be all over him like you were..."

"Um... let's just say I'm not exactly Celsius," Zelos said, sweatdropping and appearing to be slightly disturbed at the suggested scene.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Lloyd called, making the Summon Spirit of heart look at him. "But who are you?"

That's what was on most of the group's mind. That woman surely was powerful and clearly wasn't mortal and Ratatosk called her Verius, so who could her be?

"Oh right, you all wouldn't remember," Ratatosk spoke. "Everybody, this is Verius, Summon Spirit of the heart."

"WHAT?!" the group let out.

"A Summon Spirit?!" Richter let out. "But weren't you all reincarnated?"

"Not all of us. Verius is... a special case," Ratatosk thought on how to explain that to them. "I'm sure not even you heard about a Summon Spirit of the heart in your time on Sybak, did you Raine?"

"No. I looked through all of their records and studies on them and not even once was there a mention of a Summon Spirit of the heart," Raine spoke, her tone one of undisguised curiosity.

"That's because Verius' existence is supposed to be a secret. Few people know that there exists another Summon Spirit and the ones that know her identity could be counted on one hand."

"But why so much secret?" Sheena asked curious about the situation.

"Because of her power, the power that comes from the hearts of every living being. It's as dangerous as it's great."

"Um... I'm confused," Verius said in an innocent tone, tilting her head. "Why do I feel so much surprise and confusion coming from you all? And what happened to your powers?"

"You... don't know about Origin's plan Verius?"

"Well, I heard he had one, but I never asked the details. ... wait. Didn't I know?"

The way she said that line made she sound a bit ditzy to the group and made Ratatosk sigh. He would have to explain everything to her.

Richter cleared his throat, calling the group's attention as he spoke:

"I must return. I'll try and think something up along the way to report back to Nebilim."

"Do you really have to?" Marta asked, her tone a sad one.

"You know that I..."

"Actually, he doesn't need to," Verius suddenly spoke, interrupting the red head and surprising Marta and Emil, who took the control back.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Oh, what happened to you, Rata? You feel different."

Richter, however, glared at the Summon Spirit. What was she implying? He had to go back, for the demon blood in him forced him to obey the orders of demons of higher ranking. He tried to resist them before and failed to do so.

"Actually, that would be because your heart isn't strong enough," Verius spoke, startling him.

"You... can read my thoughts?!" Richter exclaimed. He never heard of any Summon Spirit capable of doing that. "What do you mean by me being weak?!" that was the part that incensed him the most.

"No, but I can read the feelings on your aura. Through them, it's quite easy to read you and guess what you're thinking. As for what I meant, it's exactly that. The heart is something the demons would never be able to control, for they don't understand it by not possessing one. The fact that they can control you just points to how weak your heart is."

She said all of that with that bright smile and lilt on her tone, but Richter could feel the sharpness of her words. Even the others were surprised. Emil felt Ratatosk was confused. Then Verius hammered in the final nail:

"I wonder if you even care about my brother and sister, if you let yourself be controlled by those that wish them harm. Or is it that you actually see an advantage at being besides the demons?"

That made it. In the blink of an eye, Richter had his sword and ax drawn, glaring daggers at the fox-like woman, his expression one of cold fury. Richter didn't care when people insulted him, he had grown used to it during his time as an "underground" researcher in Sybak.

But if there was one thing he absolutely couldn't stand was people doubting about his dedication and loyalty to those he cared.

"I don't care if you are a Summon Spirit or not, I won't have you even suggesting I am such a scum as to betray them!"

"Anger is generally the most common way of denial," the venom in that tone and smile was enough to drown a monster scorpion in it.

"Both of you, stop!" Marta said, putting herself between them. "We're on the same side. Verius, Richter is our friend, he cares for us!"

Verius seemed like she wanted to retort, but didn't speak anything, merely looking at Marta with her closed eyes in a neutral expression. Richter merely glared at her and sheathed his weapons.

"I'll be leaving. Be safe you all," the red headed half-demon said. Emil wanted to call him back, but the way Richter spoke indicated he wasn't in the mood to talk. Richter had always been like that; when somebody pissed him off like Verius did, he either dealt with that person, or, in case he couldn't, left, so he wouldn't have to stay in that person's presence.

However, internally, Emil's mentor couldn't help, but think on what Verius had just said. If he was to be honest to himself, part of his reaction was mostly due to his injured pride.

_Could her claims actually work against the demons? _Richter stood with that thought the entire way back to the Ginnungagap...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

When Emil and the others came back to the Renegade base, Brute had, predictably, already left. But when they appeared before Yuan in one of the many briefing rooms and presented Verius, the blue haired half-elf and his wife were more that a little impressed.

"A... Summon Spirit... ?" was everything Martel could utter from her lips.

"Yes. Summon Spirit of the Heart," Ratatosk concluded as he had explained to the two the entire story again.

"Um... things surely have changed..." Verius mused, looking around with an expression of innocence in her face. She seemed more interested in looking at the people walking about in the other side of the glass window that gave view to the corridor than the base itself.

All of the reincarnated Summon Spirits in the party were there. Colette, as soon as she heard about how Presea had been injured, had shot rapid-fire questions to the pink haired Shadow, asking if she was alright. It took Presea around ten minutes to tranquilize Colette and say she was better thanks to Raine's treatment.

"And why was it that she was sealed, again?" Sheena asked. That was the part that had been bothering her the most. You didn't seal one of the guardians of the world for nothing. _Besides what kind of power would be able to seal her? _She still shivered every time she thought on how Verius had disabled all those demons and trashed the Hell Knight.

"To be honest, I don't know," Ratatosk said. "Last time I saw her, she was looking severely bad, but now..."

"I'm better now," Verius interrupted, making the group look at her. "In fact, I feel better than ever. Maybe all that I needed was a good nap."

"Would it be possible Origin and Maxwell were the ones that did it?" Regal suggested, looking at Verius as he asked the question. "They were the last people with you, right?"

"That..." the group inched closer as Verius spoke. "Is a secret," Verius said with a cute giggle and an innocent smile.

The party, plus the leaders of the Renegades, sweatdropped at that. Sheena sighed:

"Great... another Raine..."

Said half-elven woman was about to retort, but closed her mouth.

"Don't mind her. She's always been like this. She's actually pretty harmless, unless provoked," Ratatosk guaranteed.

"Like you did that one time, right boss?" Lumen said, materializing. "I do remember Cooldine had to treat you."

The group now shot looks with raised eyebrows at the brash Summon Spirit. Ratatosk had a vein pulsing in his forehead as he spoke, his eyes closed and twitching in anger:

"I thought I told you to never speak of that."

"Oh, right! Oops."

"Cooldine, huh?" Zelos thought aloud, while looking at Raine and trying to picture her as Undine. "You know, that's actually very suiting to you too, Bewitching Professor Raine."

Raine sighed. Why did she have to go through this?

"You know, that actually sounds like you. You are pretty cool sometimes, Raine," Lloyd said, offering her a smile.

And just like that, all thoughts of exasperation left Raine as she crossed her arms and looked to the side so Lloyd wouldn't see her blush. Zelos gave his "bud" a thumbs up, even though Lloyd himself didn't understand why. He just thought that Raine looked really cool when she was using those demonic spells. Sheena just looked at all of that and didn't know how to feel about it.

"Anyway..." Yuan spoke, trying to get them back on track as he turned to Verius. "Verius, I would like to..."

"No," Verius interrupted, saying it so suddenly and with such finality that most of the group jumped in surprise when she spoke.

Yuan looked at her with a confused look. She hadn't even let him finish, so why is it that she jumped ahead and answered...

"I saw what you were going to ask me through the emotions flowing in your aura. Remember, my power is that of the heart, so I know how to read people's emotions and from there interpret their thoughts," Verius said almost as though...

_She read my thoughts!_

"Not really. As I said, I can guess what your thoughts are through your emotions. And again, yes, my answer to your question if I'll help you is 'no'."

That actually got the group to look at Verius with wide eyes. They were sure she would help them restore the world. She was a Summon Spirit after all, a guardian of this world. Why wouldn't she...

"Oh, c'mon. Do you all really forget it? That's so sad," Verius said, making a cute pout as she looked the members of the party with her closed eyes.

"But... why?" Martel questioned. "Surely you've seen the state of the world, why can't you help us? We all just want to regenerate Aselia."

"My dear, even though I feel such a purity in your heart, I must warn you, words and feelings won't convince me, no matter how much your heart speaks out," Verius said with that musical lilt in her voice and smile that seemed to be akin to that of a prankster. Yet her words completely shattered the illusion of that calm and happy visage. "It's not a matter of 'I can't', it's simply that 'I won't'."

"You mean, you would willingly choose to let our world face this destruction?" Regal asked, surprised he was hearing such a thing coming from one of the beings he was always taught that protected the world and held its balance.

"I exist simply to watch over all that has a heart. The state of the world today is a direct result of the action of those that were moved by their petty, greedy hearts, so in that light I won't help you because I am not to interfere with the hearts and actions of the mortal beings and its consequences."

So it all came back to that. Yuan gritted his teeth. That was the same argument Desians used to justify their actions:

"You caused all of this, so shut up and suck it," he had gotten tired of hear it from the Desians. That was why he founded the Renegades in the first place.

"You can get angry and revolted all you want, but it is the truth," Verius quipped, smile never leaving her face.

"But... didn't you fought for this world during the War of the Young Aselia?" Raine tried to argument. "Wouldn't this situation fall into the same category as that?"

"Actually..." Emil was the one to speak, his tone hesitant. "Verius never did take part in the war."

"What do you mean?" Colette asked.

"According to Rat... my memories, Verius only came to be near the very end of that conflict, so she never really fought on it. But still..." he then turned to the Summon Spirit. "Isn't there anyway in which we can convince you to join forces with us?"

Verius seemed to ponder that as she put her long-sleeved hand under her chin and tilted her head up in thought. She eventually spoke:

"Well, I could help you, but only if you have every heart in this world call out for that. Just like their will to survive called for me to come into existence."

That left some of them confused. Martel asked the fox-like woman what she meant with that.

"I came into being as a result of the Heart of the World responding to the calls and wishes of the many mortal hearts to survive. In that sense, you could say I serve the Heart of the World and only it. If it were to respond to your desire to restore to this world, then I would help you. But it isn't. Actually, I can sense there are many that are waiting for others to restore this world, or merely gave up and sit back and watch and there is a significant parcel wishing for everything to just burn."

Yuan muttered "Desians" under his breath. He looked up to Verius and spoke again:

"So, you're saying that unless every single person in this world, half-demons included, wishes for its regeneration, you won't help us?"

"Exactly," Verius said with such a happy smile that some people in that room felt the urge to punch it off her face. "Oh, c'mon. No need to get all angry, Efreet, Volt, Luna and Sylph. You all knew I was going to say it. That's how I always acted."

"Can you stop speaking to us as if we are them?" Lloyd spoke, his voice sounding angry. "In case you haven't noticed yet, we aren't the old Summon Spirits."

"And why is it that I feel like you're clinging to some short of 'feeling of humanity'? It's almost like you're refusing to see the obvious," Verius said, sounding honestly confusing and like she hadn't heard a single word that Lloyd spoke.

"Are you listening to me? And what do you mean with that?!"

The group started to get nervous that a confrontation might be eminent between Lloyd and Verius, Sheena being the most nervous of all. She knew Lloyd could get pretty narrow minded and hotheaded when he saw injustice and apathy towards the suffering of others right in front of him and sometimes could even overlook the consequences of his actions.

Also, she was remembering Verius' display of power.

"Verius..." Colette spoke, making the fox-like woman turn her attention to the blonde. "I know you might still be confused from learning that we're your family, but we're not at the same time. We're also still trying to accept all of this. It's not that we're refusing the fact we're Summon Spirits. It's just... it's just that we don't consider ourselves worthy of carrying on their names and titles yet."

The reincarnated Summon Spirits felt like Colette was speaking out something they had kept to themselves all along, buried deep in their minds. Sometimes, the blonde could do just that. That was one of the reasons they valued her as a friend and why Presea fell in love with Colette. The blonde passed through so much and yet she seemed to be able to understand and even share people's pains.

"But we're doing our best to hold up to what we should do as them. That's why we need your help. You're the only Summon Spirit that knows what it means to be one, besides Ratatosk. But the world is in danger and we need all the help we can get. So, please, couldn't you help us?" Colette pleaded, almost to the point of begging.

Martel and the others felt moved by the blonde's words and Presea was absolutely entranced.

Verius, however...

"You feel just like that... if she really is your grandma?" the fox-tailed woman looked to Martel.

That shocked the group.

They saw many people react to Colette's speeches in many ways, but that was the first time they met somebody that acted so... _indifferent_ towards the blonde. It was almost like Verius hadn't even pay attention to Colette's heart-spoken words at all.

"Did you even listen to Colette at all?!" Presea was the one to speak this time.

They could feel an oppressive aura of anger coming from the pink haired girl that made those closer to her inch away.

Again, Verius didn't seem to even care as she spoke:

"I listened to her alright. It's just it doesn't matter. It's like begging to your dying, best friend to live."

That made Colette reel back as if she had been physically struck, her heart beating painfully as she was suddenly reminded of Maki. Martel was shocked that... _woman _had the audacity to make her granddaughter feel like that. Sheena, Yuan and Presea fixed murderous glares at Verius and Zelos thought:

_That was a dick move, if I ever saw one._

"Doesn't matter?" Marta asked, trying not to let her own anger show. She had to remember this was an entity that could read her thoughts through her feelings.

"Yes, because you, her, him and them might feel this same way," Verius said pointing to Marta, Colette, Yuan and making a vague gesture. "But in the end it doesn't matter. The entirety will still not agree on your feelings and while that doesn't happen the Heart of the World will not call me out to do what you're asking. Words and feelings are like wind; go in one direction one day, go for the other in the next.

"The heart is just as inconstant. So, crying or begging will not change reality. The entirety let everything get to this point, so I will not interfere."

Martel, who was hugging Colette, while the blonde tried to regain her bearings, glared at the fox-like woman and said:

"So you say that even if this world dies and its heart together with it, you won't do anything?"

"Everything that is mortal dies one day, worlds are no different," Verius explained, still maintaining that smile that now many were finding insufferable. "When the heart of this world dies, I shall just go on to the next world... wait. That's what they say..."

Verius then scrunched her face in confusion and she went to mutter inaudible things to herself, completely ignoring the seething group in front of her.

It was in that moment that Kratos entered the room, intending on talking with Yuan, but stopped as soon as he felt the heavy atmosphere. He looked around, seeing the strange woman and the group, plus his superiors, glaring at said woman.

"Um... did I arrive at a bad time?" Kratos couldn't tell what was the last time he felt so awkward like he was feeling now.

"Oh. Origin, finally! Can you remind them that it's not my duty to help them with the problems of the mortals?" Verius said, sighing in relief as she saw Kratos.

That made the group's minds do a one-eighty as they looked from Verius to Kratos with dumbstruck gazes. They all let out an "WHAT?!". Kratos himself had a deer-in-the-headlights expression.

"O-Origin?" Raine muttered.

"D-Dad?" Lloyd let out.

"What? Oh c'mon, you at least know who you are. Why are acting like that?" Verius said, sounding a little exasperated.

Kratos' eyes shot through all of the room, taking in the group's expressions. Yuan looked the most shocked of all. No, he looked almost... betrayed? Martel had a similar expression.

"I..." Kratos started, but found his voice dying and his vocal cords refusing to work at the moment.

"C'mon," Verius insisted. "I can see that you found it out a long time ago. Like, when... wait? Efreet's your son?"

"Kratos..." Yuan spoke up.

"Oh, some serious talk is gonna take place. Well, I'll see you all latter," and with a smile, like the entire situation was amusing for her, and her musical lilt back, Verius disappeared, leaving behind a group of shocked warriors.

After that, Emil decided to call Ratatosk:

_Please, please tell me this is not really the Verius we remember!_

"_I... am not really sure. But she is right, you know?"_

_About WHAT?! _Emil himself found out the entire thing revolting. He almost felt physically ill hearing Verius speaking all those things to his friends.

"_Everything..." _Ratatosk simply said.

Emil wanted to retort, to mentally yell with his alter-ego... but, deep down, he couldn't. Because, in the end, Ratatosk was absolutely right.

And so did Verius...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Reriki and Rahishi practically invaded Genis' room, such was their haste. The silver haired, young-looking Desian was looking through some of the data projectors he had swiped from Rodyle when his two aides entered.

Rahishi was the first to speak, bowing in contingency to her general:

"My General, we've felt a very strong magical agitation in the chaos currents around the world."

"It's like somebody just dropped a bomb, or something," Reriki spoke.

"If you want to put it in layman's term, yes..." Rahishi spoke, narrowing her eyes and sweatdropping. Sometimes she wondered about Reriki's mental age.

"Rodyle's dead," Genis suddenly said. Confusing his two aides by the apparently random change of subject. He didn't turn to face them. "Just now, my connection to the Submarine Ranch's servers was cut off. Rodyle never leaves his data center offline. That can only mean one of two things; either he found out I got the access codes, or he is dead and Submarine Ranch was deactivated."

The Desian General's aides looked between themselves.

They didn't really care about Rodyle, or even the fact that his ranch was potentially taken down. After all, demons didn't exactly need bases in this world.

"And now this humongous magical agitation..." Genis spoke, seeming to look up. His aides looked back at him as he returned to the subject they came to discuss with him. Genis then turned to them, showing his "Magical Mania" smile. "Things started to get real serious!

"Reriki, Rahishi... we're back on game! And our first act shall be taking advantage of this event..."

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Yuan had asked most of the party, sans Raine, Emil and Lloyd (more due to insistence of the young man), to leave the room while he and Martel talked with their long time friend.

Kratos could swear this was the first time since Anna broke to him the news she was pregnant that he felt so nervous. The difference was, this time his fears weren't about the future, but the immediate present.

"Since when?" Yuan started with the question that everybody in the room had.

Kratos wasn't a fool not to know what his friend/superior was talking about. He sighed:

"A while back... when Lloyd told me about his birthmark being a Summon Spirit crest, I remembered I had one such peculiar mark in the exact same place on my back."

"Show me," that was voiced as a command and Kratos knew better than to disobey Yuan when he used his "Lord Yuan" tone.

He turned and pulled his shirt up.

There, in the same place that Lloyd had his mark on the skin of his back, was an intricate crest on Kratos' back. Emil felt Ratatosk gasping. Raine was dumbstruck.

"From your reactions I can surmise this is a Summon Spirit crest," Yuan spoke.

"Yes... the Mark of Creation's Warden... Origin's secret seal," Emil spoke.

"In that case, Kratos, might you enlighten us on why didn't you come to your son and his friends with this news? It would have lessened their work of going around looking for missing Summon Spirits when they had the King right in front of them," Yuan said, his tone that of a superior officer asking for his subordinate on a report about a failure.

"I admit I thought about that, but... I have my duties for with the Renegades and the Vanguard to consider. I can't abandon you all."

Lloyd understood what his father was doing: following his moral code. Lloyd was always taught to stay true on his promises. His father himself was a practitioner of loyalty and chivalry. This situation proved it.

Yet, it seemed this wasn't the answer Yuan wanted.

"So you leave your only son traveling around the world, fighting Nebilim, Grand Cardinals and Spirits-know what else, just because of your duty with us?" the blue haired half-elf asked pointedly.

Kratos now felt like he was being scolded. This was a first for him.

Martel then walked around the table and stopped near their friend and General of Unity. Kratos didn't dare to make a single remark or question, only standing in attention at her.

He then received a punch on the head, strong enough for make him gasp in pain...

Lloyd the others could only gape.

"If you want to apologize, then apologize to Lloyd," Kratos looked up at the green haired woman as she continued. "Did you forget why me and Yuan started the Renegades? We told you the story; we wanted to protect those we could and their families. You should have come to us with this in the first place!"

Kratos looked down at the reprimand and had to admit Martel was right. She and Yuan always said this had been one of the objectives of the Renegades; to provide for all those they could and their families. In a way, he had failed on following one of the main directives of the two resistance groups.

The auburn haired man turned to his son and apologized to Lloyd for hiding that secret. Lloyd spoke:

"It's fine, really," Lloyd said, looking a little embarrassed at having his father apologizing to him. "You did what you thought was right, dad."

"Even so... this was something I should have told you all from the beginning, so... I can't really say how much I regret all that you have gone through that could be different should I have been there."

"I don't think you should beat yourself up because of it," Emil said. "You can't change what already happened. What you can do is make the most of what is in front of you," there was a heartbeat-like pulse and Ratatosk's voice sounded. "Plus, stop with the self-depreciation and pity act. If you're really my brother Origin, I will not allow you to go guilt tripping. It makes us both look bad."

The crimson-eyed spirit gave a dismissive wave with his hand. Martel smiled to him in appreciation and Yuan seemed to recover from his foul mood at seeing Kratos was genuinely sorry and was suitably reprimanded.

"Well, now that it's settled we can move on and..." Yuan started.

"Plan our monthly picnic," Martel interrupted her husband. She then stopped and put a finger on her chin as she looked up on thought. "Or maybe we should call it 'Family Outing' since we finally found our daughter and granddaughter and can have them with us. What do you think, Yuan?"

As Martel looked at him, Yuan made the best to hide his panicked face as the others only looked at Martel with a raised eyebrow. The Renegade leader had completely forgot he had agreed to have his and Martel's time off two days ago.

If there was one thing one could say about Yuan it was that he was a workaholic. Martel sometimes had to literally drag him off his office, otherwise he would work himself to death. He was also pretty stubborn, even more so than Kratos sometimes, and was prone to escape and go back to make sure everything was running smoothly.

So, to spare the supplies of duck tape, ropes and stun guns of the Renegades, Martel had "convinced" Yuan to agree on taking a time off every month to themselves. A time where there would be no talks of work, plans or demon/Desian attacks. A time where the two of them could enjoy their lives as a married couple.

It was sufficient to say that having this time off was non-negotiable with Martel.

Lydia Lualdi, Marta's mother, once asked Martel how she convinced her husband. Martel only smiled a smile of pure innocence, saying:

"It's pretty easy when you are the one that literally has his manhood on the palm of your hands."

The two women laughed at that, startling and scaring many of the males present at the cafeteria where they met, some sending prayers for their leader.

"Um..." Yuan made, not sure that he should tell Martel he forgot or that they should concentrate on the revelation of their friend being the former King of the Summon Spirits.

The last time he tried to convince Martel to postpone their time off... he didn't like to think about it.

"Oh, we will think of something, I'm sure," with that Martel grabbed Yuan by the collar and physically dragged him out of the room while the others only watched. "We should first ask Colette and our daughter."

The door then closed, leaving the party alone.

"That sure brings back memories," Kratos mused.

"Oh yeah. Mom used to plan our family weekends too," Lloyd said.

_Are all mothers and wives like that? _Emil wondered.

"_Seems the females are leading the relationships these days. When did things change so much?" _Ratatosk spoke, although he felt a bit hypocrite by asking that, considering how most of his relationships went in the past...

* * *

_Of all the forces in action in our world, none is as mysterious or entrancing as that of the heart._

_Many discussed before about it. Some claim it is the true source of all our power, based on how you are able to temper magic with it. Others say it is only rubbish made by theorists and layman in magic. However, studies have concluded that those that proclaim about the heart's power, might not be so deluded as some previously thought.  
_

_(...)_

_During the days preceding the _Years of Demons_, the power of the heart became even more pronounced as it greatly affected an entity to that date completely unknown to most of humanity and the world. The list of affected beings also include the Summon Spirits, although not directly._

_It is believed the fact humanity gave in to their greed and hatred, the spirits abandoned them. We could change it and say that due to humanity giving in to hatred and greed, they forced the Spirits away, opening the door to the demons. (..)_

_The Heart of the World is believed to be what ties all of us to our world, to Aselia. It is affected when a great number (some say 90% of humanity, others 87%) of hearts are attuned to certain emotions, be them on the negative spectrum or positive, the Heart of the World acts towards these emotions, prompting strange, unpredictable phenomena to happen._

_Seeing what happened near the end of the _Years of Demons_, I am forced to agree with them..._

_- __Excerpt from "The Mysteries of Aselia, Vol. III", by Raine Sage -_

About Verius' OOCness, let me say this: anything I write in a story is according to the plan. Everything is for a reason that will be latter revealed. I'll just give one tip: remember what was happening when Verius broke out of her seal. This will be further clarified ahead.

Anyway... no, I didn't take a turn and started talking about Kingdom Hearts when I mentioned "Heart of the World". For future reference, there are theories about planets being sentient, living beings (the theory of Gaia, if I'm not mistaken), so I merely took a little advantage of that, coupled with creative liberty and there we have Verius!

See you all latter!


	51. Limit Breaks

Oh the drama... can you feel it? Well, I hope you can, 'cause that was my intention for this Act...

Now, for some of you that will read the first part: no, Nebilim didn't have the foggiest that Verius was the one imprisoned in that tablet. As stated some chapters before, he just came across information regarding to her, as Neran, by chance, but he never knew much about her beyond the little info he obtained. And considering she was sealed _after_ his death...

Anyway, tell me? Have your hearts been hurting or are they well? You will understand once you read the rest.

* * *

**Chapter 46**

**Limit Breaks**

Alice kicked the door to her room open, her face set in a seething expression. Decus, as always, came right behind her, but no longer using any of his usual pickup lines or declarations of adoration for he knew his beloved one wasn't in the mood for such. Not in the least.

"One month!" Alice started, kicking a nearby stall. It froze as her feet made contact, spreading an spiky, ice formation where her shoe made contact. "ONE FUCKING MONTH AND DEMOTION! All because of one stupid stone tablet?!"

"Well... Lord Nebilim did say that what escaped from it shouldn't have been released..." Decus mumbled, more to himself than to Alice. "And considering the level of power she showed, I'm forced to agree with him. If she could destroy the Hell Knight as easily as..."

"SHUT UP!" Alice screamed at the half-human.

"Y-yes, Alice!" Decus quickly spoke, jumping in fear.

"How many times do I have to tell I don't need your pity?! I don't even need you! You're just here because you followed me like some lost, pathetic stray puppy!"

Decus flinched at her screams, but he knew she didn't mean any of that. Alice was just angry at the punishment Nebilim gave her.

Or, at least, that was what he liked to think.

"Wow, somebody's in a bad mood," a boyish voice spoke, making Decus and Alice turn to see Genis at her door, examining the mangled wood which had splintered from Alice's kick.

"What do you want?" Decus demanded. His Alice surely wasn't in the mood to deal with...

"It's horrible Geny! Lord Nebilim demoted me just because that idiot Richter couldn't protect a measly stone slab."

Decus turned to Alice with a pleading look, tears on his eyes. Why did she open up to that brat, yet yelled at him? Genis even dared to disdain and reject his Alice, but she just kept going after him.

"Yeah, I heard about it. My condolences," Genis said. "It must have been pretty scary anyway. Even I could feel an explosion of power from here."

Genis walked and sat on Alice's bed. The honey-eyed Desian didn't seem to mind, but Decus was seething at Genis' audacity. Oh, what he wouldn't give to impale the arrogant prick with his broadsword.

"Oh yes, it was. So horrible," Alice said with a sad tone and pose. Decus knew it was just an act and he was sure Genis knew it too. "I'm still shaking till now. Couldn't you maybe help me, Geny?" the blonde spoke in her baby voice, pleadingly.

"Alice, we don't need this brat's help," Decus said, shooting a glare at Genis. "I bet you just want something out of Alice."

"You're right," Genis admitted, a superior smile appearing on his face. "But it's not what you might think, Romeo."

He then pointed to Alice and Decus looked to see... her frozen in her previous pose, like she had been petrified. Suddenly Alice was on her knees in the floor, her breathing ragged and behind her stood Genis' aide Reriki.

"Got it, Master Genis!" she said animatedly.

"Good work," Genis said, getting up as Decus ran and passed Alice's arm around his shoulders and got her up. "Thanks for the brief chat. See you all later."

With that, he left the room with a smiling Reriki trailing right behind, not even giving Decus the chance to yell some death threats to him.

"That no-good, son of a... !" Decus started, only to hear Alice mumbling. All of his attention was instantly back to her. "Alice. Alice, are you okay?!"

"What just happened?" Alice asked, seeming a little drowsy.

"That damn, bastard Genis was distracting us so his aide could take something from you!" Decus practically roared.

"Took... something from me?" Alice asked, sounding a little disoriented.

"Yes. That good-for-nothing... Alice?" Decus had a confused glance as he saw Alice's expression becoming an endearing one.

"I didn't know he had that kind of fetish. If he wanted it so much, we could have made an arrangement," her voice was as sweat has honey as she spoke.

Decus took a good five minutes to process what his crush meant with that. When it finally clicked to him, his jaw practically hit the floor as he gaped at what Alice said.

The blue haired man didn't know whether he should kill himself for letting something like this happen or hunt down Genis and skin him alive.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Genis looked at the floating, spectral sphere Reriki presented him with; the sphere that contained Alice's memories of her encounter with the Summon Spirit of the Heart Verius.

Some would ask why Genis went through all of that work just to extract Alice's memories instead of simply asking for her to recount the encounter. However, if he asked, he wouldn't get the raw information he needed.

Memories were a fickle thing, as they were imprints of somebody's interpretation of an event through that person's perspective. That was already enough to somewhat alter the fact's data. Having somebody speak about it, would only further corrode the information, not giving him what he needed.

Plus, memories could also be used for other purposes. After all, if you managed to access one's mind once, you could do so again.

"And our mole confirmed she won't help them?" Genis asked Reriki as he finished analyzing the memory.

"Yes. Although I'm kinda worried. Are you sure you want to meet somebody that scary, Master Genis?" Reriki asked, showing a worried expression.

"Of course," he said with a smile.

"But, my General..." Rahishi said. "If what our agent gathered can be trusted, that Spirit could read your thoughts through your emotions and immediately know what you plan."

Genis knew that. Oh, he knew. This was a big bet, but if he managed to pull it off, it could greatly pay them in the end. It had all the ingredients he needed, all the pieces in place. Still there was one obstacle that had to be overcome.

Luckily, he, again, had the right resources at hand:

"That is why I want Reriki to put a seal on my heart. You can do that, right?"

That made the two look at him with wide eyes.

"Well... I could. I am a Seal Master after all, but there is no guarantee I will be able to reverse the process right after you're done. You could have your heart on a permanent lock," Reriki said, her tone conveying her... fear?

That was strange. The demoness never felt fear, not like this as far as she could remember. She could at least identify what her fear was; fear of, once the lock being put into place, Genis wouldn't be the same.

According to what she learned about mortals, their beings, their personality was defined by several things, but the most important one was their heart, or so they said. Taking it away was like leaving behind an empty shell. She didn't want to think her beloved Master Genis could end up like that.

Rahishi was of similar thought and she showed it more than her co-worker if her biting on her lower lip was any indication. She didn't want her general to end up like some husk. She wanted him to remain as himself. She wanted him to be...

_Wait... why don't I want him to do this? This is for the sake of the mission. _Rahishi thought.

She felt conflicted.

On one side, she knew this would be essential for Genis' plan to work. On the other, she didn't want him to do something that could put him in so much danger. What was wrong with her?

"That is why I am entrusting you two with this," Genis spoke, making the two look up at him again. "You are the only ones I would ever trust with something that could potentially destroy me. If anything happens... well, you two are powerful demons. I'm sure you have several options available to you."

The tone of the young-looking General was one of resignation, like he accepted the possibility of what would happen should he fail.

Suddenly, Rahishi hugged him, surprising both Reriki and Genis. He wouldn't have been as shocked if it had been his seductive, flirty aide, but regal and composed Rahishi?

"I promise you, my General, if you don't come back, I'll follow you to wherever your soul goes. And if you do, I'll do everything in my way to ensure your safety," she whispered him in a weak voice, seeming to tremble a bit.

Rahishi could have cried at that moment... but demons couldn't shed tears. They were incapable of doing so.

Genis blushed and didn't know what to do. He knew Reriki was attracted to him in _that _way, he would have to be a bumbling idiot not to see it, and he knew Rahishi was quite protective of him. But to consider she could have the same feelings as his other aide.

_This feels like something out of a corny, romance novel... _Genis idly thought, though he was completely at lost on how to deal with this situation. Women were never his area of expertise.

"Hmm... well, thanks... Rahishi," he hoped what he said was right. "And don't worry. Even though my heart will be locked, I will still have my mind and my priorities set."

It seemed that was enough, for his military-inclined aide let him go and offer him... a beautiful smile. Genis was positive his face was on fire right now. He never saw Rahishi smile before. She was always so serious and focused in and out of duty.

Suddenly, he found he wanted to have her smiling more.

Shaking his head to disperse those useless thoughts, Genis looked at Reriki, who was also smiling serenely at the scene. He ordered her to do it, although he stuttered a little on his tone, for Reriki's smile was just as beautiful as Rahishi's.

As his voluptuous aide chanted the spell, Genis had a sudden urge to tell them they were one of his priorities, so he would definitely come back. But he couldn't actually bring himself to say those words.

_Guess I am a teenager still..._

Reriki then drew the symbols on the air, a runic circle appearing beneath Genis.

And just like that, the world suddenly seemed to be become bleak for him...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

If there was one thing that Yuan Kä-fei could admit he was bad at was... "relaxing with the family". Mostly because he never really had a family to relax with, so one could say his stiffness and workaholic mindset were justified. He could put up lighter clothes and drop the whole "Lord Yuan" posture like he was doing now, but, in the end, he still didn't consider himself a very sociable person.

Apparently, that was not a good enough reason for Martel to give up on having some time off with her husband. If anything, she seemed to have taken to this challenge very seriously. Even more so now that they had found out their daughter was alive and they had a granddaughter.

"Amelia, do you need anything?" Martel asked their daughter, offering her a piece of cake she had baked.

_No, thanks. I'm fine. _Amelia wrote in her notebook.

"C'mon mom. It's delicious. Grandma really knows how to cook," Colette said animatedly.

Amelia seemed a little hesitant about accepting it, but conceded to her daughter's insistence in the end. Right now, they were having their family outing (as Martel insisted on calling it) in a secluded shade near the Gaorachia forest. Though Martel would have liked to pick another location, this shade was actually quite sunny compared to the rest of the forest and had a nice flowerbed growing near it. Also, it was near close to the base, so they wouldn't have to travel too much and demon attacks weren't so common in this region, since there was no visible settlement nearby.

The only consolation Yuan had found this time was that his daughter seemed as uneasy as him. When Martel approached Amelia and Colette to invite them to a family picnic, the younger blonde had been ecstatic at the idea.

Amelia, on the other hand, only eyed them with some hesitancy, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to come. But as always like what happened in Iselia, she bent to Colette's will.

Martel and Colette probably couldn't notice, but Yuan could see that his daughter was somewhat unsure if she fit into this family picture Martel tried to capture them all into. He could understand and accept that. After all, he never had parents to spend his time with or show his children to. So, suddenly gaining a family by marrying Martel had made him seriously think about the whole prospect.

Not to mention he literally fainted when Martel said she was pregnant...

On the note of his dear wife; love her with all his heart he does, but Yuan thought sometimes she could be a little pushy when it came to make people interact with each other. He would have given Amelia sometime to adapt to the idea she was now reunited with her biological parents and slowly get acquainted with her and ease her on the idea.

Of course, most of his plans sometimes fell through when his dear Martel decided to act.

_Thank Spirits at least Colette seems to share Martel's enthusiasm. _he almost found it funny when he thought about that. Amelia was a bit like him, whilst Colette was Martel's spitting image, only younger and blonde.

"By the way..." he decided to get some conversation in order to make his daughter feel more at home. That and so he wouldn't get chew out by Martel by "being so stiff". "Amelia, how have you adapted to the base? I know it's not the best place for a young woman like yourself, so if you wanted, we could transfer you to one of the refugees."

Amelia shook her head and quickly wrote on her notebook. Martel had made sure to bring one for her daughter, since she didn't want to push Amelia's condition by forcing her to speak and activating the curse.

_I am fine. I want to be near Colette. Besides, everybody in the base is very nice. The people in the kitchen always ask me for some advice and the female soldiers and recruits are very nice to talk to. _she looked at the side, as if deciding on something, before writing it. _It feels much like a big family._

"That's what we aim for," Martel said. "In a way, we all are brothers and sisters. Not only because of our common situation as half-elves, but because we are all living beings with a heart," she put her hand over her chest as if to make her point, her expression becoming serene, just like when they tried to talk and plead with the people during the Kharlan War. "We all passed through severe hardships and difficulties, but I like to think this only made us more accepting of each other and realize how unity is important."

"I totally agree," Colette said, sounding pretty enthusiastic. "It doesn't matter if you were born human, half-elf or anything else. Everybody passes through the same hardships in life, so we're pretty much the same. I'm sure if people could see it, they would be more accepting of each other."

Martel nodded to Colette while Yuan and Amelia only looked at their granddaughter/daughter. For Yuan, it was like hearing the Kharlan War-period Martel speaking again. Actually, Martel still retained her views of the world and hopes for the future.

But with the Second Invasion, came also an understanding that acceptance alone wasn't the only thing needed, nor could it be always be obtained.

"You sound just like your grandma, Colette," Yuan said with a smile, making Colette blush a little at the compliment. He then became a little somber. "But you should already know, acceptance can't always be reached. In the end, there will always be conflict. What you can do is mitigate it, so it doesn't take unnecessary proportions."

Colette nodded to her grandfather with a serious expression, understanding what he meant. Martel then asked Amelia what she thought, trying to include her daughter in the conversation. The older blonde thought for sometime before start writing:

_To be honest, I never gave it much thought. The condition of the world or the roots of all our problems... I just never stopped to think on any of this, so I can't give you much of an opinion. I'm sorry._

"It's alright," Yuan said. "You were to busy protecting Colette and taking care of her well-being to really pay it some mind. Besides, not everybody has the time or power to change something like this, so you shouldn't bother yourself with something you can't do anything about. And I personally think you did more than enough, for if it wasn't for you, Colette wouldn't be here today with us to enjoy this marvelous cake."

Yuan smirked at seeing Martel and Amelia's blush at his compliments and had to give himself a pat on the back:

_Yuan, you still have got it. _Let it never be said that he didn't know how to woo somebody with words when he wanted to.

"Alright, mister smooth talker," Martel said, recovering, her tone now playful. "Since you seem to be in such a good mood, how about you show us some of those cabbage rolls you prepared?"

"Of course. By the way, you brought the medicine, right?" at Amelia's worried face and Colette's confused one, Yuan quickly amended. "Just joking..."

As they continued to make small talk, Amelia seemed to open up a bit more and grace them with her smiles. She now looked so much like her mother that Yuan had to wonder what would happen had they had a son. Would he look like him or be more like Martel?

The green haired woman in question looked to her right at one time and suddenly her expression became closed and unreadable. Yuan looked at her and was about to ask if everything was alright, but before he could Martel got up and excused herself.

"It's nothing serious," she guaranteed them when the little family seemed to get on guard. "I just want to take a look nearby. I heard there are some rare herbs nearby that I have been looking for."

It was a more-than-obvious excuse, but Yuan decided not to call her on that. If it were anything important, Martel would have told him. They might be a couple, but they also had their secrets like anybody.

As Martel left, silence descended and Yuan felt that he needed to break it. He then turned to Colette:

"So... how are you and Presea doing? Do you need a talk about it?"

Colette blushed a scarlet tone now and Amelia could only look at him as Yuan started to sweat at realizing what he said.

"We're... fine. Not doing anythinginnapporpriateifthatswhatyoureasking?!" Colette said in a rapid tone, her face so bright one could see several shades of red on it.

"Uhhh... alright. I wasn't exactly... asking about _that. _I mean, I do know you didn't do anything... but you're both teenagers and..."

He felt like kicking himself. He was the older one here, for Spirit's sake! Why did he sound like a little, shy boy?! He should be giving the lessons in this.

Amelia then started to write on her notebook and showed him:

_No need to worry, Mister Yuan. Me and Colette already talked about it and I like Presea. I don't see any problem on it._

"Oh... right. Well, if you say so... I too don't have a problem with the fact Colette is a lesbian... I mean... I'm just glad you two are alive, so, putting that into perspective, this is only something minor." _Nice save there, idiot. _Yuan berated at himself.

As Martel came back, Yuan realized he still had a long way to go before calling himself a good father/grandfather.

_Damn! How does Kratos do it?!_

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"ACHOOO!"

"Bless you, dad," Lloyd said while looking to his sniffling father.

"Thanks... anyway, what was it that you wanted to ask me again?"

Lloyd was sitting in a chair in Kratos' room in the Mizuho Base. Ever since the group had that discussion about Kratos' identity as a Summon Spirit, things had somewhat calmed down. They still had to figure out their next step and what to do about Verius' declaration.

Ratatosk said they should leave her alone, as it had been her decision. Sheena, however, went on to berate with the Summon Spirit about how inconsiderate she had been and what a jerk she was to Colette. Zelos, surprisingly, kept quiet and only said he was going to check on his sister, who he had left on the base before going on their mission, since he didn't know if she would be in danger by being near demons.

But the auburn haired man suspected his son didn't want to talk about it.

"Dad... I..." Lloyd started, seeming embarrassed at it. "I would like to ask you something."

"Yes?" Kratos refrained from imagining anything that he heard most parents imagined in this situation. Like Sheena being pregnant.

Granted he never pried on the two's sexual life and he wasn't sure how being Summon Spirits would affect that, but...

"Have you ever had a woman after you while you were with mom?"

Kratos' thought process stopped and he did a double take.

"I'm sorry. I think I didn't quite hear you. What did you say?"

"Well... Sheena keeps insisting that Raine has... a 'thing' for me. But I don't think it might be true," Lloyd said, regaining his confidence. "I mean, I do know things like this tend to happen to people... but I don't think she is attracted to me. I mean, she's pretty nice and good-looking and mature. But I like Sheena and..."

"Lloyd, she's right," Kratos interrupted his son's monologue.

"What?"

"Sheena's right."

"But..."

"Lloyd..." Kratos started, his tone turning into the one he used when teaching his son. "I'm going to talk to you as a man, so I hope you will listen. Women have a... way of knowing things we, men, tend to ignore or even be oblivious to. So, believe me when I say she's right."

His son only looked at him with a confused look.

Kratos couldn't blame Lloyd. He himself had only learned this lesson after another woman tried to take him to bed. He could still feel his ears ringing from when Anna came, chased the woman away and proceeded to yell his ears off at disregarding her warnings about that.

However, it only made things even more complicated if what his son's girlfriend said was really true. Kratos tried to think on everything he saw from Raine's interaction with Lloyd.

Most of the time, the woman didn't act any different than how she did with everybody else, being considerate and polite. It was really hard to tell what she felt or thought most of the time (unless you were close to a ruin or water) and she guarded her secrets with an almost jealous zeal. Although, according to Lloyd, she had started to open up.

He tried to think harder and remember something. Small sings, minute changes on her demeanor and pose. It mainly happened when Lloyd complimented her and he even caught her looking away, her cheeks a bit pink...

Kratos felt like slapping himself.

He should have noticed it sooner. A woman like Raine doesn't act shy or avoid other's gaze for nothing.

_Anna was right, I'm completely oblivious to other women's feelings. _strangely enough, he felt more connected to Lloyd at knowing his son also had that same obliviousness.

Lloyd still looked at Kratos with an unconvinced expression, so the older Aurion told him all of his observations. It took Lloyd sometime to link the points, but once he did, he gasped. As realization finally dawned on him, Lloyd asked his father what he should do, but Kratos could only say:

"I'm sorry, Lloyd, but this is something you will have to figure out for yourself. Whatever you decide will affect your relationship with Sheena and Raine, so I suggest you think and reflect on the subject.

"Remember, this decision doesn't affect only you, but two women that have feelings for you."

"But... I don't... I don't even know if Raine feels for me what I feel for Sheena or..." Lloyd started.

"Then ask her. There is a difference between an adventure and an affair, Lloyd. Though both could be considered harmful for any relationship. There is also your... position to consider."

Lloyd knew his father meant his Summon Spirit status, but he didn't see how this could change things. But he definitely needed to talk with Raine and Sheena about this. He just hoped this wouldn't make the two women try to kill each other.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Weak. Filth. Rot.

That was what she could capture from most of the hearts in this world. They were slowly decaying and affecting those around them, like in a last act of defiance, a middle finger for a world they considered unjust or unworthy unless they were on the top.

Verius knew this situation. It was the same as that at the end of the Kharlan War, when she was _hurting_...

Now, though, she felt much better. In fact, it was like she could see clearer now. She didn't know if this was an effect of the demons' presence or what, but she could definitely see how their hearts were hurting.

She was walking along the path that took to Ozette, a city that she felt was brimming with hearts embroiled in hate, arrogance and fear. Normally that would have sickened her, but now she only saw them with indifference.

Because, really, what were a bunch of weak hearts when you saw the fragility of the Heart of the World?

She then felt something approaching her, but the presence was... off. It was like they were stale or something. Turning, the fox-tailed woman saw somebody coming in her direction. A little boy looking no older than fifteen, but his eyes... they shone with knowledge of somebody way older.

_They're kinda familiar... _Verius thought, though she couldn't say who. If only she could read his heart.

"Greetings. You must be Verius, right?" the boy said, his voice _completely _neutral. It was the most neutral tone Verius ever heard.

"Do you have a lock on yourself or something?" Verius asked, her closed eyes and face making a confused expression. Maybe she could lift the lock, but she couldn't do so without this boy's permission. That would be interfering in a heart when it didn't want to be interfered.

"So, you can sense it?"

She nodded. She couldn't even read him. If he didn't feel, then his aura wouldn't change, it would remain vibrating the same way.

It was starting to bother her.

"Do you want me to remove it? It's kinda bothering me," she spoke.

She didn't need to lie. She never lied. What was the point in lying when you could detect the truth coming from all those around you or simply call their lies to their faces? It would make her look like a hypocrite if she lied and she didn't like that.

"Why do so? What would that accomplish?" the boy asked.

She tilted her head, looking at him curiously.

"Tell me, what does the world looks like to a being like you?" he asked.

Now that was something she never heard. Nobody ever asked how she perceived the world. This boy was becoming quite interesting.

... but that lock was still bugging her.

"This world is... decaying," she said, deciding to humor him. Maybe he would say more interesting things. And it was nice to talk to somebody that wouldn't keep saying they were not somebody when they clearly were. Reincarnation was so confusing. "It has been ever since the war. People stopped thinking and let themselves be led by other people's passions and desires. They gave up on their own dreams and followed any other they picked up, or none at all," Verius continued.

"You mean they were wrong in following their leaders?"

"Nobody can follow another's heart's desires and achieve them. They simply saw an illusion they were told with words and their greed became excited in their hearts. That can only lead to disaster."

"Do you want to know what I see?" the boy asked, eying her with that serious gaze, never wavering in any of his questions. There was no passion on his tone either. "I see a world... hurt."

"Hurt?" she repeated.

Now that she could agree with. No matter what people felt and how much corrupted or weak their hearts became, the end result was always the same: pain and hurt. She knew that oh-too-well.

"People, monsters, fauna... everything is suffering. Hurt with the state things are now. I wonder... wouldn't it be a lot more merciful if they were released from this pain?"

"What? Are you telling me I should do that?" Verius asked, interested.

"Well, think about it, isn't it in the instinct of every being to seek a way to ease their pain? Isn't it something they _wish _on their hearts?" the fox tailed woman nodded to the silver haired boy's statement.

That Verius could attest to. Hearts couldn't live in pain, so they sought ways of easing this pain or even stopping it. The Heart of the World was no different.

It was then the two heard a commotion coming from Ozette, the light of some fires coming from the small plaza of the village lighting the twilit skies.

"This is where I take my leave. If you want to see what I mean, you should take a look. I'm sure a being like you would have no problem walking undetected," with that the boy turned to leave.

However, Verius had one last thing to inquire:

"Is that seal intentional or what? It seems like you didn't want me reading you? Do you actually know who I am?"

And that was why that seal had been bugging her, for the free-spirited Verius didn't like being played at or cheated by anybody.

Even more so now...

"Does it even matter? The facts should speak by themselves if you actually see what the world has become like, so what is my intentions' importance in the face of things?"

Oh, well played... well played indeed.

Whoever that was, he knew how to play his cards right. She had no doubt in her mind that he knew exactly who she was and what she would respond to. Maybe she would try and find him later.

As the young-looking boy left, Verius turned and entered the city of Ozette... that city full of discriminating, spiteful hearts. Honestly, they were better than that in the past, now it seemed that getting the protection of Cruxis - was that their name really? That was so silly. – made them arrogant and even more self-conceited.

As she walked, she found most of the city in the plaza, where a small stand had been set up and a man in armor was talking, besides him where three people in handcuffs, half-elves judging by their appearance, and in front of them were stone blocks. There were three other soldiers in armor behind each prisoner, obviously to keep watch.

Verius walked among the crowd, phasing through them as nobody saw her. She wouldn't be seen by mortals unless she chose so. And, really, why would she want to be seen by them? She looked at the man, an agent of the Purge Inquisitors originated from this city, and caught onto his speech while _reading _him at the same time:

"... as such, for the crimes of theft and disruption of public order..." _Nobody wanted you here, you filthy, non-humans. Why don't you leave us alone? _"You are hereby sentenced, in accordance to the laws of the Faith..." _Who gives a shit about the Faith? I'm only in this so I can have an easy life and kill these damn half-elves. _"to be executed on this very day!" _Finally! The good part. It would be better if we could just sell them off like during the War. That made a good profit._

To say Verius was surprised would be a lie. Really, that guy's reaction was pretty much standard by looking at other places.

The armored speaker then drew a blade as his companions put the half-elves in their knees, shoving them on the chopping blocks, so the executioner could have a clear shot at their necks. The crowd started to edge him on and Verius could see he was basking on the attention like some sort of street performer.

The first to be beheaded didn't even try to fight. His heart was resigned and hollow from years of torture and hopelessness coupled with depression. He even saw that as a mercy when the blade came down and separated his head from his body, ending his life and silencing the depressing, sad existence he had lived. The second tried to struggle, but it was useless for he too was silenced in the end. The third...

"Please! Please, I have a little boy! I only wanted to get food to him!"

It was a woman. A mother. The pain and desperation was oozing off her in waves as she was worried for the life of her little boy. Verius momentarily searched for him and found his heart. He was being held on the root-like walkway above, some boys holding him and keeping him quiet so as to watch the execution. Those boys seemed to be delighted at his suffering and struggling as he tried to get to his mother.

"You should have thought that before robbing from us, half-elf," the executioner said in a sneer, contempt _written_ all over him. _Who cares for another one of your spawns? You all should just die and leave us humans alone._

The woman begged, pain escalating enough that it could have made Verius sick... before. Now, she only observed with a serious expression.

The sword came...

The sound of flesh being cut was heard.

The boy stopped struggling...

The man smiled to himself...

And the cries of pain ceased.

Verius couldn't feel any pain coming from that woman's heart anymore. Not even the Heart of the World seemed to have reacted like it normally would when one of the beings whose heart was linked to it would leave this world. In fact, there was nothing, but silence.

They were in peace...

The peace was then shattered when the boy finally wriggled free from his captors' hold and shouted at everybody reunited, fat tears falling from his eyes:

"WHY DID YOU KILL MOM?! SHE DID NOTHING WRONG! YOU HUMANS ARE ALL EVIL! YOU SHOULD JUST DIE!"

The boys previously holding him didn't seem to like that for they kicked him from the walkway. The boy hit the ground below head first, dying from the trauma.

His cries of pain and hate were now silenced too. He was in peace...

Verius could capture it all.

Hate. Disgust. Fear. Hate. Indifference. Desperation. Hate. The pattern kept repeating itself on and on, like a never-ending spiral crawling over all Aselia...

Until they were finally silenced by death and even the Heart of the World seemed to feel relieved that their suffering on the mortal coil ended.

_I see a world... hurt._

Those were the words of that wise boy. True words. The facts and the hearts around her confirmed that. They suffered and hurt.

_Isn't it in the instinct of every being to seek a way to ease their pain?_

True again. The heart always sought peace. But it seemed Aselia had become a place were this peace was unattainable. Not with the amount of hatred, fear and desperation emanating from all hearts and affecting the Heart of the World.

However, it was when they left this mortal life, when their spirits were released from the mortal realm, that they finally silenced their cries and left with a sweat, peaceful silence.

_Isn't it something they wish on their hearts?_

Yes. Wish.

The heart wished for peace. The Heart of the World longed for the relative peace it once had before the Kharlan War. A peace that was now impossible.

At least in life...

Well, seemed like she would grant the wish of a single heart after all. But thinking on it now, didn't many other hearts wished for the death of others too? Some things never changed...

Her aura was released in an explosion of power so strong that the pulse created threw the humans around her away into the air. Some impacted with the roofs, fences and even other people, crippling some and hurting others. Humans were always fragile, though they liked to appear tough.

Of course, by attacking them that meant she now wanted to be seen.

And as the humans looked at her and felt her power, a primal urge to flee awakened on them, however, her sheer power, her crushing aura, kept them in their place, brain functions paralyzed at her presence. The one on the stand took a step back at feeling her power and seeing she effectively threw a whole crowd into the air without moving a single muscle.

"A-a-a d-d-demon?!" he let out.

"Please..." Verius said with her typical smile, turning to look at him with her closed eyes, which caused the Purge Inquisitor to lose the control he had on his bladder. "You wouldn't be able to tell a demon and Spirit apart even if they paraded in front of you with signs."

The people were now taking some steps back. They could run, she didn't mind. Not that she wouldn't be able to catch them later.

Verius' eyes then opened for all present to see.

"Anyway..." suddenly, it was like all light around her died out, leaving only a dark silhouette with shining, golden eyes, a insane, slash-shaped smile and nine tails behind her back. "It's time to give peace to your hearts."

What Verius never saw was that those souls that departed were being collected by Trevnairs, the soul carrier demons, as soon as they left their bodies. One of the first things these demons did was to sever the connection between theses souls and the Heart of the World they once lived in and put them into a statis-like state for easy transport.

But Verius was never the one in charge of the living being's souls' passing and destination. That was Origin's duty. She only watched over their hearts, so why would she bother looking at the destination their souls would take or what happened with their connection to the Heart of the World once they departed?

Well, she could have, but _now_ she simply didn't...


	52. Twilight

Sorry for the delay, but, as you know, final paper...

Anyway, after this chapter we will have two _very _important ones. I'm still seeing how I'm going to go about it, probably will have to prepare and make a double update since the two will be pretty small by my plans, so you can wait for that.

Now, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 47**

**Twilight **

Alice couldn't help, but be nervous.

Lord Nebilim had approached her and Decus when they were in the training halls and simply said "come with me" leaving right after, not even waiting for them to recover from their surprise to catch up with him.

She could only wonder what the Head of the Demonic Invasion Troops wanted with her. Could this be her chance to redeem herself and get her rank of General back?

Decus looked just as nervous, if not outright frightened. Alice could tell he would never be used to their superior. Nebilim was very intimidating when he wanted to be and even when he wasn't, his aura of pulsating power would always put you on the edge.

"Um... where exactly are we going, my Lord?" Alice asked as they arrived at the teleportation chamber, used by the Desians and even some demons to get to any location on Aselia, as long as they knew where it was.

"Ozette," Nebilim simply said.

That made Alice arch an eyebrow.

She hated that backwater, hick-infested hellhole. Before she joined the Desians, she and Decus stopped near the city to rest and were almost captured by the locals and a pocket of Purge Inquisitors with them. She just had the time to summon some demons before grabbing Decus and leaving.

"In case you're wandering, the city is now dead," Nebilim spoke, as though reading the question on Alice's expression.

_Oh. Good riddance. _Alice thought with some glee.

˜I want to confirm something about the case. So you are coming with me."

Alice would have shrugged, but that would be rude to do in front of Lord Nebilim. And being rude to somebody that could obliterate you in the blink of an eye wasn't the smart thing to do.

After finally getting to the teleportation chamber, the trio was greeted by a low-ranking, humanoid demon of the high species with blue, slick hair and a sickly appearance, though that was misleading, as the creature was pretty strong.

_A Plague Spreader. _Alice mentally classified. They were known for bringing disease and weakening their target victims. The only reason they weren't deployed as soldiers was because their ability took time to take effect. Too much time in the opinion of some demon Generals.

The trio positioned themselves in the middle of a giant, blue, glowing circle, enough to send a small troop to anywhere they were needed.

Nebilim quickly murmured a small chant in demonic with the name of their intended destination. Alice then felt like her body was shredded into pieces before being slowly put back into place as they appeared at the entrance of the city.

The first time she used that rune, she threw up. After the fourth and fifth she only felt a slight discomfort. Decus, on the other hand, hated the thing and swore he would never use it willingly. That was the reason they used simple teleportation spells. Although she did threatened him with forcing them to use the Teleportation Chamber every now and then when she felt he was being too slow for her tastes.

As they entered the village, Alice could feel something strange in the air, instead of her usual revulsion and anger at being near the city. Decus also seemed quite uneasy. They soon saw the first bodies and when they arrived in the plaza they noticed many people laying there. But one thing was bothering the honey-eyed Desian:

"Where's the blood?"

There wasn't a single drop of it in any body, save some that looked like they had been thrown away and hit the nearby buildings and fences. In a few words, it greatly disappointed Alice. Maybe she could rectify that...

"Just because they aren't physically harmed, doesn't mean their deaths weren't brutal," Nebilim intoned, looking intently at the bodies.

"They don't look exactly dead," Decus let out. "More like they are sleeping."

"Decus..." Alice said, looking at her "slave" with a stern gaze. "If Lord Nebilim said they are dead, then they are dead."

"Actually, his observation is pertinent," that surprised both Desians as they saw their leader approach a man garbed in the armor of the Martel Knights, passing his hand over it as the runes in the clawed gauntlet glowed a maroon color. "Their bodies have no kind of damage, internal or external. But..." he stopped, his eyes widening. "Alice."

"Yes, my Lord?" the pale blonde asked as she approached the red haired, former-elf.

"Try and see if you recognize the magical trace on the body."

The honey-eyed Desian nodded and kneeled near the body, reaching it with her hand and closing her eyes, trying to concentrate on the feel of magic. As she could finally identify as trace of an energy that definitely didn't belong on a corpse, she tried to get a better analysis on it...

_People fleeing in terror..._

_Pain... heartbreaking..._

_Golden eyes... piercing..._

_Crushing power..._

_Fear... primal fear..._

_Too much familiar..._

Alice's eyes opened wide and she practically stumbled back with a scream. The action wasn't even conscious, but more on a primal level as she felt she had touched something that _shouldn't _be messed with. All those sensations and images had come so fast, but those eyes remained burned on her memory.

Decus was besides her instantly at seeing Alice's terror stricken expression and, surprisingly, she didn't shove him away or anything, she practically hugged him like he was her only lifeline.

Normally, Decus would be beyond happy if Alice hugged him. But that shaking and fear on her face... something was clearly wrong.

"So..." Lord Nebilim said. "I take it that by your expression you recognized it," he said nonchalantly.

"Y-y-y-y... yes..." Alice said, still shaking as Decus tried to help her up, but the blonde's legs were shaking so much she could barely sustain herself. "It... it's that woman... the one from the Linkite Tree. What is she?!"

"A Summon Spirit."

That positively shocked the two.

A Summon Spirit? But then how come she killed all these people?! That didn't make any sense.

"I'm going to say this only once, seeing as we are on a time constraint now. This was the work of Verius, Summon Spirit of the Heart. I know that because I managed to extract the information from Richter after she was released from her prison." _Although, he was strangely resisting it. _Nebilim thought.

"What makes you so sure about it, my Lord?" Decus asked. Though he didn't like the way Lord Nebilim used Alice to confirm his hypothesis, he still had to pay the entity in front of him its due respect. For his and Alice's safety, if nothing else.

"The energy signature is the same as in that explosion that occurred when she was released. Plus, the fact that they were killed without suffering any physical injury is another proof. Verius understands better than anyone the bonds that tie the beings. _All _bonds, including those that tie their souls to their bodies apparently.

"Still, I never thought her powers were this great."

"W-w-wha-what should we do?" Alice asked, still trembling, but her voice tone was now normalizing.

"You two go and inform the Desians to be on the look out. Verius is now a Subject of Interest Priority #1."

The two Desians cringed and unconsciously swallowed. Subject of Interest was the classification the Desians gave to people considered special targets, in other words, the organization's black list. The priority stated whether those people should be captured or hunted/eliminated on sight, with Priority #1 being the highest.

Even Ratatosk only warranted Priority 2 and the leaders of the resistances Priority 3. Priority #1 also essentially meant all Desian personnel were to cease their normal activities and route all their resources into finding the Subject of Interest.

"But... if she's so powerful, then how will we... ?" Decus started.

"I don't expect you to actually manage to kill her, that would be ludicrous. Only stall her long enough for me to arrive and take it from there. Take it as a way to redeem yourselves for your earlier failure."

Even though Decus knew he would obey, the thought that Lord Nebilim was essentially sending most of his subordinates to death to simply _stall _an immensely powerful being until he arrived churned his stomach. Worse yet, that applied to him and Alice, meaning they would be seeking their death.

Decus thought about trying to bargain his beloved's way out, but with Lord Nebilim it would be useless. The red haired specter's words were final, so what was left to them was to follow it.

That was when Alice turned and looked to the entrance of the city. Decus did too and saw soldiers coming. Soldiers garbed in the Vanguard's uniforms and masks.

"Let's leave. We have no time to lose," Nebilim stated, not even letting the two Desians utter a word before he chanted a teleportation spell that took them away from the scene.

The Vanguard recognizance squad led by Hawk arrived in Ozette and looked around at the seemingly sleeping residents, although some of their wide-eyed expressions of terror suggested otherwise.

"What happened here?" one of Hawk's masked subordinates asked, rightfully confused.

"That's what we came here to investigate. Scan the area for traces of magic. I want a full reading of exactly what that power surge our long-range sensors picked up was. And call in the rest of the team..." he looked mournfully to the people of Ozette, kneeling near one and feeling his neck's pulse. "We have a lot of cleaning up to do."

Hawk had seen much during his life. Scenes of carnage caused by demons. Wanton destruction by the Desians. So, he could safely say whatever caused this was neither demonic nor Desian. It was... to _clean. _The residents didn't have any signal of physical injury or struggle on their bodies, save for the fact none of them were breathing. It made he wonder just what kind of being had caused this.

Still, he had work to do. These bodies wouldn't bury themselves. Hawk might have held no love for Ozette, but even he thought that leaving these people's bodies here, to rot in the open sky, was just too cruel...

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Lloyd reviewed his planned conversation for what felt to be the fifteenth time. He was already in front of Raine's door, but couldn't summon up the courage to knock, knowing that once he did it, things might change forever between him and the beautiful Professor...

_Here I go, thinking about her like this again... _Lloyd berated to himself.

Ever since he had that talk with his dad the other day, Lloyd had caught himself thinking about all the times Raine seemingly shied away at his compliments. Some of them he couldn't recall very clearly, but those he did showed an... interesting perspective on the Professor.

He felt such an idiot for not noticing before.

Lloyd then knocked on the metal door to Raine's quarters. The silver haired woman asked who was it and Lloyd answered:

"It's Lloyd. Can I enter?" he barely had to wait a minute before the door opened and he was let in.

Raine's room had more furniture than his own, Lloyd noticed. Yuan had let them use these rooms and decorate them as they saw fit, probably intending to be on their good graces. Still it was nice to have a safe place to return to. Or as safe as one could be when the entire world was chasing you.

The Professor's room had some books and a fair number of artifacts, which Raine told him she had left with friends since she had to always travel light before. Lloyd couldn't help, but go over a book and look at the cover, seeing no discernible title or author's name. Looking at Raine in askance, he received a nod to look over.

"You wrote this?" he asked as he flipped and saw the entire book was filled with writings of her handwrite.

"Yes. Although there were many writings and books that survived the Second Invasion and the destruction of Sybak, you would be surprised to know how little variety they offer. It almost felt like the Desians specifically target everything related to studies on magic."

"Or maybe Genis took them," Lloyd said without really thinking, remembering the look on the young-looking half-elf when Ratatosk showed his powers and when he spoke of magic. "He seemed pretty obsessed about magic and..." then he remembered just who he was talking to. "Ah... sorry Raine. I didn't..."

"It's alright. I won't make any excuses for my brother," Raine said, although there was a slight tinge of pain in her voice.

_Great way to start a conversation, by reminding her of the brother that denies her. Idiot! _Lloyd berated himself.

"But you didn't come here to talk about that, right?" Raine spoke, thankfully getting Lloyd out of his pinch.

The brunette nodded and then thought on what he had rehearsed to say to Raine... only to come up empty. He then remembered how bad he could be at thinking these things through.

Deciding that honesty would be the best policy in this situation, Lloyd spoke:

"I... don't really know to speak about this, so I will just come out and say it," Raine could get the undertone of "please don't take it in the wrong way" in the young man's voice, but only nodded for him to continue. "Raine... do you... like me?"

The silver haired Professor raised an eyebrow at the question. One full minute passed, as she seemed to only scrutinize Lloyd, who started to sweat. Did he say something wrong?

"Let me guess, Sheena told you this, right?" Raine queried.

Lloyd suddenly felt like kicking himself. Of course she would notice. Raine was older than any of them and already admitted to have been in a relationship with Richter (an unorthodox one, but a relationship nonetheless), so she was obviously experienced.

Only being capable of nodding at her declaration, Lloyd felt like a little child getting a talk from his teacher after answering wrong an easy question.

Raine sighed, as if she knew this discussion was coming. She then spoke:

"Let me first ask you something before giving my answer, Lloyd. How do you perceive me?" Lloyd looked at her in confusion. Another sigh from Raine, this one of exasperation. "I mean, what do I, as a woman, have that you would find attractive?"

He didn't know how exactly that would answer his question, but considering what he was asking was pretty personal, Lloyd decided to answer that truthfully.

"Well, you have this... air of maturity around you," he then noticed her sharp look and quickly amended, shaking his hands in front of him. "I mean, I'm not calling you old or anything! It's like... I feel that I can trust you. You don't wait around for things to happen, you go and do them yourself. So, I would say that I like that about you, even though you do keep things to yourself."

And there was that, the minute sign of Raine raising her closed fist to her face to hide a small blush on he cheeks. Now that Lloyd knew about it, he felt pretty stupid for not seeing it before, considering how much of a contrast it was to Raine's usual poses.

"So, you like the fact that I'm reliable and proactive," she said, seeming to recover.

"Yeah. That's it," Lloyd said.

"Nothing else?"

"Um... well, I would be lying if I say I don't think you're attractive," Lloyd spoke. "I mean, Sheena is beautiful, but you have a thing about you that I can't shorta explain and..." he knew he was rambling at this point, but before he could go any further, Raine interrupted him.

"Then if you find somebody like me attractive and this person asked you on a date, what would be your answer?"

"A date?! Um... It would be 'yes', I think..." Lloyd then blushed, scratching behind his head at the blunt and direct question.

"Alright. Then it's settled."

That made Lloyd turn to the Serene Sage with an "Huh?" imprinted all over his face. He felt like he had missed something there, because he didn't exactly remembered making any sort of deal with R...

"You said that if somebody such as me, which you find attractive and reliable, asked you out on a date, you would accept. So, tell me, what place would you like to go?" Raine added with an attractive, well-measured smile.

And just like that the Wielder of Victory's Flame's eyes widened. He had agreed to do _what_ with _who_?!

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Zelos quickly found Seles roaming around the cafeteria. His little sister was looking longingly at the sweets, probably desiring to be able to eat some of them. It kinda saddened him as he remembered she loved those as a child.

Either way, the Wielder siblings were walking around the base, chatting, when Zelos saw his bud walking with an expression that could be best described as: where did I go wrong?

"Hey bud," Zelos called, making Lloyd turn to him with a deer-in-the-lights expression, as if he was expecting somebody to cause him of a capital crime. "You alright?"

"Uh... yeah... I-I'm... o-kay..." Lloyd said.

Zelos raised an eyebrow. His bud clearly _wasn't _okay, what with that expression of his? Seles also seemed curious and made a motion for her brother to ask his friend what was the problem.

Seeing Zelos hadn't bought his obvious lie, Lloyd decided that, maybe, the red haired man could help him...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

The dual swordsman was quickly regretting ever thinking about telling his problems to Zelos. What was he thinking when he thought _Zelos_,of all people, could help him?

"HAHAHAHAHAH! Y-You... YOU! And RAINE! Hahah! She-she-she roped you... good! HAHAHAHAHAH!"

"Are you done?" Lloyd asked in an angry tone with his arms crossed. He was starting to understand why Sheena was always aggravated whenever she was around the perverted idiot.

"HAHAHAHAH! Just... just... a minute! PWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! HAHA! Hah! ... okay, I'm done."

"Good. Because I'm never telling you anything, ever again!"

Zelos shook his head and refrained from starting to laugh again. Lloyd could only still glare at the red head. The two were sitting in one of the many tables on the lunch hall of the base, which was empty at the time.

"Oh c'mon bud. What's there to be angry about? I mean, you got a date with our cool, beautiful, Professor Hunny."

"In case you've forgotten, I like Sheena."

"So? What she doesn't know, won't hurt her."

"You do know that's exactly why she beat you up, right?"

Zelos visibly flinched at that, even letting out an "ouch" at Lloyd's cutting remark. He could still feel the pain on his back to this day. Seemed his bud was in a worst mood than he expected.

"Okay, okay. No need to get your panties in a brunch. It's just that you don't need to be like that, y' know? But let's start from the beginning; how did this exactly happen?"

Lloyd knew he should have just sent Zelos to hell and be done with it, but, really, the red head was the only guy available at the moment and the red clad, young man kinda needed to get this out. He then proceeded to tell everything from the beginning.

When Lloyd finished, Zelos wasn't laughing, instead, his face showed a serious expression Lloyd had never seen before, not even when the ex-Representative faced the Church officials. Seles was also confused, but Lloyd couldn't see her.

"Bud..." the red head started, putting his hand on Lloyd's shoulder, as if he were about to have a man-to-man talk with him. "I've seen this happening for a while and... really, I think I am to blame on this part."

That made the dual swordsman raise his eyebrow. Before he could ask, though, Zelos continued:

"Really, I should have done this from the beginning and now you are paying the price... Lloyd..." Zelos' tone made the Wielder of Victory's Flame anxious about what he would say next. "It's high time you learn about the ways of Romance."

And just like that, the serious atmosphere was shattered for Lloyd, who only looked at Zelos with his mouth agape in an expression of "Huh?!".

"I'm going to be honest, you need this knowledge more than myself and, well, there is also the fact that, should I die, the Romantic Men lore dies too. So, I know I must teach the younger generations about what truly means to be a romantic," Zelos said that with such a straight face that even his sister was believing and nodding at him, thinking her brother was doing something good (although she had no idea what a romantic truly was).

"What... I ... but... HUH?!" was the most coherent thing Lloyd could formulate. Given two seconds, he was finally able to articulate a better response. "HOW DOES THAT EVEN HELP WITH MY PROBLEM?!"

"If you hope to take the lead in this relationship and impress Raine, then you will need this bud," the red head said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But I didn't even want to go out with her to begin with! I only wanted to ask her how she felt about me and..."

"And you just got it," Zelos said, cutting Lloyd off. "And didn't you said you found her attractive too? Don't you prefer older woman?"

Lloyd shut his mouth and could only glare at the self-proclaimed Last Romantic. What was the deal with people using what he said against him?

"Is there a problem with Mr. Lloyd liking older women, big brother?" Seles asked.

"Of course not. Love is independent of age and, let's face it..." Zelos spoke, now turning to his self-appointed bud. "Older woman are the flowers of yesterday that have finally bloomed to grace the world with their beauty."

Lloyd started to wish somebody would just come and save him from this talk.

"What are you two doing?" Regal asked, as if called forth by Lloyd's silent plead.

"Oh, hello there Regal. I'm just starting to instruct my new disciple on the ways of Romance. Care to share some of your experiences?"

_When did I become your disciple?! _Lloyd mentally berated, but he knew his complaint would be ignored even if he voiced it.

"Oh. Is that so?" Regal said, looking at Lloyd who shot back to him a look of "it was his idea, not mine!".

"Well, I'm pretty sure a married man such as yourself would have some tips to my disciple."

"Zelos, I've had enough!" Lloyd said. "First of all, stop calling me your disciple and sec... wait, what?" Lloyd's train of thought did a one-eighty as he processed what the red head had just said and turned to the blue haired man. "Regal, you're married?!"

"Just look at his finger. That's a wedding alliance. A small, nondescript one, but an alliance nonetheless," Zelos pointed out to the golden ring with a small gemstone on its tip.

Regal seemed to take all of that in stride as he only smiled at his friends, while Lloyd recovered and congratulated the mature adult, asking who the lucky woman was.

"If I'm not mistaken, you all met her. It's Alicia," Regal said.

"Alicia... Alicia... wait. Isn't that Presea's sister?!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Not only that, she's also his maid," Zelos spoke, looking at Regal as he stated. "That explains why you never announced anything. If word of this had gotten out, everybody from Meltokio to Iselia would know."

"And how's that an issue?"

Lloyd didn't understand why the fact that Regal married to his personal maid would be that much of a shocking event compared to the fact they had been traveling with his wife's sister the entire time. He wondered if Presea didn't know, since she and Regal came back together to the group.

"You have to understand Lloyd, although the old ways of society and aristocracy are pretty buried on time, there are people who still cling to them," Regal explained. "And these people still have some pull on society. In the view of aristocracy, nobles may only marry other nobles. That is why my marriage was a private, hidden affair."

"But that's ridiculous," Lloyd said. "With the world the way it is, people still..."

"They still because they haven't learned, bud," Zelos said, his tone now his serious one. "You can flash a sign before somebody, but you can't force them to _see _it. It's the same thing. If a demon apocalypse didn't open their eyes nothing ever will. Sometimes, the only medicine for stupidity is death."

"That's quite morbid of you," Regal remarked.

"Yeah, I know... but enough of that," the perverted, reincarnated Celsius was back with his smile and what Lloyd assumed was his "teacher tone". "Now, Lloyd, my disciple, the first thing you must know about charming a lady is..."

"Attention all Summon Spirits!" a familiar voice echoed through the base, interrupting their conversation as Zelos and Regal looked up, while Lloyd looked around, confused. "Please report to the leader's office. I repeat! All Summon Spirits, reports to the leader's office!"

"Is that Verius?" Regal asked.

"Where is she?" Lloyd asked, still looking around.

"She's talking through the PA system," Zelos explained to the confused young man.

"PA?"

"Hey! What are you doing her... where did she go?!" another voice, a confused, lower one spoke before the sound went off. It was obvious Verius had just teleported into the announcement center and left just as suddenly as she arrived.

Lloyd was still confused even though Zelos and Regal got up. Seles was just as confused as her brother's "Bud" at the voice that seemed to echo everywhere.

"Best we go and see what she wants," Regal said, his tone becoming sour.

"Yeah... sorry Bud, but our first lesson will have to get postponed," Zelos said.

Lloyd was divided between feeling relieved and exasperated. Relieved that he was spared from having to deal with Zelos' "romantic lesson" and exasperated that he had to deal with that Summon Spirit.

He hoped that it better be good...

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

Rahishi was pacing around as she and Reriki waited in one of many rooms in the main fortress of the demonic troops' base for the return of their General. They were so worried they tuned off the commotion outside the room, very visible through the open doorway.

The two had tried to insist to go with their liege, but Genis had categorically forbidden them, saying it was too dangerous for anybody, mainly for them, if they got within Verius' range.

Although Reriki was very determined to hug Genis and never let him go once he was back, Rahishi was still in conflict with those feelings she showed before. She knew she liked her General far more than any of her previous superiors. What there wasn't to like about him? He respected her, considered her opinion and gained her loyalty fair and square. Plus, he wasn't that hard on the eyes and...

_By the Great Father, I'm turning into Reriki. _Rahishi thought, although, deep down, she felt she didn't mind if it meant she could be with him.

Rahishi, however, was more worried about how her general would view these strange new emotions she had for him. She knew what she was feeling could be considered the beginning of a human crush (if Reriki's observations were anything to go by), but she was a demon. Demons don't possess hearts to love. All that they felt that could be considered close to this was a strong attraction.

Sometimes, she wondered why that was so. Why would the Great Ones give them such a feeling if it could be such an obstacle on the way of serving them?

"What is all the commotion?" a neutral voice sounded, making the two demoness look at the door so fast it was a wonder that Rahishi's neck didn't crack.

"Master/General Genis!" the two exclaimed, running up to him and hugging him. When Rahishi noticed she had done the same thing as Reriki, she immediately let go of him, her face blushing, although Reriki didn't have such reservations.

"Can you let me go?" Genis asked, his face buried on Reriki's ample bosom as the demoness had a wide smile at seeing her favorite half-elf coming back alive.

"How was your mission, my General?" Rahishi asked, recovering and resuming her military demeanor as the other aide let Genis go.

"It was a success, if the explosion of power I felt as I was leaving the Ozette region was any indication," Genis said, although there was no smile on either his face or voice. He sounded robotic and unfeeling. "But this state can be quite... discomforting. I didn't even realized that wasn't a feeling until you locked away my heart."

Rahishi sighed in relief at hearing that. Reriki then asked if Genis wanted to undo the seal now. The silver haired Desian nodded, since he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy anything in this state, also, his curiosity towards magic disappeared and his drive to research it was practically null. He quickly realized he didn't like that.

He did however have a compulsion to come back to his aides, but he didn't know why that remained.

Reriki quickly made hand signals that Genis thought bore some resemblance to the ones that Sheena woman used. Reriki did say to him that, apparently, good part of Mizuho's fighting styles and particular brand of techniques came from observing demons like her.

A runic circle appeared underneath the young-looking half-elf and light rose around him. Genis then felt like something was being lifted from him.

_This was truly a remarkable experience, although very disturbing._ Genis thought.

Reriki then finished, but her face scrunched up in annoyance. Rahishi asked what was it and the voluptuous demoness said:

"I couldn't completely undo the lock."

"Really? I fell mostly normal," Genis said.

"Yes, but there are still some remnants. As I said before Master Genis, locks like these aren't easy to undo, even for the caster."

"Well, I can feel again so I think it's alright."

Genis tried to tranquilize his aide, but Reriki still seemed unsure. She then approached him as Genis looked at his aide... only to get his face buried under her huge breasts and feel blood rushing to his cheeks and another part of his _male _body.

Reriki let go of him and looked at his blushing, deer-in-the-headlights expression and smiled at the result:

"Oh. At least you got the important ones back. So, you're really fine."

"What the hell was that for?!" Rahishi demanded, stomping to the spiritual demon, who only turned Genis around and hugged him from his back, making his head rest on her bountiful chest.

"One can't truly live if he can't experience the best of life. I wanted to make sure he got the important emotions back," Reriki said in a tone of one who teaches a life lesson.

"And you needed to bury his face on these overgrown pillows you call chest?!" Rahishi exclaimed.

"You're one to talk Rahishi..." Reriki said with mirth as she let go of Genis and teleported behind the other aide, grabbing her from behind and fondling her chest plate. "Pity you always wear this armor, but I've seen that they're pretty big," the perverted demoness smirked. "Not as big as mine, mind you, but decently enough."

Rahishi gave an angry smile as a vein pulsed on her forehead while Reriki fondled her.

Genis just tuned out the beating that followed, trying to get his blood to rush back to his brain. As he did, he then took notice of the commotion outside again, specially the urgent expression on the faces of both demons and Desians.

"What happened while I was away?" Genis asked.

Rahishi stopped beating Reriki, who defended against the assault and the two looked at their General. Separating, the fire demoness said that they weren't sure as they had been too worried about his safe return, which made Genis look at them as Rahishi realized what she had left slip and looked away. The silver haired Desian couldn't help, but smile at the thought that his red head aide looked quite cute when acting like that.

It was then that Pronyma passed near the doorway and saw the trio inside. Having come from the Sybak Ranch to give her report to Lord Nebilim, she was caught in the middle of the announcement and stood by there, directing the Desian search parties. Entering the room, the woman asked:

"General Sage, is there a motive as to why you are standing idly here?"

Genis immediately recognized the voice and turned to greet his superior with a salute.

"I just came back from an assignment, ma'am. I was incommunicable during the time."

"What kind of assignment?" Pronyma asked. Genis was about to answer, but the Desian woman cut him. "No, forget it. There are more urgent matters at the moment," Pronyma said in her better-than-thou tone.

Genis wasn't exactly fond of the Leader of the Five Grand Cardinals, but he didn't have anything personal against her either. Liking it or not, Pronyma was his superior, regardless of which means she used to attain the position. The woman also seemed to have a similar opinion of him, but that was probably only because Genis wasn't running for her position like some of the other Cardinals.

If he did, he could have suddenly found himself on a suicidal mission...

"We received a new order from Lord Nebilim. We have a Person of Interest Priority #1," Pronyma said.

That surprised Genis. He could only think of one group that could earn that classification.

_But she said it was just one. _

"Who exactly is it?" he asked as his aides flanked his sides.

"The Summon Spirit of Heart, Verius."

It took all of Genis' willpower not to gasp at the news. Reriki and Rahishi looked worried, but fortunately, Pronyma was paying attention to him and not his subordinates.

"Anything that you know about it and would like to share, General Sage?" although it was worded as a request, Genis knew it was an order.

His aides looked between themselves and started to consider answering the question when their general surprised them by saying:

"No. I haven't even met Verius. Why would I know anything about this?"

Pronyma narrowed her eyes at him and then looked at his direct subordinates, who immediately schooled their features, although there was the danger the Leader of the Desian Grand Cardinals could have noticed something.

After a few seconds, Pronyma decided she didn't have anything to accuse Genis of and left, telling him to report to her if he found anything. Genis nodded and watched the woman go. As soon as she was out of range, the silver haired half-elf made signal for his aides to follow him.

When they left the environment of the fortress, Rahishi couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer:

"I don't understand, my General. Why did you lie to Lady Pronyma like that?"

"Two things..." Genis said, not even turning as he walked ahead of them and held two fingers up. "One..." he lowered one finger. "Even though I'm not a contender to the position of Leader of the Cardinals, some still see me as a threat and may use this information as a way to take me down. Two..." he lifted that finger back up and, although his aides couldn't see, smiled a sinister smile. "That just means my plans worked far better than I expected. Now we just have to wait to see what the Summon Spirits will do once they realize what happened..."

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Yuan honestly didn't know what disturbed him the most; the fact that somebody just _appeared _inside his communications room without anybody being able to stop her and used his PA system, or the fact that this someone was probably now in his office. And that happened while he was sitting in one of the many relaxation rooms around the facility, chatting with his daughter and granddaughter.

_Honestly, I would rather deal only with Colette and the others. _Yuan thought before following his golden haired granddaughter to his office where, as he guessed, Verius was already waiting for them.

"Oh, no, no, no," Verius said, in a disapproving manner, with a frown at seeing the blue haired, Renegade leader. "I believe I explicitly said, Summon Spirits."

"And I believe you are trespassing my base," Yuan retorted as Martel and the others filed in. "And this is my office. Why shouldn't I be in my office?"

"Well, you were having some family time, so..."

"Wait. Were you spying on me?!" Yuan asked, his tone one of indignation.

"Not really. I believe I did say my job is to watch over all hearts," Verius retorted.

"Don't get all smartass over my husband," Martel said, stepping forward, surprising all those present with her choice of language. It wasn't often one would see a pissed off Martel. "What do you want?"

When Verius seemed to be about to protest again, Emil brought Ratatosk out to calm her down and prevent a possible bloodbath. With a heartbeat-like energy pulse, the crimson eyed entity spoke:

"Verius, these two are my Knights. You do remember what one being a knight to a Summon Spirit entails, right?"

"Yes. I do," Verius said. She then looked at Amelia. "But she isn't, so why is she here?"

"She's my daughter!" Yuan declared.

Verius only looked at the exasperated half-elf... and spoke again:

"Isn't this what you humans call nepotism?"

While the others bodily restrained Yuan and Martel from jumping on the Summon Spirit of the Heart, Ratatosk asked Verius why she called them, deciding to get to the heart of the subject before his sister could further aggravate his old Knights.

"I'm here to take you all to the Twilight Palace."

That made Ratatosk surprised and picked up Raine's curiosity. As the others managed to calm Martel and Yuan down (with much persuasion on Colette and Amelia's part), they heard Raine question what Verius was talking about. Ratatosk answered:

"It's a pocket dimension created by Origin and the others to serve as their... our base of operations. It can only be found and accessed by Summon Spirits, much in the same manner as the seals on the temples," he then turned to Verius, his tone visibly softer as he spoke to her. "But... why go there?"

"Because that's where you will find Origin's soul half," Verius said, shocking the group. "Well, at least I think so. But for something as powerful as Origin's soul, it would be the safest place."

Ratatosk wanted to beat himself up for not realizing that sooner. That would have been the most obvious place to hide Origin's soul, since he didn't have any specific temple or place that he stayed at in Aselia. The Lord of Monsters then realized something else:

"Then, you're going to help us Verius?" Marta could hear the hope in her crush's tone and briefly thought that if Verius refused him this time...

"You could say that," Verius spoke with that ever-present mischievous smile.

Marta sighed. Seemed like she wouldn't have to beat the fox-looking woman senseless.

Ratatosk gave a big smile at hearing that. Although the situation set off some alarms on his head (Emil was trying to tell him there was something fishy here) he ignored them all. Verius was going to help them. His sister was back to his side and... maybe... maybe he could tell her about everything that had been plaguing him until now. She was always there to listen to him after all.

"What happened?" Zelos asked, his tone dripping of the suspicion many in the group felt. "Had a change of heart?"

Zelos smirked at his own joke, just like Yuan, Martel, and even Sheena. Verius only frowned at him, seeming to not have taken that well, for she spoke:

"That was mean of you, Celsius. I mean... I did change... no. Maybe that was how it was meant to be... no. That was not it," Verius then rambled on again, making some members in the group raise their eyebrows as she looked to the side, still talking to herself.

"Anyway. Can you lead us to the Twilight Palace?" Kratos asked, trying to lower the animosity levels in the room.

"Of course!" Verius said, turning to him and smiling once more. That sudden change of mood made the group think that maybe the Summon Spirit of the Heart was bipolar. "Just hold on and off we go!"

Several runic circles appeared beneath the reincarnated Summon Spirits and, before they could even react, the party teleported out of the room, startling the remaining members of the Kä-Fei family.

"O-kay..." Martel muttered, while Amelia just looked around, appearing to be confused. The green haired woman sighed. "Honestly, I'm pitying our granddaughter and her friends. Considering they have to deal with that _woman._"

Yuan cringed a bit at the sharp tone Martel used when speaking that. Lately, his wife seemed to have gotten the habit to refer to the fox-like Summon Spirit by that substantive. It wasn't even derogatory, but the way Martel spoke it, made it sound like she was cursing her worst enemy.

It was then the intercom in his desk emitted a loud beep and Yuan went to answer it. The two women in the room turned and looked at him as he answered:

"Commander Yuan speaking."

"My Lord, it's Botta," the blue haired, half-elf's left-hand man answered. "We've just received the data from the Vanguard regarding that strange energy pulse in Ozette," Martel was besides Yuan the moment she heard that while Amelia only stood in her place.

The Goddess of Victory had heard about the "massacre" of Ozette when they got back from their family outting. The episode truly intrigued her for the fact that all of the citizens were, without a doubt, dead, but they hadn't suffered any kind of physical injury. There were traces of magic, but they weren't able to analyze it on the field.

The Vanguard took it upon themselves to discover that mystery, as some of its members had family in Ozette (although mostly strained, as none in the city truly liked either of the resistance movements). Yuan actually thought they would take more time to analyze the data, but it seemed they had already settled in the Submarine Ranch and were putting it into good use.

Also, the acquisition of all the resources inside the city-sized submarine sped-up the completion of New Grounds by months.

"Did you check it against our data?" Yuan asked.

"I did, but... Sir, you're not gonna like it," Botta said, his tone hesitant.

"Hit me."

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

For those not used to it, teleportation magic could be a little disorienting, which was intensified by the distance it covered. In that sense, when the reincarnated Summon Spirits reappeared, Lloyd and the others were pretty dizzy and stumbling to keep themselves upright. Colette, however, flayed hers arms and fell back, causing a strange "CRACK" when she landed.

Emil took control and that helped him to be the first to recover and see where they had reappeared. Tall trees and grass greeted his vision, indicating they were in a forest of shorts. However, everything around him had a grayish tone to it, indicating it was probably petrified.

"Where... are... we?" Presea asked as she recovered.

"The Torrent Forest," Verius replied.

That made Raine regain her balance instantly as she looked around in surprise. She mouthed the name of the place in awe, which was understandable. The Torrent Forest was considered sacred grounds for the elven people, few of their own could enter here, let alone half-bloods.

"Ouch..." Colette let out as she got up and took something from her clothes, examining it. "Hey, it's stone."

"Actually, it looks like the entire forest has turned into stone," Zelos said.

"That's... quite sad," Raine thought aloud. Her mother had always told her about the Torrent Forest's beauty and green scenery. To see it reduced to this was quite depressing for her.

"Yeah. I liked the place too..." Verius said.

Presea _looked _around better and could see traces of magic in the entire forest. Sheena and Colette noticed it, but decided to let the pink haired girl make her analysis. If there was anything out of ordinary (that is, more than it already was) Presea would warn them.

"So... where exactly is the entrance to this Twilit Place?" Lloyd asked.

"Twilight Palace," Raine corrected him.

"Yeah, that."

The silver haired woman sighed putting her hand on her forehead. Verius said for them to follow her and led the group deeper into the forest.

They passed through petrified trees, dried up rivers and even saw what looked like animal statues on their way. However, the reincarnated Summon Spirits had the disturbing impression those statues actually came to be _after_ the Second Invasion.

_I can't believe the fact the demons' invasion caused even this to happen. _Emil thought. He could understand the fauna and the rivers, but for animals to get petrified like that.

_"This place was touched by magic," _Ratatosk explained. _"But not any magic... by being a point of concentration of our powers, since we had to access the Twilight Palace via this forest, all life here became tied to our presence and powers."_

_But since the others left the world to reincarnate and the demons spread chaos energy... _Emil didn't need to finish the phrase to know his analysis was spot on.

At one time, Kratos' communication device started beeping. Everybody looked at him as he excused himself and fell a little bit back while Verius shrugged and made motion for the group to follow her. Lloyd watched his father talk and saw his expression becoming pensive and then grave. He was probably talking to Yuan about something serious, but Lloyd couldn't hear what it was from that distan...

"We're here!" Verius cried out joyously and the group turned to look at what she was motioning to.

They stopped at a meadow and in front of them was a midnight black monolith, taller than any of them and made of an unknown material. It was engraved with runes completely foreign to Raine, but not to Emil. Suffice to say, the Professor's eyes illuminated with a glint that the party knew very well and she suddenly darted past them and Verius to prostrate in front of the dark formation.

"What is this made of?! I can't tell at all!" Raine started. "And these runes... I must find out their meaning!" she took out the book she always brought with her everywhere and started to furiously write on it.

The group could only observe with sweatdrops on their heads. Kratos had rejoined them and saw the silver haired woman frantically looking over the monolith and inscribing on her book like her life depended on it.

"Is she always like this?" the auburn haired man asked.

"Unfortunately..." Sheena mumbled.

"I have to admit; even I think Undine is scary when she gets curious," Verius spoke up. The group couldn't tell if she was referring to Raine or her past incarnation. They simply decided to give up on trying to correct the air-headed Spirit.

"Anyway, what is this thing? A portal or something?" Zelos asked.

"Zelos!" Raine called, startling the red head.

"W-what?!"

"You might absolutely right!" she spoke, confusing the man. "I mean, if Verius brought us here, then it must be because this monolith is somehow linked with the Twilight Palace!" she spoke, turning to it again. "These runes must be a very intricate incantation meant to bridge entire dimensions with one another."

The group then lost Raine as she rambled on about complex spells and metaphysical implications of the use of runes. They looked back at their guide (to some, it was quite begrudging to acknowledge Verius as such) and asked how they would get in.

"Simple," she said, with her joyous smile returning to her face. "It is made so only a Summon Spirit can access it."

"You mean, like the temples?" Lloyd asked.

"Like the whatnow?" Verius asked, smile still in place though she tilted her head in confusion. The party sighed again. "That means you should leave your little, kid sister's soul behind, Celsius," Verius completed, changing the subject.

Zelos looked at his sister worriedly. He didn't know if it was safe to leave her behind. What if demons came for her?

"I'll be fine, big brother. " Seles assured him with a smile. "You go with that fox lady and help Sir Kratos get his Summon Spirit powers."

"You sure? I don't want to come back and find out you have been taken by demons," Zelos said.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Presea said. The red head looked inquisitively at her. "This forest... I can feel spirits in it. Ancient spirits. They have been here ever since these trees grew and they are still here."

"Yep," Verius spoke up. "It's a very nice neighborhood."

Nobody took notice of her comment. Zelos only nodded and said for Seles to take care and not leave that meadow till he was back. His sister nodded and hugged him.

Emil then approached the monolith, while searching his memory and finding an incantation that he associate with the visage of the monument. Raine turned immediately and, in the blink of an eye, was besides Emil, urging him on with that disturbing look in her eyes. The blonde gulped and walked forward.

The group also approached a little as Emil stopped before the dark monolith and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and chanting in a language completely unknown to any of the present, save for Verius. As he spoke, the runes on the monolith started to emanate power, though to the common eye they might as well have remained the same.

Suddenly a circle of light appeared between Emil and the monolith and shot a pillar of spiraling, multicolored particles in the air, startling the reincarnated Summon Spirits. As Emil finished, the pillar remained in place, shooting those particles to the skies like a beacon.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Verius said, walking forward and entering the beacon without a care in the world.

"She certainly seems in high spirits," Marta mumbled, crossing her arms.

"Leave it be," Ratatosk said as Emil let him come forth again. "She is always like this and..." suddenly Raine was right on his face.

"What was that incantation you used?! What are the words to the chants?! Please tell me!" she was with her book out and looking as "maniacal" as ever.

"Um... I'm not sure if they can be converted to the languages of mortals," Ratatosk said. He could very well admit that Raine was frightening like this "We, Summon Spirits, don't exactly have a written language."

Raine was about to insist when Verius put her head out of the pillar and said:

"Hey! Are you coming or not?"

The group decided to walk into the beacon and escape from Raine before she started interrogating them for obscure chants that might have come to their mind or something of the sort. Ratatosk quickly made a point to slip out of her range and enter the beacon first.

Raine sighed in disappointment, but made a mental note to interrogate the Summon Spirit later.

- / - / - / - / - / - / -

"Strange" was a word that wasn't much used in Aselia nowadays. When you lived with demons at your doorstep, not knowing when you would live or die and had to fight for your life every single day... not to talk about angels, half-demons and (now) Spirits, "strange" tended to lose its meaning due to overuse.

So, it was quite a great deal when the group got their first glimpse of the Twilight Palace and could only think one thing:

_What kind of strange place is this?_

They arrived in what looked like a horizontal street that divided into two paths and ascended, with other paths linked to these parallel streets. It even had lampposts, bushes, tall, fence bars with lance points and benches, for crying out loud.

However, they could see the holes dividing the parallel "streets" and, inside them, thick, white mist. There was mist everywhere, thinner over the "street" floor, but thicker to the point of completely obscuring the vision behind the bars.

It truly felt like they had left Aselia behind and stepped inside another plane of existence.

Even Emil and Ratatosk, having certain memories of the place, felt surprised at being here again. Verius, however...

"C'mon! We don't have time to lose!" she said from up ahead .

"She's pretty upbeat, isn't she?" Sheena pointed out, though her tone had a certain edge to it.

They walked and kept their guard up. Presea felt... uncomfortable. This place was too eerie for her tastes and... she could see _everything _here. She didn't know how to describe it, but, if she concentrated, she could see the levels above, beyond and even peer back at Aselia. It was a disorienting experience to say the least.

They finally arrived at an intersection in front of a white staircase. Verius was waiting for them and animatedly talked about the place and how "mysterious" it was. Nobody really shared a word with her, except for Ratatosk. It irked Marta to see he talking to the fox-like woman.

When they climbed up the stairs they were met with an... odd sight. Even Verius raised her eyebrow at the object in front of them.

"This wasn't here before. Nope... definitely wasn't," she mumbled.

They were in a plane, square space with stairs on each of its corners; the one they came from, and three more that led up, although they seemed to end abruptly, in the middle of empty space. And in the center of the square was a floating circle with several lance points that floated around it in a circle, moving in a way that made it look like a blue, sun icon.

The Centurions appeared as Emil recognized it:

"That's Maxwell's platform!"

"So, his soul halve was really here," Ventus stated.

_Where is my other half? _ lines of text appeared in the circle, surprising the group.

"Maybe it is asking about Maxwell reincarnated," Regal suggested.

"But, we haven't found him yet," Colette said.

As if answering to her statement, new lines appeared in the circle:

_I see... well, should have supposed it would be hard to get here. Or the chap is too lazy. _

The group had to sweatdrop at that. The last line was so... out of place there.

"Haha! Good one!" Lumen said, being the only one to laugh at that. "Good ol' Max always cracked me up!" the cheetah-like Centurion said with a smile. The group sweatdropped at that again.

_Lumen? Then that means Ratatosk is here?_ new lines appeared. _That is fortunate. I've been tired of waiting here. Hey, how about a deal, youngsters? I'll help you all to find my other half._

That surprised most of them. They didn't expect the soul half of a Summon Spirit they hadn't even found yet to be so helpful.

_Certainly beats having to deal with Verius. _Sheena, Lloyd, Raine, Zelos and Presea thought.

"C'mon. Don't be like that," the tall, female Summon Spirit said in a sad tone.

Nobody paid her attention.

"How are you coming with us?" Colette asked.

_Oh, little Gnome... just you watch! ... and catch me._

The sun icon then shone and was enveloped in a sphere of light, which slowly shrink. It then shot to Raine and stopped to hover near her. The half-elven woman reached for the sphere, which was about the size of her finger and grabbed it. Feeling something solid, Raine opened her hand and showed the object to the group. It was a ring with a pretty big turquoise jewel on it.

"Wow! It looks like yours, Celsius," Glacius said. "Although a _lot _more beautiful."

Zelos sighed and mumbled something about "women" and "big jewels". Ratatosk looked from them to Verius, who kept a pensive expression on her face as she continued to stare at the place where Maxwell's soul half was.

"Is there a problem, Verius?" he asked her, approaching the fox-like woman while the others discussed about the ring.

"Was that all what you were reduced to?" Verius asked, her tone undecipherable.

"Yes. Even I, when Nebilim attacked the Ginnungagap, was reduced to my core and had to find a body to serve as a host," Ratatosk answered.

The memories then resurfaced and he bit his lip, Verius turning to him when catching his emotions. He knew now was the time, so, while the others were distracted, he told her:

"Verius... I... I did... I betrayed you all."

He stayed quiet after that. Verius could feel his hurting and, in an impulse, hugged him in a comforting manner. Ratatosk was rather surprised, but soon hugged her back, needing that bit of comfort from one of his "family". Although Lloyd and the others were them reincarnated, he knew it wouldn't feel the same. They were different.

Marta looked and saw the two hugging, getting mixed feelings from it. The way Ratatosk clang to Verius almost desperately... something was happening and he wasn't telling her.

"You were all hurting too," Verius said as she patted his head when the two separated. "I know what you think you need to do, but don't worry. I don't blame you," she gave him a sincere smile.

"Really?" the crimson-eyed Spirit asked hopefully.

"Of course. In the end, it all won't make a difference," her tone became a little bit ominous, confusing her brother. "Yes. Soon, all of this won't matter..."

* * *

_A world surrounded by mist in which Spirits gather._

_In it we found enlightenment and power, while you only had pain to garner..._

_To us, she was only another one, _

_to you, she was a cherished one_

_If only we knew of the awaiting tragedy  
_

_we could have spared you of such pain..._

_I can't say sorry enough... _

_Your forgiveness is all I hope for..._

_- Excerpt from The Chronicle of a Lonely Spirit, by Marta Lualdi -_

Yes, Marta wrote a book (SHOCK, GASP!). Or more likely a journal containing her thoughts. (*glares from the audience*) What?

Ok, I'm not good at poetry in any language, but you don't exactly need to rhyme to make poetry. Just to pour your feelings in the form of words. And I wouldn't consider it a poetry, more like a letter concerning the battles that are to come.

Well, enough of my self-justifications... onward to the next chapter!


End file.
